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Police Commission ‘villain’ blocking transfers, crime prevention

Police Commission ‘villain’ blocking transfers, crime prevention

Police top brass are complaining that their stepped up crime prevention efforts are being stymied by some officials at the Police Commission. Transfers of ineffective Police officers over whom Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera had issued orders were being stalled by a top official. A senior Police source said the official, who played a key role [...]

A week of blunders as fuel prices rise and President gets tough on drugs

A week of blunders as fuel prices rise and President gets tough on drugs

Sri Lankans were this week treated to a huge dose of bad governance as the feud between the ruling coalition partners – the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP) – hit a new low. The latest episode is over the fuel price increase. According to an official announcement at midnight [...]

Know when to walk away

Know when to walk away

My dear Austin, I suppose I should have written to you last week when your resignation as Maithri’s secretary was announced, but that went almost unnoticed, as did your parting words of wisdom because of all this fuss over Vijayakala. Still, I thought I must write to you now, because it is better late than [...]

Execute them, says the Archbishop: Hang the lot, says Bodu Bala pope

Execute them, says the Archbishop: Hang the lot, says Bodu Bala pope

Coming from President Sirisena, well known for his rhetorical flourishes spurred by his new found urge to portray himself as a no nonsense leader of iron, his speech this Wednesday in Kandy when he declared he will sign the death warrant and hang those convicted drug dealers sentenced to death by the courts but commuted [...]

Political compulsions could undermine fiscal discipline, economic stability

Political compulsions could undermine fiscal discipline, economic stability

We are entering a critical period when the country’s macroeconomic stability could be jeopardised owing to excessive government expenditure to pander to the multitude for political gain. Excessive public expenditure to gain popularity at the forthcoming elections could increase the fiscal deficit and destabilise the economy. The Central Bank and several eminent economists have expressed [...]

Lanka’s problem of finding an efficient hangman

Lanka’s problem of finding an efficient hangman

Curiously, each time that Sri Lanka announces that it would put an end to the country’s more than thirty years moratorium on implementation of the death penalty, an immediate practical problem surfaces for the administration of Colombo’s Welikada Prisons. The grisly realities of the job This is the insuperable difficulty of finding a competent hangman [...]

Dramatic rescue and the great escape

Dramatic rescue and the great escape

For two weeks or more the world held its collective breath. People watched with growing anxiety as this heartrending story unfolded hoping that it would not turn into tragedy. As it is, the perilous rescue mission launched by Thailand with the welcome and ungrudging help of expertise from several countries to save 12 young boys [...]

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