Headline

Multiple lab tests confirm the import of low quality coal at the dawn of the new year. The supplier previously failed to meet tender conditions for rice shipments. Experts worry about environmental damage.

The Examiner got the long-awaited Preliminary Transfer Plan for CEB’s restructure, approved by Cabinet this week — engineers may challenge it in court. Although the power reform czar resigned, electricity reforms will continue. Disagreement is still rife about the draft electricity policy.

Industry exporters hope that the coconut exports will beat tea this year. But low yield, driven by leisurely farming practices, is worrying the booming industry.

Cyclone Ditwah destroyed much of the upcountry’s road and rail network. As the island contends with the mammoth task of rebuilding, proposals urge the authorities to build back better, including a new double-track line past Rambukkana.

Doppler radar is vital for cyclone prediction. Despite trying for nearly two decades, Sri Lanka is the only country in the region without it. Met department mismanagement and negligence are the main cause, say audit reports. Ironically, Sri Lanka operated cyclone prediction radar in the 1980s.

Sri Lanka, while disaster-ready for milder cyclones, isn’t prepared for Ditwah-level devastation. In the weeks to come, audits will assess the gaps in our disaster management systems. But for now, we look at what worked and what didn’t – asking if any of the 486 deaths could have been avoided.

People are dying of water-borne diseases, while food prices are likely to remain elevated. Most businesses in affected areas are operational, but not yet operating at capacity. Tea exports likely to fall by 10 percent. Damage to roads and bridges is severe. Reconstruction could take up to two years.

Claiming an article in the Sinhala daily Aruna was ‘fake news’, the government filed a CID complaint. The move comes as the government is pushing for a ‘co-regulatory’ model to supervise the press. Meanwhile, The Examiner investigated Wijepala’s claims, finding a gap between policy and reality.

Authorities removed hundreds of unauthorised coastal buildings this year. But when they tried to demolish an illegal cafe on Trinco’s public beach, monks erected a Buddha statue. The authenticity of the monks’ Pooja Bhoomi deed is in question and officials object to the law’s selective application.

This budget marks continuity rather than change. It falls within the IMF’s parameters and maintains the discipline characteristic of Sri Lanka’s post-crisis budgets. But capital expenditure and implementation remain question marks, even for the government’s own.