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The appointment of 39 state ministers has been questioned by many as the cost

of maintaining them has turned out to be an issue while the country continues its efforts to come out from an economic crisis.

It is up to the state ministers themselves also to efficiently manage the available resources.

However, that seems to be not the case among the state ministries coming under the purview of Minister Bandula Gunawardena.

One of the four state ministers has opted to occupy two of the offices thereby leaving one of them without an office.

As a result Minister Gunawardena had to make special arrangements to accommodate one of the state ministers by finding office space for him.

Sathosa: People can’t buy claims

Lanka Sathosa Chairman Pasanda Yapa Abeywardena on Friday declared that five essential food items including lentils, white sugar, rice and garlic, were available at concessionary prices at Sathosa outlets.

However people who turned up at the outlets yesterday said they had to turn back and go to other shops as these items were not available as claimed.

Mr. Abeywardena has not been the first to make such claims. Earlier, thenTrade Minister Bandula Gunawardena himself repeatedly made such claims.

The Ven. Gnanasara Thera in a friendly conversation with the Saudi Ambassador Khalid bin Hamoud Nasser Aldasam Alkahtani at the Saudi National Day reception.

Critic of Wahabism says howdy to Saudis

Bodu Bala Sena ( BBS) General Secretary the Ven Galagoda-atte Gnanasara Thera, who made controversial statements against the Muslim community, was seen participating the Saudi National Day event organised by the Saudi Arabia Embassy on Friday.

Ven. Gnanasara Thera who is usually vocal on stages and at media conferences where he routinely makes controversial remarks against Islamic extremism, was seen posing for photographs at the event held at a five-star hotel in Colombo.

Pool treatment for underperformer in President’s office

The President’s office has started to evaluate the performance of its own officials and take action accordingly.

Already one of the officers has been identified for under-performance and sent to the ‘pool’ of the Public Administration — a unit which is known to have officials without a specific duty.

The scheme is being implemented in other state institutions as well.

Beauty and the import beast

Import restrictions on non-essential items have affected many industries, including the cosmetic industry.

This week beauticians said that with a lack of foreign products they were forced to close their saloons.

They said they had to replace their equipment every six months and therefore the restrictions were severely affecting them.

However, there have been others who have started using substandard products resulting in side-effects to the users.

It seems authorities would have to take a decision soon regarding this sector.

Students stumped over Sanga statue

The Jaffna university authorities have rejected a students’ request to place a wax statue of Sri Lanka’s former cricket captain
Kumar Sangakkara on the university premises.

The university authorities have told the undergraduates that there are only two statutes in the university and those are of two scholars Ponnambalam Arunachalam and Arumuga Navalar.

The students who had already built the four-foot high statue were forced to drop their project and keep the statue with themselves.

The Sangakkara statue was sculpted by Jerom Mark. In a Twitter message, the cricket legend says, “Thank you Jerom Mark for this wonderful gesture. So much talent in the North and so much interest in cricket. Been very fortunate to see that first hand.”

US embassy warns of terrorism, while calling for repeal of PTA

Despite the United States Embassy calling on the Sri Lankan government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, it has issued a travel advisory telling Americans to exercise caution in Sri Lanka due to civil unrest
and terrorism.

The travel advisory also cited  that Sri Lanka is experiencing shortages of imported goods, fuel, food and medicine due to the ongoing economic situation in the country. It also says the protests could occur any time over the economic situation.

The advisory points out that terrorist attacks have occurred in Sri Lanka with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, cultural and sporting events,
educational institutions, airports, hospitals, and other public areas.

The travel advisory says Sri Lanka’s economic situation has led to long queues, limited transportation, and disrupted supply chains of food and medicines in remote areas. Despite that, the advisory also says the fuel rationing system has helped to alleviate the situation and most hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, and private hospitals have supplies. It even says that even though power outages occur frequently most tourist facilities have backup generators.

The embassy has issued guidelines to citizens if they are to travel to Sri Lanka that they should be aware of their surroundings when travelling to tourist locations and crowded public venues. Follow the instructions of local authorities, monitor local media for breaking events, adjust plans based on new information,  and avoid demonstrations and crowds, the embassy says.