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Home » ColumnsRajitha misfires again, but Nigeria discloses deals with Avant Garde
The role of spokespeople is to set out the official line of the bodies they represent so people not only in Sri Lanka but also the world over get things right. More so, with those speaking for the Government, it becomes essential. Former Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella often did not get things right. This is why [...]
President’s security and a failing police
Taking part in last week’s Vesak ceremonies in different parts of the country dotted President Maithripala Sirisena’s diary. One such event was the opening of a giant pandal in Pepiliyana on the eastern outskirts of Nugegoda. The annual event has been organised by the group of apparel and construction companies owned by Daya Gamage, Eastern [...]
The power of once- powerless PM post
My dear Mahinda maama, I thought I must write to you because you seem to be very much in the news, even more so than Maithri – even though you are out of office and out of power. And you seem to rather like it, too, often making comments on ‘Yahapaalanaya’ to the media, so [...]
Implications of economic growth performance in 2014
Last year’s economic growth of 7.4 per cent, as disclosed in the Central Bank Annual Report for 2014, is a continuation of the economic growth trend averaging 7.4 per cent in the last five years (2010 to 2014). It is also a continuation of the pattern of development in recent years. The sources of growth [...]
US trumps China in the Indo-Pacific, Sri Lanka pays the price
Welcoming US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Foreign Ministry last week, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said “today is just the beginning of a very, very special relationship between Sri Lanka and the United States.” What does this mean? Surely it does not simply refer to the fact that the US’s top diplomat was [...]
Making haste on reconciliation, slowly
Quietly navigating a course in between the perilous shoals of political opportunism in the South and the North, President Maithripala Sirisena appears to be slowly but surely correcting some of the most grievous wrongs in our society today. Measured emphasis on reconciliation This week, his decision to return Sampur lands to war displaced citizens was [...]
Ban ministerial moonlighting
This Sunday morning, if Deputy Justice Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe should happen to notice from his Colombo digs that there has been a significant increase in his private legal practice and that a long queue of new clients has formed outside his law chambers, many of them importers of various goods, including ethanol and grease, wishing [...]
Brits confound politicians, pundits and pollsters
It was an extraordinary election result that stood predictions on the head and decimated political parties and politicians as never before. At the end of the day, three party leaders had resigned, accepting personal responsibility for the defeats suffered and incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron did not have to call removal vans to the door [...]