Author: Lancelot
Opinion: Rupavahini to Defense Min – What are the limits of Presidential powers?
September 15, 2019 (LBO) – The Presidential election in Sri Lanka is about to be called, and in approximately just two months, the nation will know who it’s next President will be. In the backdrop of this impending election, there are preliminary battles being fought all over the political playing field. There is a battle […]
Opinion: An apolitical Karu Jayasuriya is an attractive presidential candidate
September 6, 2019 (LBO) – The polity is becoming fed up with politics. Citizens who cast their ballots in favour of the successful January 8th mandate are disillusioned, however they are not defeated. Although the mandate has not lived up to exceptions, citizens still yearn for good governance. This good governance movement has been damaged […]
Opinion: The Relevance of Ranil Wickremesinghe
September 2, 2019 (LBO) – The hyenas in the UNP are chomping at the bit. In their delusions of grandeur they feel that the have the UNP leader cornered, and are drooling at the chance to feed on the spoils of his dead carcass. They want power, the only nourishment that will satisfy their selfish […]
‘s to lose
August 17, 2019 (LBO) – Noise. That is how one can describe the presidential aspirations of the most talked about candidates in Sri Lanka today. Whether it is UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa or even current President Maithripala Sirisena, the airwaves are blanketed with moves and counter moves from each […]
Opinion: Ranil vs Gotabaya is a victory for the Nation
August 10, 2019 (LBO) – Tomorrow, August 11th 2019, is Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s day to shine. At what portends to be a massive political rally, his brother, former President cum Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa will take over officially as the leader of the SLPP. The SLPP is Sri Lanka’s new major political party founded on the […]
‘s democracy
June 7, 2019 (LBO) – The truth is coming out. Dominating the news cycle in the last few days have been updates from hearings by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that is investigating Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terror attacks. So far four high profile figures have given riveting testimony under oath, and with access (however […]
Opinion: The demise of Ranil Wickremesinghe is highly exaggerated
May 25 2019 (LBO) – Over five years ago, residents of Colombo were regularly treated to a political satire based on the character Chaminda Pusswedilla. New editions of play were done on an almost annual basis, regularly attracting audiences that included almost every VIP in the country. Pusswedilla was a character loosely modelled after Sri […]
‘s criticisms of $ 2.4bn bond offering undermine CBSL
March 22, 2019 (LBO) – Former Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) during the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, has come out with criticisms of the pricing and interest rates on debt that came out of the recent sovereign bond offering. His contention that somehow the interest rates were abnormally high […]
‘s banks aggressively raising capital without adequate disclosure?
March 17, 2019 (LBO) – Banking institutions over the last few months seem to be making an aggressive push to raise capital through rights and debenture issues. Almost all banks in Sri Lanka are in the midst of some capital raising exercise. LBO has reported extensively on the subject of rights issues in the following […]
‘s budget is not good enough to win an election
March 7, 2019 (LBO) – Prominent UNP politicians are coming to the forefront to laud Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and his budget proposals as people friendly and positive drivers of the economy. The Finance Minister himself described the budget as ‘caring and values driven’ at a recent post budget seminar. Despite what are good intentions, […]
Opinion: The PM should aggressively defend independence of the Constitutional Council
February 15, 2019 (LBO) – The past few days have seen pointed verbal attacks on the Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Council. First by Wijedasa Rajapakse, and second by Parliament’s Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. The criticism by two high profile political leaders of the Constitutional Council comes at a juncture when the Council has shown itself to […]
Opinion: JKH board is duty bound to evaluate takeover defence/restructuring
February 11, 2019 (LBO) – John Keells Holdings (JKH) and its management seem to be asleep at the wheel.Whether the board of the most important company in Sri Lanka realises it or not, their company and its shareholders are under threat. Sri Lanka’s billion dollar stock market bellwether now has 3 shareholders who own in […]