Sri Lanka Original Narrative Summary 30/03 

1. President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his aspirations for Sri Lanka to reclaim its position as the champion of cricket, highlighting the government’s commitment to providing all necessary support to achieve this goal. He emphasized the importance of maintaining a separation between politics and sports. He suggested that preventing politicians from assuming high positions in sports clubs could contribute to a healthier sporting environment.

2. The new Bill on electricity sector reforms will be gazetted in the next two weeks, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said. Subsequently, the new bill will be presented to the Parliament during the last week of April, according to the Minister.

3. Sri Lanka has recorded an export income of Rs. 983.7 million in the past two months, State Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Prasanna Ranaweera announced. He pointed out that this figure serves as a confirmation that the country is heading in the right direction economically.

4. The National STD/AIDS Control Programme says that there is a significant increase in the percentage of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infections in Sri Lanka compared to last year.

5. The Cabinet of Ministers has accepted the proposal to suspend the Special Commodity Levy Act from 01 January 2025, says Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. Speaking to the media in Ruwanwella, said the government intends to introduce new legislation aimed at safeguarding both consumers and local manufacturers.

6. The Illegal Assets and Intellectual Property Investigation Unit has seized property worth nearly Rs.100 million belonging to a drug trafficker who uses the alias ‘Kudu Noni’. Police say the Unit seized four houses, two boats and several vehicles.

7. Sri Lanka’s Headline Inflation decelerated sharply to 0.9% in March 2024 from 5.9% in February 2024. “Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2021=100) decelerated sharply to 0.9% in March 2024 from 5.9% in February 2024,” said the Central Bank Of Sri Lanka.

8. A Police Sergeant has been sentenced to four years imprisonment for accepting a bribe of Rs. 500, it was reported. The Police Officer is reported to have accepted a bribe of Rs. 500 from a three-wheeler driver to avoid filing legal action related to a traffic offence.

9. Radiological Technologists in the cancer treatment unit of the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital launched a strike action on Friday (29). The strike will continue on Saturday (30) as well. President of the Government Radiological Technologists’ Association Chanaka Dharmawickrama said the decision to strike was reached against the actions of the Director of the hospital.

10. The University Grants Commission has issued a circular to the effect that the title of Professor can only be used while a person is still serving in an academic institution. When he or she retires or resigns, that title cannot be used with his or her name unless he or she has been awarded the title of Emeritus Professor by the Council of the Academic Institution concerned.