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Home » ColumnsGoing to the IMF: Waiting for Basil; waiting for Godot
One of the taboo subjects to be taken up for discussion in the Cabinet these days is whether ‘to go – or not to go to the International Monetary Fund, (IMF)’ as the country is facing a bleak future with the acute forex crisis and mounting debt service commitments in the coming year. For a [...]
Santa, can you hear us?
My dear Santa Claus, I though of writing to you this week even though Christmas would be over by the time you read this. That is in the hope of giving you some suggestions for gifts for those of us in Paradise who have been beset not only by the Covid pandemic, like the rest [...]
Executive Presidency: Root cause for country’s current governance dysfunction
As the well known adage goes there are none so blind as those who refuse to see. If there was anyone who genuinely believed that the Executive Presidency was the answer to the country’s ills, the performance of the government after the enactment of the 20th Amendment must surely have dispelled any such belief. That [...]
End of another annus horribilis more horrible than any other
We are coming to the end of a year that was the worst since Independence. There have been other tragic and horrible years but none as horrible as this. Undoubtedly, it has been the worst year economically. We are on the brink of bankruptcy. Severe shortages It was a year of severe shortages. The year [...]
Santa sounds jingle bell alarm on Christmas eve
“Ho Ho Ho! You’ve been a bad boy, then, haven’t you?’’ boomed Santa, dusting the soot from the white fur trim of his red suite as he wriggled out of the chimney hearth. “What, no gas fireplace, burning fossils instead? You have a death wish to end God’s good earth sooner than planned by warming [...]
No comment: Not from our loud-mouthed
When I heard some months back that fellow journalist Thalif Deen had published a book titled “No Comment! And Don’t Quote Me On That”, I did not have to read it. I knew what to expect. I was biding my time to write about Deen’s opus which was not exactly magnum at just 200 pages, [...]
Government faces unprecedented challenges on all fronts in 2022
Energy Minister speaks of difficulties in finding dollars to import fuel Agriculture secretary sacked for warning of a coming food crisis SLFP distancing itself from SLPP, JVP rejects broad alliance Several trade unions threaten to launch strike action A fuel price hike announced in the dead of night yet again touched off a cycle [...]
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