Trying times last year
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Come sun or rain, Aldoris, the choon-paan karaya, will come down the lane on any January 1st of the year, hoping for some calendars and diaries from customers. But wait a minute! In recent years, diaries are few and far between with corporates and public institutions focusing more on calendars and notebooks. Is this because of Google diary where you can schedule events, appointments etc, and you get an alert on that day?So on this Thursday morning, Aldoris comes to our gate and is greeted by the trio with smiles on friendly faces. “Ah, Aldoris, aluth monawada mae Aluth Avuruddha Davasey (Ah, Aldoris, anything new on New Year’s Day),” asked Kussi Amma Sera. “Ehemama thama madam. Ekama wenasa mila thama. Ada ganna deval-wala mila wadei giya avuruddey janawari palawenida gaththata wadiya (Same things madam. The only change is in the price. What you get today is more costly than what I sold on January 1, 2025),” he replied.
“Kiribath saha katta sambola thiyenawada (Do you have kiribath and katta sambol?” asked Serapina, checking his food shelves. “Ow (Yes),” he replied again. “Hondai. Magey balaporoththuwa kaema wala mila godak ihala yanney nathuwa thiyewi kiyala. Janathawata eka daraganna bae ney (Good. I hope food prices won’t go up drastically this year. People can’t afford it),” noted Mabel Rasthiyadu.
In terms of food affordability, there are concerns this year, as billions of rupees through grants, donations and government funds, ploughed into the economy for post-Cyclone Ditwah reconstruction work, could trigger inflationary trends.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake alluded to these possible trends in a recent discussion, suggesting that the Central Bank needs to ensure it keeps inflation in check. For the benefit of the layperson, more money in circulation means households and institutions have more cash and more money to spend on goods resulting in inflation – more money chasing fewer goods.
When my friend ‘Koththamalli’ Fernando, the Kokatath Thailaya (oil for many ailments) expert who has a remedy for any issue, called this morning, he wanted to discuss the key events in 2025. “To my mind the main issues were the new US tariffs, the IMF package and the crippling Cyclone Ditwah,” he said. I agreed with him. “That’s right, but we must not forget US President Donald Trump’s hegemonic policies as he tried to control anything and everything in the world,” I said. “He is like a loose cannon,” he said,
In tracing the key events that impacted on Sri Lanka, the first issue is also a Trump-related decision. In February, he ordered the shutdown of USAID across the world and with USAID working in multiple countries the decision caused ripples of uncertainty globally. In the Sri Lankan context, the decision affected all USAID projects and local NGOs suffered as a result, many forced to discontinue workers.
Again in February, the government lifted the ban on vehicle imports, resulting in a surge in new vehicles, particularly New Energy Vehicles (NEV) mostly powered by electricity. According to analysts, nearly Rs. 600 billion of the Rs. 1 trillion increase in total tax revenue last year came from taxes on vehicle imports. But it won’t last as importers, expecting massive demand, imported large stocks only to see the cars remaining in the showrooms. It was a case of would-be buyers, strapped for cash, visiting sales centres, admiring cars but not buying. With falling demand, tax revenue from this segment will drop this year.
Then came another bolt from the blue: crippling new US tariffs on imports, with Sri Lanka being slapped with a 40 per cent tax for goods into the US. Thankfully, that was whittled down to 20 per cent with the new taxes being effective in August.
Everybody is talking about the proposed new education reforms and accusing the government of failing to get broader opinion from a cross-section of society involved in education, ensuring the final product went through a comprehensive public participatory process, rather than being discussed behind ‘closed doors’ . It has been pointed out by experts that when a government engages in national policy-making, it must listen to the people and integrate their perspectives into decision-making.
On the positive side, the Colombo Stock Exchange has been on a roll, recording a historic milestone on August 4 with the All Share Price Index (ASPI) reaching the 20,000 mark for the first time ever. Daily turnover has been in the region of Rs. 3-5 billion.
AI – Artificial Intelligence – is the buzzword nowadays and many in Sri Lanka have embraced this technology. Is this tool – which does many things that a mind does – a benefit, an asset or a danger to mankind?
In December, Sri Lanka was floored by Cyclone Ditwah, the worst natural disaster since the December 2004 tsunami. According to UNICEF, nearly 1.5 million people were affected, including an estimated 275,000 children to date, with 410 deaths, 336 missing and 233,015 people displaced in 1,441 government-run safety centres.
Fresh estimates of the cost of rebuilding the country this year have been recorded at over US$ 4 billion, much of which Sri Lanka would have to rely on donors. The Sri Lanka Rebuilding Fund has raised more than Rs. 4 billion – as at mid-December – in contributions, while the government is contemplating an international donor conference to raise the funds to rebuild destroyed infrastructure, affected families and livelihoods. The IMF also provided some relief in the midst of its ongoing debt-relief package.
On a disturbing note, it was surprising to see a junior minister dancing with tourists at the re-opening of a section of the railway track to the hills which was damaged by landslides. It was a case of ‘Nava gilunath band choon (literally meaning that we will have fun and enjoy in any circumstances)’ for some people, which was inappropriate as such events should be marked with sombre reflection of the times with so many desperate families huddled together in displaced camps and wondering about their future.
Despite concerns of postponed travel and some cancellations owing to the cyclone, Sri Lanka on December 29, 2025, beat the previous annual record of tourist arrivals achieved in 2018. On this day, the country welcomed its 2,333,797th tourist in 2025, surpassing the previous all-time record of 2,333,796 arrivals in 2018.
Winding up, I hope my trio – Kussi Amma Sera, Mabel Rasthiyadu and Serapina – joined by ‘amba yaluwo (mango friends)’ like Arthika, Seeni bola, Kalabala Silva, cardboard Sando and Karapincha Perera will keep us regaled with their entry into complex economic issues and matters closer to the heart!
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