COLUMNSPetroleum Minister outlines CPC plans to breakeven by end 2014
Minister of Petroleum Anura Priyadharshana Yapa guarantees to breakeven the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation by end of 2014 through product variation and stresses that he will not increase fuel prices to minimise losses.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
Asian 5 Nations: SL in action
This week is important to a number of people for various reasons. It’s Holy Week and the religious rituals will take pride of place culminating in the dawn of Easter Sunday on 31 March. For those who have remained sober for the last 40+ days, it’s a time to celebrate the joys of the risen Lord with added enthusiasm, vigour and ale.
The reconciliation gap
A swashbuckling opening for the country’s second airport ahead of a vote on a US-backed resolution against Sri Lanka could not quite take away the sting of defeat at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Days later, warning bells sounded in Washington DC about an impending international war crimes probe if Sri Lanka fails to mount a credible investigation into alleged atrocities. The ruling administration in Colombo is choosing to focus instead on keeping the memory of war and bloodshed paramount in the people’s minds
Green Hat CEOs for geo responsibility!
Waste is a necessary evil with our existence and needs to be managed to ensure us a civilised living. The process of waste management is not straight forward and today the way we do it may in fact define our economic system as with recycling economy, circular economics, etc. Waste management companies in Sri Lanka are a rarity as many do not consider this area as important. That there is a need as well as an opportunity in this area is missed within the private sector community.
CEB’s revised tariffs: A new world record
The Ceylon Electricity Board submitted its revised tariff proposals for the revision of electricity tariffs to its consumers for 2013, through the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUC). The PUC as required submitted the proposals for consumers’ comments.
The revised rates of CEB are set to improve the world record already held by Sri Lanka for the highest electricity charge for any category of consumers anywhere in the world, this time for three higher categories in the domestic group. Based on CEB’s estimates, the cost of electricity delivered to each consumer is Rs. 24.47 per unit. However, the CEB’s supply and distribution costs to smaller consumers are much higher.
Wesley goes ‘zam zam zake’
After beaten Pathana the week before, the weight of expectations was high. All the eyes were on Wesley as to whether the previous week’s performance was a flash in the pan or whether Wesleyites was a force to be reckoned with.
Do democracies throw up clowns?
Italy had an election recently. Germany too. Within Europe, Germany has been playing the aggressive Big Brother and trying to impose some welcome fiscal discipline on nations which are dragging down the European economy with their welfare largesse, like Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Hurray for hierarchy
Last week, the whole world witnessed the ordination of a new Catholic Pope with many firsts. After almost thousand years, the papal legacy has shifted from Europe to Latin America. Some even speculated the remote possibility of an Asian Pope or in some media a Sri Lankan Pope.
It is an opportune time to have a managerial and structural look at the Catholic Church, specially focusing on the often criticised term, hierarchy. Today’s column is an amateur attempt to do so from a non-theological but a pragmatic perspective.
Cyprus financial crisis: Where there is hot money, there is finger-burning too
Parallels between Sri Lanka and Cyprus
In many respects, Cyprus and Sri Lanka have parallels. Both are former British colonies which gained independence in mid 20th century, 12 years apart from each other. Both had been embroiled in a costly ethnic war for decades. Both are islands located on convenient naval routes – Cyprus in the Mediterranean and Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean – offering enormous economic prospects. Both have no natural resources except a hint of some off-shore natural gas deposits in Cyprus and identified oil and gas deposits in off-shore Sri Lanka. In both countries, it is yet to establish whether these deposits are commercially viable.
Can Wesley and Science do it again?
Last week’s upset results have no doubt thrown in a lot of excitement into the schools league this season. Wesley has been playing some quality rugby last year earning them a promotion this year and they have started with a bang by defeating Pathana who were last year’s champs
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