Unredacted

Follow along as the president races from budget meetings to clothes shop openings this week. He’s also swapped out a key ministry secretary, in hopes of speeding up his digitisation agenda. Meanwhile, his party faces its own problems, with a mayor gone rogue, and trade unions growing restless.

Sinopec’s Hambantota refinery investment is now on ice. The negotiating committee recommended cancelling the $3.7 billion deal, signed last year during the president’s visit to Beijing. Meanwhile, the FSP and Northern parties snipe from the flanks.

The NPP’s general-secretary has $300,000 in fixed deposits, Sajith has 17 plots of land, and poor AKD has only 1.5 million rupees to his name –– asset declarations are out. Meanwhile, the opposition isn’t paying much attention to the budget. Some are writing letters to console each other.

The sudden and torturously-long weekend power cut had the government sweating. But it may have bigger problems rounding the corner: the Americans have come to collect their dues. If not paid in kind, Sri Lanka could risk the wrath of Trump’s tariffs yet again.

The Government is briefing its own MPs, arming them to combat criticism of the new anti-terror bill. But Unredacted learns some MPs harbour reservations themselves. The Mahanayakes refuse to endorse the SJB’s anti-government charges.

This week’s Unredacted is packed with the Rajapaksa family’s court drama. Shiranthi Rajapaksa joins Namal in Welikada. Their newest nemesis, the Bribery Commission, goes international with its investigations into Namal. But their party is loyal, refusing to entertain another for a leader.

The government won’t go for a new EFF programme with the IMF in March. Meanwhile, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s indictment has been sitting on the AG’s desk for three months. Gotabaya Rajapaksa grows modest, telling court he wasn’t involved in military operations when he was defence ministry secretary.

Two years into office and despite an increasingly turbulent world, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is riding high. To mark the anniversary, the government isn’t only passing laws, it's also beginning to grasp the reins of government more firmly. But rising fuel prices remain a dampener.

Diplomats grow frustrated with the Foreign Ministry, as Vijitha Herath is slow to implement existing agreements. The ministry has also missed important summits like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. But incompetence alone may not explain the diplomatic blunders.

Namal Rajapaksa was arrested for the fourth time last week. He’s in a cell with other prisoners. In one previous case, he was acquitted. This time might be different. The SLPP is taking no chances, mobilising their supporters through rallies. The government, meanwhile, is also taking to the streets.