Concerns have been raised over the credibility of the new player in the domestic renewable energy industry who recently won a mega solar project, as the company has informed the Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee (CANC) that it will arrange a visit to its previous projects once final approval is received.The Sunday Morning last week reported about the Ministry of Health seeking Cabinet approval for a mega project which will see the roof acreage of over 700 State hospitals and health institutions being rented to a new player – Power Loop (Pvt) Ltd.Local renewable energy industry sources last week questioned why a rooftop solar generation project of this magnitude, which would attract an annual turnover of around Rs. 5 billion, had been given to a company that had failed to exhibit its performance and previous experience in doing business of similar nature.Several domestic renewable energy industry companies that spoke to The Sunday Morning on terms of anonymity also alleged that since there was no report of the company in question engaging in the business previously, it lacked adequate experience in the domestic renewable energy sector.As learnt by The Sunday Morning in the detailed clarifications requested by a letter dated 25 November 2022 over the issues raised by the project committee as per the decision taken at the CANC meeting, the company had agreed to arrange a visit to a completed project upon receiving final approval.It is also learnt that the company in question had not even been registered with the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority.&nbsp;This is another issue which has been highlighted by the industry sources, who question why the unsolicited bidder has been given priority in a field where there are many experienced local businesses.&nbsp;They claim that entertaining such unsolicited proposals will ultimately result in discouraging the local renewable energy industry from working on State projects.Furthermore, a policy decision taken by former State Minister of Solar, Wind, and Hydro Power Duminda Dissanayake to charge 15% as roof rent has also been changed to allow the company to enter the local business sector.According to documents The Sunday Morning has seen, the company has agreed to pay 8% of the revenue generated to the Health Ministry as roof rent. It was learnt that the CANC had previously suggested a roof rent of 17%.Through the proposed project, which has not obtained Cabinet approval, company turnover of over Rs. 5 billion a year with a capacity of 100 MW is expected in the event the installations are completed. It is also expected that the project will generate an annual output of 141 million kWh, sources told The Sunday Morning.Meanwhile, when contacted, Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that Cabinet approval had been given to go ahead with the project and that it was a project that had been delayed for several years due to many reasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;“This proposal was first sent to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). It has been going for about two or three years. It has been going on since Dr. Rajitha Senaratne’s time and then during Pavithra Wanniarachchi’s time [as Health Ministers]. There were issues with the CEB. What happened is that Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera took it and the CEB has made its observations and given certain conditions. Subject to those conditions, the Cabinet has approved it. The CEB has laid down seven or eight conditions. Then the Finance Ministry has also laid down certain conditions and subject to that the Cabinet has given the approval,” the Health Minister stated.&nbsp;When questioned about the investment, the Minister said that as far as he remembered, it was a Chinese investment. “During Pavithra Wanniarachchi’s time, they had had around five or six meetings together with the Minister concerned – Duminda Dissanayake. The minutes are there. This came up during Rajitha Senaratne’s time, but it was dragged on by the CEB.“I didn’t initiate this; it has been going on for the last five years. The CEB is not in favour of this. By this time we should have had this. It was brought during Rajitha Senaratne’s time. Proposals must have been submitted during that time. They have had four or five meetings. I just did the finishing part,” he said.&nbsp;(To read more on this, please refer to the article on page 6)

Rooftop solar project: Unsolicited bid raises concerns

<ul><li>ISB holders ask Govt. to restructure domestic debt&nbsp;</li><li>Govt. expresses willingness to explore, but non-committal&nbsp;</li></ul> A delegation of representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently in Sri Lanka to hold discussions with local stakeholders.&nbsp;The Sunday Morning learns that they plan to discuss the implementation of the reforms programmes the Government has initiated following consultations with the IMF.&nbsp;A highly-placed Government source said that it was understood that the feedback from the planned stakeholder meeting would be used by the IMF to prepare for the feedback sessions, which are expected in the following month.The IMF team had held discussions last week with several line ministries and key departments.Furthermore, representatives of Sri Lanka’s financial advisor, Lazard, have also arrived in Sri Lanka to engage with the country’s debt restructuring programme that is to be finalised, given the IMF deadline of end April to receive the debt restructuring plan.&nbsp;It is learnt that some private creditors (ISB holders) had proposed that Sri Lanka begin domestic debt restructuring.&nbsp;However, the Government is not keen on the proposal.In May last year, Sri Lanka hired leading financial and legal advisory firms Lazard and Clifford Chance LLP to support its debt restructuring process.

Economic recovery: IMF and Lazard teams meet stakeholders

<ul><li>Can’t restrict docs’ flight, plan to propose incentives: DGHS</li></ul> Over 700 doctors including some medical consultants have left Sri Lanka and migrated overseas last year, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Asela Gunawardena told The Sunday Morning.According to the Ministry of Health, at present, there are about 20,000 serving doctors and around 2,800 consultants in Sri Lanka.The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) stated that by the end of August last year, around 125 consultants had migrated from Sri Lanka.As learnt by The Sunday Morning, some of these doctors have left the country after they applied for official leave, while some have left by vacating their post without giving prior notice to the Health Ministry.When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Dr. Gunawardena said the Government could not restrict medical officers from leaving the country.&nbsp;“The matter was discussed with the Public Administration Ministry but it cannot be restricted as it is discrimination against them if the Government restricts them from migrating,” he said.&nbsp;However, he stressed that the doctors, especially consultants, had a moral obligation to serve the country at this critical juncture, adding that there were many other consultants who were serving in the country.“There is a Public Administration circular. Without naming a doctor to cover up the duties, they can’t leave. However, what happens is these doctors get together and sign for each other to cover up and finally the person who signs to cover up also vanishes without informing,” he explained.Commenting on the recent closure of a specialised ward at the Anuradhapura Hospital, Dr. Gunawardena said: “The fault is with the dean and the vice chancellors who approved the leave. The same thing happened there – there were two consultants, they signed for each other, and both left the country. The person who was there had to go for a foreign training. We have sent a senior registrar to open up the facility.”Gunawardena stressed that it was specifically mentioned in the circular that unless there was a clear replacement, the higher authority was not supposed to grant approval.“What happens is that they leave without giving notice; they just vacate the post and go. Only those who use proper channels inform the authorities before leaving. It is a loss when they leave the country after so many years of training,” he said.He further said that the Government was currently discussing the possibility of discouraging doctors from leaving the country.Meanwhile, GMOA Spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe claimed that from 1 January to 31 August last year, around 477 doctors including 125 consultants had left the country, according to their statistics.“Even today around 50 applications for foreign leave were received by the Ministry of Health,” he said, adding that at present the impact was mainly due to consultants leaving as opposed to junior medical officials.“The Health Minister once said in Parliament that they would impose certain laws, that they would blacklist the doctors who were leaving, which they can’t do as it is a violation of their rights,” the GMOA Spokesman said.He further said that there was a special circular issued by the Public Administration Ministry allowing State employees to obtain foreign leave for up to five years.“They can work abroad, they can send a predefined amount of foreign exchange, and they can come back and join the service and they will not lose their seniority,” he said.“We have 20,000 doctors and only 700 have left. More than 95% are still serving in the country. We have requested the implementation of certain programmes to encourage them to remain here. That doesn’t mean increasing salaries but ensuring the safety of the doctors and enhancing postgraduate programmes. In fact, the Government has done that and it is in the processing stage.&nbsp;“We requested the creation of a good working environment. The drug shortage is a huge problem. We don’t see them addressing these. Uncertainty over the future has resulted in them leaving. This is also aggravated by the recently-imposed unfair taxes. Earlier the trend was only present at higher levels, but now most of the technical employees such as lab technicians are also leaving the country,” Dr. Wijesinghe added.

Skilled migration: About 700 doctors left Lanka in 2022

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) will challenge the new Anti-Terrorism Bill at the Supreme Court if any fundamental rights concerns are found.&nbsp;Speaking to The Sunday Morning, newly-elected President of the BASL, Attorney-at-Law Kaushalya Nawaratne said: “We will definitely be challenging the bill if we find any issues.”He said the BASL had appointed a committee consisting of senior members to study the proposed legislation.&nbsp;“The committee will review the bill and submit its report within a week. Based on the findings of the report, we will decide on any legal measures,” Nawaratne said.The new bill titled the Anti-Terrorism Bill was gazetted on 23 March. It is expected to replace the current Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979.However, civil society and legal experts have been highly critical of the bill from the time it was gazetted.

New Anti-Terror Bill: BASL to challenge if FR concerns found

President tells troops: 'Prepare to face great power competition'

The shortage of instant blood glucose test kits remains persistent in State hospitals despite the stocks of Indian manufactured test kit strips arriving in the country recently, due to equipment compatibility issues, The Sunday Morning learns.It is learnt that the imported test strips cannot be used for the available glucometers and that the authorities are waiting for the Indian manufactured glucometers to arrive in the country to distribute them to the State hospitals to carry out the usual instant blood glucose tests.&nbsp;It is learnt that a majority of the test meters used by the State hospitals are those manufactured in China and as such, are not compatible with the test strips made in India.The Sunday Morning reported earlier this year that the new stocks of test kits which are being imported into the country are expected to be sufficient for a few months’ worth of demand.&nbsp;However, as only test strips have been imported in numbers, their use with incompatible equipment has caused the testing shortage to continue unchecked. Earlier, a group of medical experts raised concerns over the quality of Indian manufactured test strips.The Sunday Morning also reliably learns that, as of last week, there has been no official quality assurance test conducted within the country to check whether the strips are up to the expected standard or not.&nbsp;The stock was imported during a period when an exception was granted by a waiver of registration of new pharmaceuticals. It is learnt that a waiver of registration for the specific test strips had been granted by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) last year.Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Academy of Health Professionals (AHP) President Ravi Kumudesh said that shortages still remained at State hospitals. “However, these tests are not mandatory. Many health officials are misusing this instant test. Ideally the well-recognised test should be conducted in a laboratory, but since it is easy to use, many are now using test strips,” he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, when contacted, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Asela Gunawardena said that there was an issue with regard to the machines as those available at present could not be used for the test strips brought down from India. “They will distribute the meters too,” he said.Nevertheless, as reported earlier, the Medical Supplies Division (MSD) said that it had nearly 7.5 million stocks of blood glucose strips in its stores and that those stocks had been imported by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) via a donor agency.According to a large-scale national survey jointly conducted by researchers representing several Sri Lankan universities, the Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Colombo, and the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) recently, nearly one in four Sri Lankan adults – 23% – and one in three adults or 31% in the Colombo District had diabetes while another one in three had high blood sugar levels in 2019.Last year, it was found that Sri Lanka had the highest rate of diabetes in Asia.

Instant blood glucose tests: Compatibility issues exacerbate shortage

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police has commenced an inquiry into the alleged disruption caused to fuel distribution operations at the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd. (CPSTL) at the tank farm at Orugodawatta last week.According to Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles, detectives from the CID have been directed by the Inspector General of Police to conduct an investigation into the incident which occurred on Tuesday (28 March) following a written request made by Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera last week.Minister Wijesekera has alleged that a small group of trade union disruptors attempted to damage or render inoperable several systems which are used for fuel distribution from storage tanks to bowsers.&nbsp;The CPC has already placed on compulsory leave nearly a dozen trade union personnel who are suspected of organising the disruptive activities.&nbsp;The trade unionists were protesting moves to allow new foreign companies to enter the local energy market.&nbsp;

TUs disrupting fuel distribution: CID commences inquiry

<ul><li>Ministry denies TU allegations</li></ul> The Ministry of Transport and Highways yesterday (1) rejected claims by Sri Lanka Railways Trade Unions (TUs) that the telecommunication network of the department was to be handed over to a private company.Last week, TUs attached to Sri Lanka Railways urged the Government to take immediate steps to stop the handing over of the telecommunication services of Sri Lanka Railways to a private telecommunication company which recently conducted the Islandwide Telecommunication Upgrade Project with funds from Asian Development Bank (ADB).According to the trade unions, the said project which had been carried out at a cost of around $ 10 million with the funds received from ADB had been unsuccessful.They charge that even after showing the futility of the project and the inability of the company to deliver on the requirements, the Ministry of Transport and Highways was attempting to hand over yet another communications system of the department to the same company.Railways Trade Union Collective Convener Indika Dodangoda said that the Islandwide Telecommunication Project for the railway service, which was implemented under the loan facilities of the ADB at the cost of billions of rupees (nearly $ 10 million), was “useless” as it could not be used at present.&nbsp;&nbsp;“This project is implemented by a leading private telecommunication company in our country. Due to the ineffective implementation of this project by the institution, it has become a system that is of no use. Somehow they have got all the money related to this project but the proposed training related to it has not been done properly and there are many deficiencies,” he stressed.Dodangoda alleged that despite this, due to its influence, preparations were underway to hand over the entire telephone system of the railway service to the said company.“They are planning to remove all the telephone services of the State-affiliated Sri Lanka Telecom company, which is currently in the railway service, and replace them with telephones of this private company,” he stressed.Nevertheless, when contacted, Transport and Highways Ministry Secretary M.M.P.K. Mayadunne denied the allegations, claiming that such a massive project had to be implemented after calling for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) and that no such process had occurred. He added that there were no plans at present to do so either.&nbsp;

Railways Department:Trade unions turn to telecom upgrade

The lawyers of the National People’s Power (NPP) are preparing documents to file a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court (SC) this month challenging the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) decision to blacklist retired Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Sampath Thuyacontha from entering any SLAF establishment.The move by the SLAF came following Thuyacontha’s appearances on the stages of the NPP and a speech he made at the Gampaha District meeting of the NPP’s Collective of Retired Veterans.&nbsp;AVM (Retd) Thuyacontha is a decorated pilot of the No. 9 Attack Helicopter Squadron and a former Commanding Officer of the Katunayake Air Force Base Camp.Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara said yesterday (1) that the lawyers of the NPP collective were finalising the relevant documentation to file the FR petition this month.&nbsp;“We are preparing the necessary documentation to file the FR. Any member of the armed forces is free to pursue his or her political views after they retire from the service. This action sets a bad precedent,” Nanaykkara said.&nbsp;He also pointed out that Thuyacontha was not alone in addressing the NPP meeting and was with a number of retired military personnel, including former members of the Sri Lanka Army and Navy.According to the SLAF, the decision to blacklist Thuyacontha was “with the aim of maintaining the internal administrative affairs without any political interruption”.Attempts to contact the Secretary of Defence and the Ministry of Defence over the blacklisting failed.&nbsp;

Rooftop solar project: Unsolicited bid raises concerns

Economic recovery: IMF and Lazard teams meet stakeholders

Economic recovery: IMF and Laz ...

Skilled migration: About 700 doctors left Lanka in 2022

Skilled migration: About 700 d ...

New Anti-Terror Bill: BASL to challenge if FR concerns found

New Anti-Terror Bill: BASL to ...

President tells troops: 'Prepare to face great power competition'

President tells troops: 'Prepa ...

Instant blood glucose tests: Compatibility issues exacerbate shortage

Instant blood glucose tests: C ...

TUs disrupting fuel distribution: CID commences inquiry

TUs disrupting fuel distributi ...

Railways Department:Trade unions turn to telecom upgrade

Railways Department:Trade unio ...

Blacklisting retired AVM: Lawyers for NPP to file FR this month

Blacklisting retired AVM: Lawy ...

Economic recovery: IMF and Lazard teams meet stakeholders

Economic recovery: IMF and Laz ...

Skilled migration: About 700 doctors left Lanka in 2022

Skilled migration: About 700 d ...

New Anti-Terror Bill: BASL to challenge if FR concerns found

New Anti-Terror Bill: BASL to ...

President tells troops: 'Prepare to face great power competition'

President tells troops: 'Prepa ...

Instant blood glucose tests: Compatibility issues exacerbate shortage

Instant blood glucose tests: C ...

TUs disrupting fuel distribution: CID commences inquiry

TUs disrupting fuel distributi ...

Railways Department:Trade unions turn to telecom upgrade

Railways Department:Trade unio ...

Blacklisting retired AVM: Lawyers for NPP to file FR this month

Blacklisting retired AVM: Lawy ...

Bringing the news paper to your fingertips