OPINIONUrbanisation: A case for a mega metropolis
By Sarath de Alwis
A few weeks ago I moved from an apartment in Colombo to comfortable quarters in the basement of my daughter’s house at Battaramulla. The positives of the move are plenty.
Asia sees red over ‘green economy’
BANGKOK (IPS): The just-ended United Nations sustainable development summit in Rio de Janeiro has exposed the discomfort that many developing Asian countries have over buzz words like ‘green economy’ and ‘green growth’ in development diplomacy.
Promoting productive social protection
It is with great pleasure and keen interest that I associate myself with a wide range of distinguished stake holders in the inauguration of this workshop under the patronage of Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), World Bank and Department of National Planning.
LTTE was engaged in the drug trade to finance itself – Kohona
Drug Trafficking was one of the main sources of finance for the LTTE terrorists as reflected in the World Drug Report 2012, says Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona.
Muslims under siege
By Joseph Hammond
The end of the civil war brought hopes that the country could become united. But attacks by radical Buddhists suggest Sri Lanka faces a new challenge to internal harmony.
Hail me a rickshaw!
Where does the most ingenuous experience of a country’s true character come from? Did you say its ancient civilisations or its resplendent beauty and culture? How could you pooh-pooh our swashbuckling road network? The most fitting testimony to the island is its roads. It’s a thrill-a-minute ride that packs indubitable signs of where we are heading.
A sports economy: New mantra for a sporting nation!
Recent newspaper advertisements heralding the birth of a sports economy is indeed good news for sportsmen in general and sports entrepreneurs in particular. Tax exemptions that serve as attractive incentives are a much awaited step in the right direction for a small nation who has time and again made forays into the big leagues.
How tourism yield can be suitably incorporated into the sustainability paradigm
By Shelton Dharmaratne
Changing global trends will continually pose challenges to economic theory and policy and the ways in which we analyse tourism activity. Sri Lanka Tourism’s public policies are trapped in a dynamic, ongoing process and it has become increasingly evident that the Government is struggling to comprehend the tourism industry, its impact and future and how they should get intervene.
The Sri Lankan Government has a set a target of attracting 2.5 million high spending tourists by the year 2016 and to increase foreign exchange earnings from $500 million in 2010 to $2.75 billion by 2016. The required number of visitor rooms is to be increased to 45,000 by 2016.
Buying into the tourism phenomena
D.E.W. Gunasekera addresses issues of social protection
- Predicts that Sri Lanka will face formidable challenges in the future unless the issues of social protection are addressed now
These views were shared at the inauguration of a workshop titled ‘Promoting Productive Social Protection and Labour Systems in Sri Lanka for Inclusive Growth: Developing an Integrated Social Protection and Labour Strategy,’ organised jointly by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), Department of National Planning of the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the World Bank.
Branding Sri Lanka’s banking as high risk: Hurling charges not the best cure for healing
Differences of opinion are normal
It is not unusual for one to find instances where there is a difference of opinion as to how one sees oneself and how others see him. Such differences
invariably lead to hurling charges at each other and even making counter-charges to prove that the original opinions expressed had all been wrong. Such angry reactions, though not uncommon, prevent one from finding cures to heal one’s ailments if they had been working stealthily within one’s system without showing any symptom.
The recent episode of Sri Lanka’s banking industry being branded as ‘high risk’ by the global rating agency, Standard and Poor’s, and the angry reaction of the authorities to that branding is a classic example of the existence of and reaction to such differences of opinion.
The Central Bank: “Sri Lanka’s financial system is stable and sound”
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