Minister Mervin Silva's illegal ban of liquor in Kelaniya

Mervin Silva following a brawl with the employees of
state-owned national television

(April 18, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Mervin Silva of Kelaniya has banned sale of liquor in his stronghold Kelaniya electorate. He has announced this through public addressing systems. The ex-Minister of Labor has banned not only illicit liquor but also the sales at licensed liquor shops.

Thirty seven liquor outlets in the electorate have now remain closed in fear of Mervin Silva's rogues.

This ex-Minister Mervin Silva is famous for his notoriety. He was reported a close associate of a person called Kudu Lal, a top level drug peddler who had to flee the country amidst government's proclaimed war against underworld. Media reported that the ex-Minister personally escorted Kudu Lal to the plane to prevent him from being abducted.

Silva was at the bottom of the preferential votes list of Colombo district with just around 2000 votes at 2004 general election. But then President Chandrika Bandaranayaka Kumarathunga appointed him to the country's legislature via national list and he was later given the portfolio of non-cabinet Minister of Labor. He is a person who can scent the political winds very well and he shifted allegiance towards Rajapaksa camp at right time.

In 2010 general election, he was given well over 100,000 preferential votes by the voters of Gampaha district. Now, he is slated to a cabinet portfolio despite all his fame for notoriety like intimidating the media persons.

'Mathata Thitha' alias no liquor policy is hyped under Rajapaksa regime. But in 2008 alone the government issued 36 new liquor sales licenses. All propaganda against liquor just caused 2% drop of hard liquor sales in 2008. But beer consumption increased by 15% increasing the overall consumption of alcohol. These are according to the statistics of the Excise Department. But the major liquor trade among the poor masses of Sri Lanka is Moonshine that has less control of state.

In 2008, government earned Rs. 27.44 billion from excise taxes. This is an increase of three billion rupees compared to the previous year. Excise tax is still one of the major source of state revenue.

2010 general election of Sri Lanka

(April 10, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka's election is almost finished. Thanks to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's henchmen Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Susantha Punchinilame, the results of Kandy and Trincomalee districts and the final result too is delayed. Re-polling for some stations costs millions of rupees to public coffers. Who cares? No wonder the culprits are rewarded with handsome portfolios.

The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) swept into the parliament with a close to two third majority. But, they will need to buy several opposition MPs to achieve two third that they vie for a change of constitution.

Who will cross over? Monaragala district United National Front (UNF) MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara can be expected to d so since the UNF leadership campaigned to defeat him since he was accused of deforming the UNF nomination list.

The government has promised to slash the cabinet to 35 or 40 heads and half of the Ministers that are re-elected will have to remain as MPs in such situation. Can the government offer portfolios to opposition MPs to buy them in this context. On the other hand, the United National Party (UNP) block in the parliament appears a battle hardened one on which Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe has full control. MPs with dissident history like Gampaha district ex-MP Edward Gunawrdhana have lost seats. Deputy Karu Jayasuriya was overtaken by Wijaya newspaper company's media idol Ruwan Wijewardhana and soap opera actress Upeksha Swarnamali of Paba fame that has less than three months political experience in Gampaha district preferential votes. UNP President Rukman Senanayaka was saved since he shifted himself to the national list.

UNP has again proved that nobody is indispensable for the party. The highly ambitious dissidents like Milinda Moragoda, Rohitha Bogollagama and Mano Wijerathna lost their seats and they now risk their political future, giving a good lesson to those who have betrayal sentiments while UNP has secured around 50 seats amidst most unfavorable political conditions.

After all, Sri lankan polity has granted all that was needed by the ruling regime. The opposition also is too tired of the present electoral system and the executive presidency and they will definitely support a move by the regime to change it if  is not primarily aimed at consolidating power of Mahind Rajapaksa himself. Not only the opposition, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party stalwarts like Maithripala Sirisena, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dallus Alahapperuma and even President's own brother Basil Rajapaksa will not support it whole heartedly.

Government has also pledged to commit to the development, good governance, alleviation of corruption and poverty. It is not standing on a very comfortable floor. But the prospects are ample if the government can sustain peace and political stability while developing a clear cut economic policy.

The people were lethargic to vote as a whole. Tamils were exceptional and the turnout in Jaffna, the heart of Tamil culture and Sinhala subjugation of it, was just above 20%. Tamils responded poorly to the military backed powerful campaign of the ruling UPFA that is led there by politico paramilitary leader Douglas Devananda. They did not overwhelmingly vote either for the Tamil National Alliance (Illankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi) that set forth a manifesto seeking a solution for the Tamil problem based on federalist principles. Jaffna Tamils outrightly rejected the All Ceylon Tamil Congress that fielded three ex-MPs, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Gajendran and Pathmini Sidamparanathn that were more nationalist and more pro-Liberation Tigers as well in the time they were in the helm in Tamil polity.

The fate was pathetic for the pro-government groups that contested seperately like EPDP led by Devananda that contested for Wanni district, the Tamil United Liberation Front led by Ananda Sangaree, Eastern Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan's Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) that contested for Batticaloa district and other politico paramilitary groups like PLOTE and EPRLF.

In Southern Sri Lanka the movement of the downtrodden rural masses, People's Liberation Front (JVP) and its breakaway pro-government National Freedom Front (JNP) were defeated humiliatingly. 15 pro-government ex-JNP MPs lost seats. They include the ex-JVP presidential candidate and Minister Nandana Gunatilaka who had joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. JNP leader who campaigned individually with the support of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa achieved highest number of preferential votes from Colombo district while Weerakumara Disanayaka was elected from Anuradhapura district.

All the JVP MPs sans Vijitha Herath, Sunil Handunnetti and Ajith Kumara were defeated. Jailed presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka and former cricket captain Arjuna Ranathunga were also elected from the Democratic National Alliance that was led by the JVP. They will have one more national list slot and will have to rise from ashes.

Sinhala Buddhist extremist Jathik Hela Urumaya leaders Champika Ranawaka and Athuraliye Rathana Thero were also elected to the parliament from the ruling coalition.

Upcoountry Tamil Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) leader Arumugam Thondaman was elected from Nuwaraeliya district with his two other collegues that contested from the Upcountry Tamil heartland district.

Colombo Tamils secured representation from Colombo district with the election of Praba Ganeshan, the brother of Mano Ganeshan. Mano is yet to be elected or not from Kandy district.

Sri Lankan Muslims have a sizeable representation in this parliament.

Old left has also won three seats while veteran leftist Vasudewa Nanayakkara was elected from Rathnapura district.

Sri Lankan polity has elected two persons from jail to parliament. They are NDA's Sarath Fonseka and Mathugama UNP organizer Palitha Thewarapperuma.

Many more persons that should have been jailed if there was law in the country have also been elected to 'represent' people.

Sri Lanka's fertilizer subsidy; Robbing Martin Ayiya to pay Bandayiya

(April 01, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka Minister of Agricultural Development Agrarian services Maithripala Sirisena said proudly addressing a pres briefing held in Mahaweli Center, Colombo that the government spends Rs. 65 billion annually for the fertilizer subsidy. This subsidy goes mainly to the rice industry.

The Minister said that the government bore a cost of Rs. 26,065 per an acre for fertilizer subsidy since 2005.

Eight paddy cultivation seasons have passed since the initiation of the fertilizer subsidy and the cost for the government for a farmer that owns two and half acres is Rs. 521,300, he said.

The cost for a farmer that owns three acres is Rs. 625,560 while the cost for a farmer that owns five acres in major farmer colonies is Rs. 1,042,600.

Sri Lanka provides a 50 kilo bag of fertilizer at a subsidized price of Rs. 350 for the farmers while the government purchases the same amount of fertilizer at a price well over twenty times the selling price.

Fertilizer subsidy fuels the vote machine of the ruling party in rural areas. However, most of these farmers are not real farmers. A good portion of the subsidy receivers of Sri Lanka are public servants who hire agricultural laborers to work in their cultivations while they manage them at the cost of the government via paid leave.

Sri Lanka's fertilizer subsidy is a specimen for bad concessions. The rice cultivation appears fully dependent on this subsidy and the subsidy needs to be sustained now for the survival of the paddy cultivation.

The whole country pays heavy taxes in the name of these farmers who have been over praised for their task. Criticizing the unproductive nature of subsidizing paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka has become a taboo subject.

However, most of the inputs of Sri Lanka’s rice industry are imports such as machinery, fuel, fertilizer, agro-chemicals and even the gunny sacks. There is no big difference between the garment industry and the paddy cultivation though most do not raise this issue.

Rice prices escalated sharply late last year and early this year. The government had to slash the import taxes for rice to stabilize the prices. Now the harvesting has commenced. Farmers lament about the low price of paddy purchasing prices in the market. They need the government to purchase their product at higher prices.

According to information revealed in Sri Lanka Parliament by the Minister Bandula Gunawardane in November 2008, the government imported 52,800,209 kilos of milk food accounting for 89.1 percent of local demand in 2005, but this amount had seen an increase up to 62,518,062 kilos last year. It was 90 percent of the local requirement.

The country had imported 57 percent of its potato requirement in 2008, and it had been a sharp rise against 33.9 percent imported in 2005. In 2006, the government had imported 37 percent of the country’s potato requirement and 52.6 percent in 2007.

Big onions had recorded an import growth of 71.9 percent in 2008 in terms of local requirement, against 60.4 percent in 2007, 61.9 percent in 2006 and 66.6 percent in 2006.

In contrast to attempts to boost local agriculture, Chillie imports had also registered an increase, as a percentage of the local requirement, from 72 percent in 2007 to 73 percent last year. In 2005, the country had imported only 67 percent of its Chillie requirement and 69 percent in 2006.

Ranminithenna once paved way to the closure of a radio channel now Sri Lanka's first ever tele cinema park

(March 30, Colombo - Lanka Polity)Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa will declare open the country’s first ever tele cinema park today in Thissamaharamaya in the Southern Province.

This namesake park is opened in the President’s home district. Hambanthota is the luckiest district of Sri Lanka under President Mahinda Rajapaksa although it is one of the least developed areas of the country. The district has won a port, an international airport, an international cricket stadium and many other projects.

Ranminithenna, the venue of the tele cinema park, once became famous with an early announced terrorist attack that led to a ban on a private radio channel.

Hiru FM owned by famous businessman Reno Silva announced in one of its news bulletins in 2008 that Ranminithenna village had come under a terrorist attack of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). The news proved wrong and the swiftly retaliated with the cancellation of the broadcasting licence of this pro-opposition radio channel. However, later there were some suspicious moves of terrorists in the area. By that time, LTTE was trying to expand war to south while the Army was advancing towards their strongholds in Kilinochchi. 

Later, Reno Silva cut a deal with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Reno's younger brother Duminda Silva, a budding youth politician of the opposition United National Party (UNP) joined hands publicly with the President denying the UNP. The radio licence was reinstated and the once opposition backing radio now operates as yet another trumpet of the government.

The government spent Rs. 600 million for the construction of the first phase of the park. The park is a concept of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa who has acted in several movies and tele dramas. The park is located in a 200 acre land and two production crews can engage in work in it now.

The construction was commenced in 2007. The park consists of an administrative building, a dormitory with facilities for 96 individuals, a large studio of the size of 130 X 70 feet, three showrooms for costumes, two seminar halls, two libraries, kitchens and 31 sets.

The inauguration will coincide with a street musical drama that is participates by 450 artists.

Read the comic column in our sister Sinhala blog:

W3Lanka නිෂ්පාදනයක් වන 'රන්මිනිතැන්න' චිත්‍රපටයේ කතාව | Story of Ranminithenna movie

Let them finish what they started in Sri Lanka

(March 23, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa is honored by Sinhalese for eliminating 'terrorism'. The term is generally used to define Sri Lanka Tamil's long drawn struggle for identity in the political system.

Under the rule of Rajapaksas, a rapid transformation took place in governance and politics as well. The liberal democrats might not like it but the majority of the voters had endorsed it. It is a transformation from the accepted norms of the democracy to a new political culture that the time will define ultimately some day.

We perceive that this trend in Sri Lanka cannot be averted now. Then why don't we allow to thrive it so that it can reach its culmination as early as possible.

Sri Lanka Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Divaina Sinhala daily today that no one could ban him addressing political rallies.

The Defense Secretary made this comment to the newspaper in response to the criticism against him on addressing political propaganda rallies of some candidates of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).

“Some question my addresses in political rallies. The way the terrorism in the north was eliminated and the situation of the country must be explained to the people. Anyone can say anything they like,” the newspaper quoted the Defense Secretary. He added that some elements could not put up with him addressing the meetings.

It is clear that the senior public officials that are paid with public coffers have no political rights according with the election laws and the code of ethics for the public servants of Sri Lanka. But what are the laws for in this country where the powerful politicos can stand above them?

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Minister of Labor Mervin Silva urged the voters of Gampaha district to usher Mr. Basil Rajapaksa to the premiership of the country following the upcoming election.

Addressing a religious ceremony held in Kelaniya temple, the Minister anticipated a two third majority to the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance at the general election and said that Mr. Basil Rajapaksa should be given the real leadership that can lead the parliamentary group.

Mr. Basil Rajapaksa, the brother of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, contests the general election from Gampaha district leading the district team of candidates. He is a national list MP and the senior adviser to the President. Minister Mervin Silva is also a national list MP. He is also a candidate for Gampaha district.

Come on, Mervin!

Within two weeks two poor mothers throw their children to rivers in Sri Lanka

(March 22, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Another Sri Lankan woman threw her new born baby to a river on March 20, several days after a similar incident was highlighted by local media.

Just two days before the three-year-old toddler succumbed, the second baby was killed within three hours of its birth and was thrown into a river,

The incident was reported from Ambalangoda, a town in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

The mother was arrested and she had confessed about the crime. She told to police the child was conceived as a result of an affiar with a Bangladeshi as the woman was working as a housemaid in Dubai. The father of the child is a driver in the house, according to the woman's confession. The employers have sent her back after the pregnancy was disclosed.

This woman is also a tsunami victim as same as the first woman that threw her child to River Kalu two weeks ago. She is 41 years old and has five other children of whom two daughters are married. She is a single mother abandoned by her legal husband.

Coal goes ahead in Sri Lanka but the reality still unknown

(March 19, Colombo - Lanka Polity)  Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday inaugurated the second phase of the Norochcholai coal power plant.

Norochcholai, situated in North Western Province, provides vicinity to Sri Lanka’s first coal power plant. The 300 MW first phase of the project is now near completion.

The government repeatedly says that the rates of electricity tariffs will be slashed with the commencement of coal electricity generation. Hope that dream will be materialized. Sri Lanka is among the countries where the electricity rates are very high.

The cheapness of coal power electricity is challenged by environmentalists. They argue that the cost of the environmental and healthcare damages are not usually calculated when computing the price of a coal power unit.

By the time the proposal for the coal power plant in Norochcholai was moved, there was vehement protest from villagers, environmentalists and social activists. Following is an argument against this move that was published by BBC.

The construction of the three phases of the project costs US$ 1.35 billion, Ministry of Energy sources say.

300 MW plant will require 2640 MT of coal daily. A minimum of six months stock will be (2640 mt X 30 X 6 ) 475,200 MT. One meter high storage facility will require over 100 acres land or 2 m high facility require 50 acres. To suppress the coal dust due to heavy blowing using sprinklers to cover this facility will be practically an impossible task. Even if it is possible the requirement of water if taken from the ground water resource will starve the agricultural crops and even the drinking water wells will dry up in addition to seepage of seawater. Desalination of seawater for this purpose will add to the cost of production of power.

However, now the plant in Norochcholai will be upgraded to 900 MW under the second and third phases. The cost for the second phase is estimated US $ 891 million. China CMEC Company is the contractor of construction.

The first stage of the Norochcholai power plant was started in 2006. The construction of the third stage begins in 2012 and is to be finalized in 2013.