Category: Watch Tower
Opinion: A response to article “Pulling back the curtain on privatization of plantation sector”
By Devaka Wickramasuriya I have read with much interest the recent article where Dr. Romesh Bandaranaike has shared his “unique perspective” of Sri Lanka’s plantations. At the outset, I totally disagree with Dr. Bandaranaike’s contention that privatization was necessary as the plantations were the biggest source of political patronage in the country. While some political interference […]
OPINION: The Sri Lankan tourist industry’s ignorance of the North starts at the top
By Jekhan Aruliah I must first congratulate the Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority (SLTDA) before I criticise it. Just a few days after the publication of my article in June 2018 complaining their “Sri Lanka Tourist Attractions” map showed nothing in the Northern Province other than Jaffna’s airport, the SLTDA replaced that barren old map. […]
Opinion: SOAR’ing through the Cloud in Sri Lanka
By Chandita Samaranayake, Head of Application at Oracle – Sri Lanka, Indochina, and the Maldives The cloud, since its inception, has expanded and evolved into one of the biggest paradigm shifts in the computer age. It is changing how businesses run and people work, it is creating new categories and disrupting existing categories, and it is […]
Opinion: Northern Province Tourism? Is there more in the North than just Jaffna’s airport?
By Jekhan Aruliah According to the Sri Lanka Tourist Development Authority’s (SLTDA) map of “Tourist Attractions” at the time of writing this post, the only attraction in the Northern Province is the airport in Jaffna. I suppose we should be grateful the map at least has the airport. The SLTDA map shows the rest of the […]
Opinion: Importance of Financial Reporting for Transparency
By Nishan Fernando Corporate Reporting Bushman, Piotroski and Smith (2003) identified that the availability of information was considered to be a key determinant of the efficiency of resource allocation decisions and growth in an economy. Availability of information is linked to corporate transparency, defined as the widespread availability of firm-specific information to those stakeholders outside […]
Opinion: How China is turning bad loans into strategic investments
China’s Debtbook Diplomacy: How China is Turning Bad Loans into Strategic Investments Belt and Road is not the Marshall Plan: it’s comprised of loans, not grants, and China expects a return for its money By Sam Parker and Gabrielle Chefitz Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China is extending hundreds of billions of dollars in […]
Opinion: Towards a Common Future: a revitalised & relevant Commonwealth
By James Dauris – British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka The recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London brought together leaders representing the interests of 2.4 billion people, nearly one third of the world’s population. Sri Lanka is no stranger to CHOGM. It hosted the meeting in 2013 and President Sirisena led the delegation to […]
Opinion: In defence of international values; Salisbury was a lawless attack
By Tom Burn (Acting High Commissioner, British High Commission Colombo) On a quiet Sunday in one of Britain’s most beautiful cathedral cities, a father and daughter were struck down by the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. Sergei and Yulia Skripal are still lying stricken in hospital. […]
Opinion: Northern poverty and poor health reduced by lessons from wartime foraging
By Jekhan Aruliah The British author Charles Dickens created a character, Mr.Micawber, who was permanently in debt. Translated into a Sri Lankan context, Micawber famously made the point: “Daily income Rs1,000, daily expenditure Rs990, result Happiness. Daily income Rs1,000, daily expenditure Rs1,010, result Misery”. Simply put, Micawber said if your income is more than your […]
Opinion: Reviving Sri Lanka’s commitments to disarmament
Navigating a Nuclearised Asia for Smaller States: Reviving Sri Lanka’s Commitments to Disarmament By Malinda Meegoda Throughout its diplomatic history, Sri Lanka has maintained a strong anti-nuclear stance. Given the perceived need to avoid antagonising nuclear powers in the region, Sri Lanka has communicated this stance as a general normative and ethical position, rather than […]
Opinion: Geopolitical tug of war between India & China for Indian Ocean
“Geopolitical tug of war between India and China for the Indian Ocean, in case of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative is implemented” By Ruwani Weerasinghe Since 15th Century, Indian Ocean has been a source of disseminating cultural, political, economic & social transformation across the regions. Also it remained as a significant ‘trade agent’ due […]
Opinion: March to freedom or return to fear
By Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera The National Unity Government ushered in through a historic and revolutionary election in January 2015 has recently marked three years in office. As the Government attains this milestone, our achievements are many, but the road ahead of us remains as long and challenging as ever, and Sri Lanka stands again […]