Why can Sri Lanka build highways, but not railways? Words by The Examiner Railways are poorly maintained, track length is shrinking, and the share of passengers using trains is reducing. H.R. Pasindu thinks Sri Lanka Railways can reverse this decline, if it copies the Road Development Authority. Read more →
Wine, women, and watersports: Sri Lanka’s forgotten Ramayana Words by The Examiner The Sri Lankan poet-king Kumaradasa fashioned his Ramayana from the familiar ingredients of great epics: gods, demons, wars, and sex. But it remains forgotten. To recover it is to recognise the sophisticated Sri Lankan engagement with Sanskrit literary culture. Read more →
The IRD is finding its mojo Words by The Examiner Famously bureaucratic and long neglected, the IRD is getting a facelift. Mick Moore is hopeful: fixing the tax department’s personnel and technology woes will help solve a good chunk of the country’s budgeting problems. Read more →
What do we want from SriLankan Airlines? Words by The Examiner SriLankan Airlines has accrued billions of rupees in losses. Many believe the government should sell it, restructure it, or simply run it better. But Stefan Furkhan argues the biggest problem isn’t ownership, it’s clarity. Read more →
Bond scam’s EPF losses still unknown as auditors hands were tied Words by The Examiner Eleven years after the Bond Scam, will the EPF’s losses finally be calculated? Past forensic reports don’t tell the full tale. Read more →
Spotlight Bungalows in the air: the case for low-rises in Colombo Words by The Examiner With their people-centric design, Torrington, Summit, and Senanayake flats persuaded residents out of houses and into apartments. Low rise flats offer a solution for cities’ high densities without resorting to the cold, dead shell of high rise towers. But soon they may be lost. Read more →
Why is the rupee falling? Words by The Examiner From boardrooms to Pettah there is consensus on the cause for the rupee’s fall: lifting the vehicle import ban. This is partly true. But the rupee’s rise or fall in the long run doesn’t depend on specific goods. It depends on the supply of money, argues Ravi Ratnasabapathy in this op-ed. Read more →