      |
|||
Petition calling for British ban
on LTTE handed over to High Commission
|
|
||
Petition calling
for British ban on LTTE handed over to High Commission A memorandum calling for the ban of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the United Kingdom was handed over to Deputy British High Commissioner Peter Gregory-hood yesterday by representatives of "Peace Loving Citizens of Sri Lanka" following a huge anti-LTTE demonstration which took to the streets of Colombo. Thousands of placard carrying protesters, including Buddhist monks gathered at the Vihara Maha Devi park at 9.30 a.m. and marched through the streets to the British High Commission in Kollupitiya where five of its representatives, including Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, handed over to the British Deputy High Commissioner the memorandum signed by 100,000 Sri Lankans from all races and religions. The organisers said that Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera was one of the invitees for yesterday’s mass demonstration. The demonstration was led by traditional drummers. Some of the placards read "Stop LTTE find raising on UK soil", "Britain act now against the LTTE" and "LTTE genocide against Sinhalese". The theme of the protest was the desperate need for an end to terrorism. The demonstration was temporarily halted by the police at Kollupitiya, but was allowed to proceed along another route to its venue after Buddhist monks participating in the protest march intervened to explain to a senior police official the purpose of their mission. The group had made a similar appeal following the bomb attack on the Sri Dalada Maligawa in January this year. However the Foreign and Commonwealth office had maintained that the existing laws constrained them from banning the LTTE in Britain. In this memorandum the group has asked the British government to introduce new legislation or take whatever other steps necessary to ban the LTTE. The memorandum addressed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair says "All peace loving citizens of Sri Lanka are sick of LTTE terrorism. While the security forces are doing all they can to eliminate this menace, they cannot succeed and restore peace unless the LTTE is isolated internationally. Sri Lankans have suffered greatly by LTTE terrorism. They have killed and maimed thousands of innocent civilians including women, children and infants, assassinated political leaders, bombed city centres, destroyed historic Buddhist monuments and attacked commuter trains and yet they continue to maintain an office at 211, Katherine Road, London, which acts as a centre for disseminating spurious information, raising funds for their killing machine and engage in false propaganda". An organiser described "Peace Loving Citizens of Sri Lanka" as an organisation of the people of this country. It is not a violent group. We are appealing to those who can make a difference. Maybe it’s time that the people of this country realised that the army alone cannot bring peace, he said. The group consists of people from all walks of life including religious dignitaries. It wants to know why a country such as Britain is turning a blind eye on LTTE activities knowing very well the carnage they are causing in Sri Lanka. "They have an obligation to restore peace in their former colony not to mention an obligation to humanity to prevent terrorism", he said. All those who participated did so as peace loving citizens of Sri Lanka, he added. Nine police horses die of heat Nine horses belonging to the Police Mounted Division have died due to the excessive heat during the past three months, between March and May. These horses worth about Rs. 10,000 each now had been over 12 years old, a Police official said. Eight had been Australian while the other had been imported from France. Following doctor’s advice the remaining horses have been taken to cooler climes and at present 24 horses are in the Nuwara Eliya stables while 12 in the Kandy stables. These horses will be transported to Colombo only when the need arises, the police official said. Of the horses who died, five were on line to be sold while only the other four were being used, he added. Mid-Week Politics The implementation of the devolution package to resolve the ethnic crisis now appears to get further delayed with the government deciding to go ahead with the Provincial Council elections in August. The United National Party is yet to submit its final set of proposals. The UNP is of the opinion that any solution to the problem should be based on the thirteenth amendment in the present constitution. The People's Alliance government is busy now with deciding on candidates and chief minister aspirants for the August PC elections. Several PA parliamentarians - a minister and some deputy ministers - are vying to be nominated as contestants to the post of chief ministers. In the North Central Province, Social Services Minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake has opted to resign from Parliament. Deputy Labour Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon is tipped to contest for the chief minister post in the Central region. Earlier there were reports that Deputy Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella would be asked to contest for the chief minister post in the Central region. Mr. Kiriella is reported to have told President Kumaratunga that he had done enough politics at district and provincial level and had no plans to revert to that sphere of politics. There was also pressure on Agriculture Minister D. M. Jayaratne, known as the popular man in the hill country to contest. Minister Jayaratne turned down the offer saying that he preferred to continue in national politics at Parliamentary level. Deputy Health Minister S. B. Navinna is the likely Chief Minister candidate for the North Western Council which was controlled by the UNP throughout the implementation of the PC system. Mr. Navinna has been asked by the PA to ensure a victory for the government in his region at the August election. Deputy Transport Minister Athauda Seneviratne will battle for the Chief Minister post in Sabaragamuwa, PA sources disclosed. In the Uva, Deputy Plan Implementation Minister, former UNPer Samaraweera Weerawanni to contest for the Chief Minister post and his rival will be Percy Samaraweera from the UNP. The PA has decided upon Susil Premjayanth as the Chief Minister candidate for the most important Western PC and the UNP will field the Mayor of Colombo Karu Jayasuriya to battle with Premjayanth. The UNP has tentatively decided on Themiya Hurulle for the Chief Minister post in the North Central province. Mr. Hurulle is known as a gentleman in politics. PA aspirant Minister Dissanayake has pledged that he would win come what may. In Sabaragamuwa, the UNP will field the incumbent Chief Minister Nimal Bandara and has thrown a challenge to the PA to try and win the election there. The UNP appears to be confident to win North Western, Western, Uva, Sabaragamuwa and the Western Councils. While the UNP has a busy schedule for the August PC elections, the party leadership is closely monitoring the developments between the Premadasa family and former party General Secretary Sirisene Cooray. The Premadasa family which fell out with Cooray has now made up after the last commemoration ceremony of the late President Premadasa at Kataragama. Mrs. Hema Premadasa has already threatened the UNP leadership that if she is not giving nominations to contest for the next Parliamentary elections she would contest the next Presidential election as an Independent candidate. UNP sources said that Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe does not take Mrs. Premadasa's threats seriously and the party will not give nominations in future to two members of the same family. This would mean that Mrs. Premadasa will have continue to be in the political wilderness. Though young Sajith Premadasa has been appointed as an organiser for the Hambantota District along with Mervyn Silva, the party leadership appears to be unhappy over Sajith's closeness with some cabinet ministers in the South. Mervyn Silva disclosed in Parliament during the last emergency debate that Sajith Premadasa had been in the company of Minister Mangala Samaraweera at the Peacock Hotel in the South. When a government member asked what the duo was doing, Mervyn quipped, 'I only know that both of them were there till very late in the night and I do not know the details.' The state controlled print media reported last week that Mr. Sirisene Cooray who works closely with the Premadasa family may approach the UNP before the end of this year. When contacted by this columnist Mr. Cooray noted that he had no intention to come back to active politics in the near future and added that he was prepared to extend his co-operation if the UNP sought it. Mr. Cooray says that his affiliation with the Premadasa family had no politics but only the keenness to continue with the ceremonies in remembrance of his late leader President Premadasa. UNP sources say that the Premadasa family was getting closer to Mr. Cooray as the latter is a popular man who could continue with the Premadasa policies. However, Mr. Cooray is not keen to back Hema Premadasa in her political life though he would support the young Premadasa to continue in politics. President Premadasa, party sources said was never keen to bring in his family members into politics, like his leader President J. R. Jayewardene. Once when the late Chairman of the Western Provincial Council Duncan Fernando brought Sajith onto the UNP stage at Kirulapona, Mr. Premadasa was very annoyed and warned Mr. Fernando to keep his son out of politics. Mr. Premadasa told Mr. Fernando that he (Mr. Premadasa) was only keen to educate his son rather than drawing him to politics. The late Ranjan Wijeratne who spoke on that Kirulapona state appeared annoyed over the presence of Sajith and noted that if any one wanted to join the UNP, he or she should start from the grassroot level and he would not accommodate people just because they happen to be members of the VVIP families. After the meeting Mr. Wijeratne rushed to meet President Premadasa to report on the high handed act of Duncan Fernando. President Premadasa immediately summoned Mr. Fernando and warned him to keep his (Mr. Premadasa's) son out of politics. Steps to fight outbreak of dengue epidemic The National Dengue Task Force has declared a ‘National Dengue Week’ from June 22 to 29 to fight a possible outbreak of dengue epidemic in the country with the onset of the monsoon, Ministry of Health said yesterday (16). ‘National Dengue Week’ was declared for the first time last year following a severe dengue attack which claimed 17 lives. During 1997, of 980 suspected cases 193 were confirmed positive dengue cases. In 1996, the worst dengue attack was reported in recent Sri Lankan history, with 1294 suspected cases of which 401 were confirmed and of them 54 died of dengue haemorrhagic fever. Almost all those victims were reported to be children below 16 years of age. According to medical sources, the declaration of a National Dengue Week in 1997 brought positive results than they expected. "From the beginning of this year, 46 suspected dengue cases were reported from Colombo, Gampaha, Anuradhapura, Kalutara, Kandy etc. Of them 26 were from Colombo alone while eight were from Gampaha. None of these cases has still been confirmed positive and no deaths have occurred," the sources added. They also pointed out that a recent outbreak of a dengue epidemic has been reported from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia and this could be perceived as an indication of a possible dengue attack in Sri Lanka as well. "This time it has still not developed into epidemic proportion but it is advisable to keep the health authorities on alert and the general public well educated to avoid a possible disaster," they said. As it was done during the first ‘dengue week’ last year, this year also the Task Force hopes to educate the public especially students in the 10,000 schools in the country on the epidemic and preventive measures with the help of health officers such as MOHs and DMOs of respective areas and through them send the message to their homes. Through this method they expect to get the members of the public to destroy breeding places of the dengue mosquito. The Health Education Bureau (HEB) is reported to have already posted a circular to every MOHs and DMOs offices and schools countrywide asking them to organise awareness campaigns. It has also requested all school authorities to organise ‘Shramadana’ campaigns to clean and destroy mosquito breeding places in and around the schools. The HEB at the end of last month circulated a message among all regional health authorities which was titled ‘Dengue is a deadly disease and let’s get rid of the breeding places of the dengue mosquito’, to keep them alert on the issue. WB released Rs. 1.2 b to Mahaweli golden
handshake The World Bank yesterday (16) released the Rs.1.2 billion loan to the Ministry of Mahaweli Develop-ment for the extension of the golden handshake to over 5000 of its employees, the Secretary to the Ministry of Mahaweli Develop-ment, S. Ranavirajah told "The Island" yesterday . The World Bank in December 1997, signed an agreement for the release of a Rs.1.2 billion loan to the Government of Sri Lanka for the effecting of a restructuring pro-gram within the Ministry of Mahaweli Develop-ment. The Ministry of Mahaweli Develop-ment with a total employee cadre of 10,780 was declared excess and proposed the extension of the golden handshake to a high percentage of its staff. Following the announcement of the restructuring pro-gramme approxima-tely 7024 employees had applied for the acceptance of the compensation sche-me. However the ministry had only approved the applications of approximately 5,900 employees, which resulted in dissatisfaction amo-ng the rejected staff on grounds of unfair treatment. Mr. Ranavirajah said that approval had been based purely on a criterion of seniority. He further added the Ministry of Mahaweli Develop-ment has up to date made compensation payments to 600 of the total of 5900 employees from monies released from government coffers. Payment commen-ced last week. "We have up to date paid a total of Rs.100 million in compen-sation to 600 of the approved employees. The Treasury was ex-pected to release a further sum of Rs.50 million yesterday (16). The Treasury is paying 20% of the total cost of the compensation package while the rest 80% will be borne by the World Bank" he said. According to Secretary Ranavira-jah the total cost of payment of compen-sation to the 5900 employees was estimated at Rs.1.5 billion. He added that the World Bank contribution was expected to be released within a period of three months. "The release is to be finalized before August 31 this year." he added. He further denied that there have been inordinate delays in the payment of the compensation to the employees. "There had been no real delay. We completed processing the final details and the quantum of the payments to each employee only last week. We commenced pay-ments to 600 workers last week and have completed it. We will be making weekly payments of of Rs.150 million beginning next week for the rest of the 5,300 employees." he added. Denying allega-tions that the compensation sche-me will have negative effects with the leaving of senior cadres of the ministry such as the administrative, and engineering staff inclusive of the Secretary General of the Mahaweli Authority, Ranavirajah added; "It is not true to say that the scheme was posing problems to the smooth functioning of the ministry with the senior staffs leaving under the compensation pack-age. "All recruitment contected with the accelerated Maha-weli scheme started was over as the project was completed in the 1980’s. After this there was no construction being carried out, yet the workers were kept on. The ideal situation would have been for the recruitments to take place on a certain quantum of time basis. But we don’t have work for 10,780 workers anymore. "However the government is spending Rs.1.2 billion per year to pay salaries to these employees. But after we complete this scheme there will be a total government saving of Rs.700 million per year. And the scheme had been extremely successful with no protests coming from any quarter." he added. Wijeyapala's writ application transferred to
Supream Court The Court of Appeal yesterday transferred to the Supreme Court the Writ Application filed by Mr.Wijeyapala Mendis, UNP MP for Gampaha district. Mr. Mendis in his writ application challenged the findings of the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry, made against him. The respondents cited were Justice P. R. P. Perera (Chairman Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry), Justice H. S. Yapa (Commissioner), Justice F. N. D. Jayasuriya (Commissioner), N. A. Obadage (Secretary) and K. Balapatabendi, Secretary to the President. The Commission report had said that Mr. Mendis is guilty of misuse of power and that he (Mr. Mendis) be made the subject of civic disability. The petitioner, Mr. Mendis has sought a writ of Certiorari quashing the findings and the recommendations of the Commission. The bench comprised Justice Upali de Z. Gunewardena. The petition was referred to the Supreme Court in terms of provision to Article 140 of the Constitution, read with section 18(A) of the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry, Special Provisional Act 4 of 1978. Justice P. R. P. Perera ,Chairman of this Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry is a judge of the Supreme Court. It is a Constitutional requirement, that this writ Application by Mr. Mendis should be heard and determined by the Supreme Court. Veddah leader halted at entrance to Maligawa Kandy: The new Veddah tribal leader from Bintenna Uruwarige Wanniya, son of late Tissahamy of Dambana in the company of two of his tribesmen was halted yesterday (16) at the entrance to the Sri Dalada Maligawa by police security personnel saying that he could not be permitted to carry the axe. However, the three men were given the green light following the intervention of the Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyeratne. The axe is an inseparable part of the costume of the Veddah tribe and as such Wanniya did not agree with the police to leave the weapon behind. Wanniya was accompanied by two of his colleagues Uruwarige Kenda and Uruwarige Loku Banda. The visitors from Bintenna region were received by the Diyawadana Nilame at the Sri Dalada Maligawa. Tissahamy's son Wanniya informed the DN that he wished to resume the supply of bees honey to Dalada Maligawa from Bintenna. The supply was interrupted a few years ago due to disturbances, in the country. Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyeratne accepted the offer. Speaking to media personnel at the Sri Dalada Maligawa the new tribal leader Wanniya expressed his disapproval and displeasure with regard to the attitude of the policemen at the entrance to the Sri Dalada Maligawa, that he and his fellow men were refused entry with their axes slung on shoulders. Wanniya contended that there should be no barriers to carrying their weapons (axes) because the axe is a birth right of their tribe. This unfortunate incident would not have happened if some responsible officers who could take decisions promptly were posted to the important key places, Wanniya claimed. He said, we carry the axe even to meet the President. We carried the axe on us to Sweden too, he said. Asked for his views with regard to the LTTE bomb attack on the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Wanniya said that the act should be condemned. Religious places should not be destroyed. It is a crime. Responding to an inquiry about his views on the crisis in the north he said the issue should be solved by dialogue. Wanniya and his tribesmen accompanied by the Badulla district secretary W. M. A. Wijekoon and Mahiyangana Pradeshiya Secretary Sumith Suraweera were in Kandy on Monday to hold discussions with the President's Secretary K. Balapatabendi and some officials at the Kandy Janadhipathi Mandiraya regarding major issues with regard to the existence of the tribe at Bintenna, the traditional homeland. Free movement in the jungle land, permit the return of the members of the tribe from the Mahaweli areas, and the restoration of two tanks near Dambana to have water supply throughout the year for wetland cultivation. Wanniya said he was satisfied with the response of the officials including the President's Secretary Balapatabendi. Sunil Jayaweera assisted in the interpretation of the language. To promote
opinion to end ethnic crisis The absence of a body to generate strong public opinion towards the ethnic crisis is the sole reason Sri Lanka has not been able to find a solution to the crisis, said Minister of Justice Constitutional Affairs, Ethnic Affairs and National Integration, Prof. G. L. Peiris at a seminar held yesterday. Prof. G. L. Peiris, speaking at the inauguration of a seminar and workshop on ‘Official Language Policy and Ethnic Harmony’ for media personnel held at Sausiripaya said, it is the fundamental responsibility of the media and not of politicians, educators, university lecturers or NGOs to promote public opinion. He said, although Sri Lanka has achieved political maturity and a level of literacy which is comparatively higher than other Asian countries, a viable solution to the current ethnic crisis has not yet been found. The Minister added that last year Sri Lanka had a growth rate of 6.4 per cent, despite 30 per cent of the national income being allocated to the ongoing war. The Minister said, media personnel must not only focus on the extremists or " lunatic fringe", but must also reflect the more moderate opinions of the masses. " Despite the ethnic crisis, there is no deep- rooted hatred between the Sinhala and Tamil people," he said. The media must take responsibility to enlighten the people on this fact. According to the Minister, the lack of understanding between the two races is another factor that contributes to the ethnic crisis. "Sinhala and Tamil people cannot recognise each other, they cannot exchange ideas. We must accentuate the similarities." The similarities between the two races, their cultures and rituals must be highlighted, instead of the differences, said the Minister. Prof. G. L. Peiris added that to create a plural, multi- ethnic community, it is vital that power is shared. Although 100 per cent co-operation between political parties is not possible, a consensus between the two major political parties must be achieved. In conclusion the Minister said, the creating and strengthening of such a community is a social task adding that it is a social process that must be spearheaded by the media. Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam, President’s Counsel and Member of Parliament who spoke at the seminar echoed the Minister’s sentiments. He said, although bridges, houses and factories have been built, Sri Lanka has failed to strengthen its’ institutions. He added that institutions such as the judiciary, public service and media must be strengthened in order to create a multi- ethnic society. Dr. Thiruchelvam said the report published by the Centre for Policy Alternatives stated that the media had contributed to the aggravation of the conflict. The report based on studies conducted by several NGOs and research institutions was published last year. The media must ensure that the report is fair, balanced and accurate. Dr. Thiruchelvam said, it is a handicap that the single most important event in the country today cannot be reported accurately. " We are able to report on the Afghan and Bosnia conflict, but not on the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis." The media in Sri Lanka are not able to inform the public, through photographs, footage or news. " I have criticized the government policy regarding this matter on numerous occasions. I am also disappointed that the media is accepting the policy. The fundamental responsibility of the media which is informing the public is severely compromised." Dr. Thiruchelvam said, according a provision in the constitutional reform in 1978, a person has a right to communicate in the official language (Sinhala or Tamil) of his choice. Two commissions have been appointed to date and a committee to monitor the Official Language Commission has also been appointed to ensure the official language rights of all persons are protected. During the seminar, High Commissioner for United Kingdom, David Tatham spoke on the ‘North Ireland Peace Agreement’. Minister of Livestock Development and Estate Infrastructure, S. Thondaman, Attorney General of Sri Lanka, Sarath N. Silva, Commissioner of Official Languages, Nimal Samarasundera, Secretary (media) of Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, K. C. Logeswaran and Chairman, Independence Television Network Ltd., A. M. Karunaratne were also present. The workshop organised jointly by the Department of Official Language with the national Integration Unit and Western province Media Forum included discussions on media policy and role of electronic media. Three-man committee to probe fishing Minister of Fish-eries and Aquatic Resources, Mahinda Rajapakse has appointed a three- man committee to look into the problems that has arisen between "Pursein" Fisherman (fishermen who use nets akin to a purse) and other fishermen who use Gills or ordinary nets in the Southern Coast. These ‘Purseiners’ mostly in the coastal area between Beru-wala upto Kuda-wella who use these nets are believed to be getting a very good catch. They are also using powerful lights and other devices inspite of the prohibition on them, to attract a large number of fish as well as a variety of tuna. The other fishermen believe that they are catching too much of fish from these coastal areas, especially due to the fact that the Purseiners are rea-ping fish that is good in quality and fetch a better price, sources said. The committe which will be headed by Sunimal Fernando, a former lecturer at the University of Pera-deniya will study the problem and also have discussions with the fishermen and then report to the Ministry as to how the dispute can be resolved. The adviser to the Ministry, Henry Goonawardene and Wijayananda Peiris are the other members of the committee. ACAS funds Rs. 5.3m for development projects in North and East The Australian High Commission has released Rs. 5.3 million for Government and Non Governmental Organisations to implement ten community development projects in North and East, under the third funding round in this financial year. The funds were released under the Australian Community Assistance Scheme (ACAS) for projects in the field of income generating, self employment, minor irrigation, rehabilitation, promotion of vocational training and health and sanitation projects, for the benefit of resettlers in the newly cleared areas. The Neervely Sri Murugan Women's Cooperative Society, the Community Trust Fund, the Rural Development Foundation, Valvuthayam, World Vision Lanka, Sri Lanka National Freedom From Hunger Campaign Board, the Trincomalee District Young Men's Hindu Association, the Kalmunai Young Men's Christian Association, the Economic Development Rehabilitation Organisation and the Trincomalee District Refugee Welfare Association are the successful organisations in this funding round. Projects funded under Australian Community Assistance Scheme were focused on urgent needs of recently resettled families in Mannar, Jaffna and Eastern area. The main objective of this funding was to assist persons previously displaced by ethnic conflict. The Australian High Commission would like to make an open invitation to prepositive NGOs to submit their development proposals for consideration under new funding allocations by July 31, 1998. Proposals could be developed according to guidelines and the submission format available from the Aid Section of the Australian High Commission. (Press Release) Poor response to SLBC voluntary retirement
scheme The response to the voluntary retirement scheme offered to the staff of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) was far below expectations, SLBC Director General Eriq Fernando said yesterday. The number of applications received by Monday which was the closing day was 350. The organisation requires a 50% reduction of its staff of 1800. We can manage with much less in an institution which channels 60% of its revenue for paying salaries and overtime expenses, he told ‘The Island’. He said there were constant queries from employees who had reservations whether they would receive compensation, as promised. Once they are convinced there will be pressure to extend the closing date, but this will be decided by higher authorities. He said that the employees who did not opt to retire under a less attractive voluntary retirement scheme last year could benefit from this new scheme which pays one and a half month’s salary for each year of service to be rendered till the employee’s retirement age of 55 years. Mr. Fernando said that every attempt is being made to pay compensation on the day of their voluntary retirement itself. He said that the SLBC which once enjoyed a monopoly in its field still uses obsolete equipment competing with other better equipped radio stations. SLBC still has a DJ to spin the discs, he said. The highest amount of compensation an employee of the SLBC can hope to gain under the voluntary retirement scheme will be Rs. 350,000. This amount is the maximum to be paid to any employee of the highest grade receiving a monthly salary of over Rs. 9,500 who had been in service since 1967 as the term of service is calculated from 1967 onwards. This quantum of compensation is paid after calculating one and a half month’s salary for each year in service, he said. Employees under 55 years and those who have been made permanent or working under contract basis were also eligible to apply for this scheme. The employees working on contract basis however will not be paid compensation for years of service to be completed (till the age 55) as the other permanent employees, he explained. Compensation to be paid for every employee is calculated from January 5, 1967 onwards. The term for paying compensation for each employee is calculated from the date of appointment to the date the employee reaches the age of 55 years. If any employee had worked over 252 days before receiving permanency this time will be calculated as one year for the payment of compensation. Those who have been suspended from service for minor offences was also eligible to apply for this scheme under the approval of the Director General. The SLBC has also promised its employees to assist them in obtaining EPF and ETF, Mr. Fernando said. McDonald fast foods in town soon The world famous US fast food chain McDonald has decided to come to Sri Lanka. Mr. Steve Simpson, Vice President and Shareholder of McDonald's International of USA said that their first Restaurant in Sri Lanka will be opened at Kollupitiya by September this year in collaboration with the Abans Group of Companies. The initial investment in the Sri Lankan operation will be around US$ 2.0 Mn and will increase to around US$ 4.5 Mn in setting up 6 to 7 outlets in 3 to 4 years depending on the success of the first Restaurant at Kollupitiya. Mr. Simpson told Mr. C. V. Gooneratne, Minister of Industrial Development when he met recently with Mr. Bill Rose, Senior Vice President of the McDonald's South East Asian region operation and Mr. Rusi Pestonjee, Director and Shareholder of the Abans Group of Companies to discuss future investment plans and opportunities for McDonald's International. Mr. M. Susiriwardana, Director Industrial Economics and Mr. Ariyapala de Silva ,Director Investment of the Ministry of Industrial Development were also present at the discussions. Mr. Simpson said that McDonald's do not usually rush to go into a country. Twelve Sri Lankan Managers are now completing a one year training in Australia to undertake Sri Lankan operation. He observed that the investment climate in Sri Lanka is attractive and there is tremendous potential for expansion. They are now in search of further sites to set up more McDonald's outlets. The first restaurant will employ around 80 to 90 persons and they hope to increase this to between 800 and 1000 within the next 3 to 4 years. Mr. Simpson also said that they are not coming in a foot-loose manner but to stay long being an integral part of the Sri Lankan community. McDonald's will not only set up the fast food outlets but also establish supplies base even for their other operations worldwide. Already they are the largest single non-wholesale buyer of Sri Lankan tea. Production trials are already in progress for the cultivation of lettuce. Arrangements for backward integration are being already initiated with a number of Sri Lankan firms. McDonald's which came to India in 1996 have already opened 19 outlets there and they export a number of Indian products to other countries. Pleased with the progress so far achieved, Minister Gooneratne pointed out that tax and duty free incentives have been already granted to this project under the Advanced Technology Package offered by the Government and assured that every assistance will be extended to see that the project is implemented successfully. He said that for Sri Lanka to achieve a faster growth, it is necessary to supplement our present investment level of around 25% of the GDP to around 30% and we need to attract more and more foreign investments for this. This will in turn boost income levels of the country creating more employment opportunities for the unemployed. This is why the government is so particular about attracting foreign investments and the decision by a highly reputed company like McDonald's to come to Sri Lanka will not only provide more employment and income opportunities but also a certification on favourable investment climate in Sri Lanka. It will also lead to attract more tourists to Sri Lanka. The Minister also pointed out that a large number of world famous firms like Shell, Caltex, P & O, Free Port MacMoran, RPG Group etc, have recently invested in Sri Lanka and the Advanced Technology tax incentives have been already used by 245 companies out of the 458 companies approved since 1996. CNAPT - 50 years of sustained service The CNAPT marks its 50th Anniversary today (17). The Association came in to being because many people throughout the country realised the need for a concentrated thrust against the scourge of Tuberculosis, which was devastating the health of the people of this country. From the time the Association was established, it has provided over the years a sustained service for the prevention and control of Tuberculosis, in Sri Lanka. Many of us are aware of the success of the CNAPT, as a service organization. The WHO has warned that Tuberculosis is rising its ugly head once again, and that in the next ten years around 90 million people in the world would be infected. The WHO had declared Tuberculosis as a "Global Emergency". Sri Lanka may not be completely immune to this rising incident of Tuberculosis. The CNAPT now has to change its traditional role and develop a new approach to meet the challenges of the disease during the 21st century. The occasion of the 50th anniversary will be a good focal point to plan for this transition. We have envisaged a series of events to mark the occasion. (Press Release) E. C. G. Athukorala passes away The death occurred yesterday evening of E. C. G. Athukorala (77), father of UNP General Secretary Gamini Athukorala. E. C. G. Athukorala was an active politician of the UNP since 1960 and was a long standing member of the UNP Working Committee. Mr. Athukorala also functioned as District Organizer for the UNP in the Ratnapura District in 1977. The body is scheduled to be taken to the Panawanna Estate in Kahawatte this morning, and the funeral is to take place at the Panawanna Estate itself, at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday. GALLE: Traffic police personnel from Galle on Monday night arrested a person in possessin of a T-56 automatic weapon and four live bullets at Lintonwatte, at Indiketiya in Ambalangoda. The suspect identified as Muthumani Gunapala is alleged to have confessed that he stole the automatic weapon while employed in a household in Kuwait. |
|||
 |
|||
