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Home » ColumnsTwo years in office, Governors get duty-free vehicle permits
As the increased Value Added Tax (VAT) on a variety of items took effect this week, there was good news at least for the Governors lording over the country’s provinces. Though almost all of them have remained in office for less than two years, they will all receive duty free permits to import cars. The [...]
President concerned — probe on Dubai account has ceased, Thajudeen case has gone under
Startling disclosures in exclusive interview with the Sunday Times; Avant Garde case becomes hilarious no case, no progress on MiG case also Sirisena says FCID, CID and CIABOC and other agencies must expedite investigations on mega cases instead of ‘carrom board’ cases Constitutional changes next year By Our Political Editor President Maithripala Sirisena who chaired [...]
Your song remains in our hearts
My dear Amaradeva Master, It is with shock and great sorrow that I write these words, hearing that you have passed on to the Land of Never Return quite suddenly. We knew that you were only a month shy of your eighty ninth birthday, but you attended a public function only a few days ago, [...]
Will the 2017 “People’s Budget” heed the advice of economists?
On the eve of the 2017 budget, it is pertinent to ask whether the Finance Minister would take the advice on fiscal consolidation of economists articulated at the Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Economics Association (SLEA) where the consensus was that fiscal consolidation was imperative to achieve sustainable high economic growth. Keynote The comprehensive [...]
More (legal) horrors of the counter-terror draft
The Government’s proposed draft on a new counter-terror law for Sri Lanka is rather like a thoroughly unpleasant case discovery. Each time that one revisits afresh, new horrors are unearthed. Several other fiendish offences Drawn reluctantly back to this document following representations from several quarters, it may be said that absorbing its contents could well [...]
Give children the right guidance to be good citizens
The day that we complete our duties to our parents, children, our spouses and our relatives will mark the beginning of our peace and independence. Till such time there will be no real peace and independence even in our country. The Lord Buddha preached at great length about our duties and responsibilities. We also know [...]
All that rubbish and more to come
In a few days time the world will know who has crept into the White House in what must surely be a Hobson’s choice that even Hobson would not have contemplated. The two candidates provide as stark a contrast as American history can offer and both count for smells numbers 1 and 2 in the [...]
How the COPE dope on bond probe put just governance back on track
The sky may have fallen on the bond issue bounty but somehow the Yahapalana sun peeps through Suddenly the sky seems to have fallen down on the fortunes of Perpetual Treasuries; and the garden where the company basked in the year-long summer sunshine amid 5 billion roses, has now been buried in darkness, its future [...]