Income of Rajapaksa Intanatioanal Airport in a month: USD 250

UNP MPS attaked at the AirPort

Opposition Lawmaker Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday charged in Parliament that both Mihin Lanka as well as the controversial Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) are failures.  He said that the Government invested over $ 300 million on MRIA but income during the past six months was Rs. 150,779 and this was mainly from Mihin.

Sri Lanka: President's 23 coor. secretaries cost SLR 2.3 M a month

Kumarasiri Hettige( left), most powerful

Chief Government Whip and Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told Parliament yesterday that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had 23 coordinating secretaries. Each of the coordinating secretaries was paid Rs. 30,000 as monthly salary, 170 litres of petro [170X162], a transport allowance of Rs. 30,000 and a telephone allowance of Rs. 5,000 monthly, the minister said. Minister Gunawardena responding to a question raised by JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the total cost incurred by the coordinating secretaries for the past three years stood at Rs. 37,798,327.67.

Sri Lanka: Non-auditied Billions, Inflated Chinese contracts and Laundering money

''So we have a High Commission in the Seychelles where there is a population of only around 90,000. We have a branch of the Bank of Ceylon in the Seychelles. And we have Mihin Air flying direct.
Would you say that is a complete supply route?
Yes.''

Exposing the ‘Seychelles Strategy’ - An interview with Dr. Harsha de Silva

Maheen Senanayake

Bribery Commission DG transferred: No reasons given

Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, Lakshmi Jayawickrema, has been transferred to the Presidential Secretariat with effect from 24 June. No reason had been given for her transfer.

Rajapaksa family run the state airline 'SriLankan' gobbles up Rs. 60m a day

The SriLankan Airlines incurs a loss of nearly Rs. 60 million a day, reports by the Central Bank point out.
The airlines’ losses are increasing by the year and the increase of losses stood at 31 per cent in 2012.
SriLankan cites increased prices of aviation fuel, economic downturn in Europe and delay in expanding and modernizing its fleet of aircraft as the reasons for its continued losses.
However, other international airlines earn huge profits, with Emirates recording a 43 pc increase in its profit to 887 million USD in 2013.

Sri Lanka: President Rajapaksa's vehicles collection has increased 1005% times since former President CBK time

Driving my car ....

Craving for vehicles has no bounds!

The Presidential vehicle collection that was worth Rs.30,900,000 when President Chandrika Kumaratunga relinquished her position has been increased to Rs. 3,400,600,000 by the end of last year.

At a time when terrorism has been defeated and it is not necessary to buy bullet proof cars, Rs.315,354,000 has been spent to buy such vehicles during last year. Accordingly, the cost of vehicles bought for the presidential collection during the eight year term of President Mahinda Rajapaksa is Rs. 3,400,600,000. This is an increase of 1005%.This is revealed in the annual report of the Ministry of Finance for 2013.

LT

Swiss Cabinet adopts law for freezing dictators’ assets

As a follow up to the events of the Arab spring, the Swiss cabinet has adopted a draft law on the freezing and restitution of illicitly acquired assets of politically exposed persons (PEPs).

The draft law is designed to be applied in cases where leading political figures enrich themselves through corruption or other criminal means and deposit these illicitly acquired assets in Switzerland's financial centre. It will now be debated by parliament.

Minster Weerawansa takes Govt to task; says Secretary to the Treasury should be in jail

Dr. P.B. Jayasundera

Dr. PB belongs in jail – Wimal

Reiterating that Secretary to the Treasury, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, is an economic assassin who is holding the economy to ransom, Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, Wimal Weerawansa, said the present economic agenda was leading the country towards a future mired in debt.

We will only leave the coalition only at a critical moment - Minister Weerawansa

Weerawansa: No future with Rajapaksas

'' Q: Will you stay further, with ministers who deviate from the right path so much?
 A: In 2005 also, the government had these defects more or less. There was corruption then also. When we are in an alliance with a government, we have to deal with many factors that we do not approve. However, we may be forced to resign from a ruling coalition at a very decisive moment. The JVP also resigned from the government coalition not because of corruption but because of the Post Tsunami Operational Management System (PTOMS). Therefore, we cannot quit a government due to simple reasons. But we do not think twice of quitting the government in case the government is responsible to a problem that affects the country crucially.''

 We don't trust Govt's explanation on casinos- Wimal Weerawansa

Sri Lanka: Political thugs take over tourist sea-sides ; victimes afraid even to complain

Bach Boys!

‘Beach boy’ menace would kill the goose that lays golden eggs; Political patronage makes the situation worse

The beach boy menace is raising its ugly head once again in some of the key tourist resorts and hospitality industry sources complain that if the steps are not taken to curb their thug like behavior it will have disastrous consequences on the burgeoning tourism industry in the country.

Sri Lanka: President sons Luxury car bumped into a three wheeler and removed by the special police

One of the high luxury cars of president son Rohitha Rajapaksha`s car collection has bumped into a three wheeler 1stof this month. The car called as shelby GT500  is made by Ford company in America and comes under high luxury car range. Eye witnesses say that police special task force came to the scene within one hour and loaded the car into a lorry and went.

Sri Lankan Government's secretive approach of Casino bill would make a repetition of the Cambodian plunder

UNP supporters oppose casino bill

''The problem lies with not legalizing the casinos, but, with the government's secretive clandestine approach.
Sri Lanka may be heading in the wrong trajectory. It would soon become a mirror image of Cambodia, Packer's latest casino destination.  Cambodia suffers an aggravated version of many of ailments that affect Sri Lanka: corruption, nepotism, bribery, a seedy government and the absence of independent institutions''

What is good in casinos? by Ranga Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka: KP had 200 passports and bank ACs in London, Frankfurt, Denmark, Athens and Australia

KP ( in front) with Praba and Bala

Charges listed against KP amended

KPThe charged under which an INTERPOL warrant was issued for the arrest of Kumaran Pathmanathan, better known as KP, have been amended. As of late last year the INTERPOL website said that KP was wanted by India over crimes, terrorism and the use of weapons and explosives. However most recently the charges listed have been amended and it now says he is wanted over criminal conspiracy, violation of the terrorist Act and violation of the Indian explosives Act.

Sri Lanka: UPFA candidates who lost in recent elections To receive government appointments

UPFA campaign logo

It is reported that plans are afoot to appoint a group of United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates who lost in the recent Southern and Western Provincial Council elections to posts of chairpersons, directors and advisors in ministries, government corporations and other establishments.

Sri Lanka: Massive kickbacks in unsolicited projects ( with China)

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa
toasts with China's President Xi Jinping

It has long been suggested that the UPFA Government’s signature fondness for unsolicited proposals comes from the generous fringe benefits they earn for some of its members. It is also speculated that Sri Lanka pays premium rates for its gleaming new infrastructure because prices are inflated to include massive kickbacks.

 In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, Treasury Secretary P. B. Jayasundera did not deny that commissions are factored into project costs. He only said he did not know. While acknowledging the existence of agents — who commonly negotiate payoffs and have close ties with the few names that control this Government — Dr. Jayasundera stressed that “no commission guys visit this place” (the Finance Ministry). The logical question then is where do they go?

Who is holding the President accountable for this colossal waste of public coffers?

Named after the President

Through The Republic Square and other media we learn that Mihin Lanka, the brainchild of Sri Lanka’s current President Mahinda Rajapaksa, lost 2.2 billion over the current financial year. As Colombo Page notes, “Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne made this revelation in response to a question posed by United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayaka. The Minister noted that the losses incurred by Mihin Lanka for the financial year 2011/2012 were Rs. 1.9 billion and Rs. 3.2 billion last year.

Sri Lanka: Houses of Excise officials fired at; No arrests so far

Houses of two top Excise Department officials came under fire early today morning, Police said.  The Commissioner General of Excise and Special Excise Investigation Unit OIC D.G.M.V. Hapuarachchi said that gun fire was directed at his house in the morning by an unidentified group.  He said the gun fire had damaged several window panes, a room, the verandah and one of his vehicles at his house in Pamunugama, Negombo.  Meanwhile, the house of the Special Excise Investigation Unit OIC Rosmond Fernando at Rukmalgama, Pannipitiya also came under gunfire this morning.

Sri Lanka: Bribery Commission In Question!

Bribery Commissioner Balapatabendi
and Sunil Handunnetti, JVP MP

Nirmala Kannangara

Eyebrows have been raised as to how the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption is covering up suppressing bribery and corruption charges against those who hold high posts in the government including the ruling party politicians.

The Bribery Commission has to be an independent body that is filtered by justification which cannot be messed up by any visible or invisible force and has to work against corruption and fraud. However, Bribery Commission appears to be falling to pieces as it is plagued with corruption and fraud.

Drift of the island: From inside Sri Lanka

you cannot miss these bill boards

One of the very first things passengers getting off planes at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport see is a huge portrait of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The view remains pretty much the same as one travels across the island. You cannot miss the billboards and posters in every nook and corner with the president staring at you.

The visitors are also likely to see something more striking – almost insane infrastructural projects, the thing which magnifies Sinhalese majority’s acclaim for nationalist government. Brand new roads, hotels and railway lines are to be the proofs of country’s tremendous progress. The greatest efforts to make these proofs visible are being made in president’s home district. The officials hope to boost economic development of the area by constructing a new city near dull fishing town of Hambantota.

25-year corporate tax holiday for US$ 1.3 billion offshore (China - ) Colombo Port City

Government has granted a generous 25-year corporate tax holiday to Colombo Port City, the Rs 172.4 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) project to reclaim more than 575 acres (233 hectares) of sea off Galle Face Green.
The project company, CHEC Port City Colombo (Private) Ltd, will also be exempt from tax on dividends for 25 years as well, as a host of other levies for a lesser period of time. The concessions were gazetted on January 24 under Section 3 (2) of the Strategic Development Projects Act.