Let me say this straight and clear. “Sri Lanka has not gained anything on EU conditions laid down to qualify Sri Lanka for EU GSP+ post-Tsunami special offer”. What does the EU offer us and what have we to comply with? 

EU offers “zero duty” exports for over 700 listed Sri Lankan products including apparels, rubber and fish products, bicycles, toys, tea and spices, electrical parts and few others to the EU market. That means, though our present basket is limited, over 700 Sri Lankan products can be sold in the EU market at subsidised “zero duty” prices, hopefully gaining increasing volumes. But who gains on increased value on sales?

With heavy corruption across geographical borders including money laundering, this is one major question that is not being asked and answered in detail by the government nor by the manufacturers. What is manufactured here for exports are exclusive “orders” from “Brands” received by product manufacturing companies through “Suppliers” on quoted and agreed prices. They not only have agreed prices, but agreed deadlines in handing over the finished product with pre-defined quality standards. What it means is, a “supplier” brings an order from a global “brand” and a manufacturing company with BOI-SL approval located in Sri Lanka that accepts the order is paid for its manufacture. That product is sold in a consumer market including the EU by its “brand” at a price fixed by the “brand”.

Once the supplier takes over the product from the Sri Lankan manufacturer, we don’t have anything to do with its sales in any consumer market. In simpler language, we don’t have anything to do with the product, once it leaves Colombo port. This too is important. The “zero duty” export concession is provided to listed Sri Lankan products and not to Sri Lanka. It is therefore enjoyed by the “brand” that owns the “product label”, perhaps with a share to the “supplier” on pre-agreed terms. May be, the SL manufacturer too gets “something” through the “supplier”, but that is wholly unofficial and out of public gaze. But for sure, that does not reach Sri Lanka and is not Sri Lanka’s gain.

What are we as a country expected to comply with, to continue with this GSP+ that brings us no economic benefits? First qualification is, Sri Lanka has to remain below the “Upper Middle Income” (UMI) category of countries. Thereafter, Sri Lankan government has to ensure implementation of 27 International Conventions that cover human rights, labour standards and rights, environmental protection and good governance. This does not mean ratification of “conventions” that SL has done in most instances, but also effectively implementing them with new laws and legal amendments where necessary.

Beyond economics, this requirement in effectively and sustainably democratising the Sri Lankan society is definitely worth complying with. Yet, all through past years when EU GSP+ was effective and in operation, neither SL governments nor the EU were serious about any of the 27 international conventions the EU imposed on SL to implement. The EU has sent 03 or 04 GSP+ Review Missions to Sri Lanka during these 17 or 18 years, that met numerous agencies, groups and individuals including the Head of State, relevant ministers, Opposition Leader and politicians, private sector trade unions and funded civil society activists in Colombo. All such review missions left Sri Lanka with a nod for an extension of GSP+ though with reservations at times on delays in implementation, except in 2010 when the EU was under pressure from Tamil Diaspora groups after the civil war was declared over in 2009 May.

This suspension was effective till 2017 for 07 whole years. The new government elected in January 2015 thereafter re-applied for GSP+ in 2016 June. What is important to note is that, during the 07 years SL was denied the “comfort” of “zero tariff” exports to Europe, Sri Lanka’s exports did not drop. According to the “Brief on International Trade” published by the Department of Commerce in October 2021, during the 02 years after the withdrawal of GSP+ the value of Sri Lankan products sold in European markets totalled 01.8 billion Euro. A little more than what it was in 2016, the year before the GSP+ suspension. Surprisingly, the value of merchandise from Sri Lanka sold in European markets during the next few years increased to around 02 billion Euros, before SL regained GSP+ in 2017. It only means, with or without EU GSP+, Sri Lankan products would be there in the EU market.

What needs to be stressed is, 10 plus years of EU GSP+ in full operation (that excludes the suspension), private sector labour that manufacture all Sri Lankan products in the EU markets, have not gained even the basic right to association and therefore not even collective bargaining, except in 01 factory out of over 1,600 factories. Repeal of the notorious repressive law, the PTA that was promised to be repealed way back in 2017 by the then government, is now said to take few more months if it does happen under the present regime and the EU Review Mission seems “okay” with it too. Environmental safety is under an axe with continued deforestation no matter who the government is. Breakdown in law, organised crime and mega corruption that involves the State hierarchy as well, would speak volumes about what “good governance” goes through despite EU monitoring of EU GSP+ with regular extensions.   

End of the day, if the EU is not serious about having their conditions implemented, and if Sri Lankan governments can go on dragging their promises for democratisation over decades with no economic gains either, we are only wasting our tariff and tax incomes in billions doled out as annual incentives topping up free infrastructure provided to foreign direct investors, expecting them to provide us with much wanted forex. We need something more than a forensic audit to see how much we have lost as incentives given to export manufacture, a seriously corrupt sector most do not speak about.

That’s a wee bit about EU GSP+ and we Sri Lankans for now.

– Kusal Perera
2025 May 02                

People use candles in the streets of the city Ourense in north-western Spain

The power is out and nothing is working. How am I supposed to get through the day?

That was the question faced by millions of people on Monday across Spain and Portugal during the worst electricity blackout in their history.

We ask people who spent the day without electricity about what helped them get on with life and what outage essentials they were missing.

Cash

People form a queue at a cash point in Madrid

Paying with phone and card has become the norm, but in cities across Spain and Portugal, queues formed at cash machines – at least the ones that were still working – as shops switched away from card payments.

“We managed to pay for our coffees with card when the outage first started, [but later] we didn’t have any cash so we couldn’t buy a thing,” Ed Rowe, 26, in Madrid told the BBC.

“All the restaurants that were open were cash only.”

Grace O’Leary, 32, who also lives in Spain’s capital, said she and her mum were counting coins to see if she had enough money to buy wine from a corner shop.

“Cash, apparently, is in fact, king.”

Jaime Giorgio, 28, was lucky enough to have some cash on him, which allowed him to buy food and other essentials.

“In Madrid it was quite chaotic, there was no tube and you couldn’t take out any cash.

“I had cash, but my flatmate didn’t, so I had to lend him money to buy things.”

Radio

This windup radio allowed the Buschschluters to tune into radio station

The power cut also led to an information blackout, as people spent the day without internet, WhatsApp, calls, and TV.

“The complete loss of communication was the most confusing and concerning thing… we were only left to speculate as to the cause and piece together news from people in the neighbourhood,” said Daniel Clegg from Barcelona.

The 42-year-old said the absence of information led him to looking at the sky to see if planes were still flying.

For Siegfried and Christine Buschschluter, an old windup transistor radio helped tune in to local radio stations to find out what was happening after their phones stopped working and power went off at their rural home outside Spain’s capital.

Christine, 82, explained: “You had to keep on winding and winding.

“It was quite a strange situation. I was born in Berlin during the war and it reminded me of those days when my parents tried to get some news – it took me back.”

The couple reckon the outage will lead to boom in demand for battery-operated radios.

And it is also on Daniel’s shopping list. “Essential kit for back to basics communication and staying informed that I completely neglected to remember.”

Tinned food

Jaime Giorgio walked across Madrid to take essentials to his family

Microwaves, air fryers and some hobs and ovens all demand electricity.

But on Monday food that does not require electricity to heat or prepare it were in demand.

In supermarkets, shoppers formed long queues and panic-bought essentials – echoing scenes from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We bought a lot of food that wasn’t going to go off, like tuna in cans, just in case,” says actor Jaime.

“The outage only lasted a day and now we have so much food, but most of it isn’t going to go bad, as it is easily preserved.”

Lesley Elder, in town Fortuna in south-eastern Spain, said: “Trying to find food you don’t need to heat up, that was more difficult than we thought.

“So we ended up having ham and cheese for dinner.”

She adds a little gas stove to heat up food in a pan would have been helpful.

Candles and torches

People turned to candles to light up their homes

Across the Iberian peninsula, people turned to candles to light up dark spaces.

Richard, who lives in the Spanish city of Alcala de Henares, said not a single street light was on when night fell.

“People were finding their way around by torchlight. It was quite surreal seeing the view from my window totally black especially as I live next to a dual carriageway,” he said.

“In my spare time, I make candles and luckily I had a few going spare so I could see in the dark.”

Sarah Baxter, from Barcelona, said she even used a candle stovetop to heat up food.

“We could heat beans and rice, and bring water to a boil for instant potatoes,” she said.

“It was much safer than a propane camping stove inside the apartment.”

Although candles and naked flames can pose a fire risk.

Powerbank

People queued outside shops selling power banks in Madrid

With no power people relied on having battery in their devices.

In Madrid, people queued outside tech shops to get their hands on a power bank.

Luckily for Sarah she had a solar charger that kept her phone charged through ten hours of blackout, and helped her elderly neighbour do the same.

Lesley says her Kindle ran out of battery. “No TV, no Scrabble puzzle on my phone. So having a couple of books would have been helpful,” she said.

Ed, sitting on his balcony during the blackout, enjoyed being away from his devices

But for others, not having access to the internet and their devices was a relief.

“Everyone relies on technology so much that it’s quite a nice reminder you can be more independent,” said Ed.

“You don’t have to be connected with everyone all the time,” said his flatmate Hannah Steiner, 23. “I was having a good time with my flatmates.”

Sara Francisco, 24, from Leiria, in central Portugal, said: “I feel this thing that happened was important to make us be more aware and be more conscious about our habits.”

– André Rhoden-Paul

(BBC News)

“Remember…. We will change all this when we come” said JVP/NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD), addressing a public rally during an election campaign in early September 2024 held for his presidential candidacy. “Change” became a keyword in their election campaigns all through parliament elections as well. When AKD said “all this” he meant mega corruption in governance, waste, negligence and inefficiency in the State, summing them all as the “dirty political culture” groomed and left by previous governments. We were thus promised a “change” with a new political culture that would be “clean and people centric”.

This clean and people centric “new culture” promised, lacked “transparency” from day one. Lack of transparency leads to lack of communication and accountability too. My personal experience with this NPP government to this day, is their total refusal to even acknowledge a letter addressed to the President, the Prime Minister and Ministers. Refusal to acknowledge letters of request to meet with President, the PM and Ministers, is strictly adhered to when requests come from individuals and organisations outside their politics.

Absence of transparency and accountability in this JVP/NPP government seems incomparably greater than what it was with previous governments, accused of corruption and waste. No major figures in previous governments ignored letters and requests for meetings. They at least acknowledged, even if an appointment was not granted. They rarely refused to meet with trade union leaders whatever political colour, with professional associations and with social organisations and activists.

Beyond that, JVP/NPP leadership’s denial of publishing information was evident when they ignored Opposition requests for names of former government MPs whom they accused without naming to be tabled in parliament, for recommending foreign liquor licenses. To date, those names have not been tabled in parliament and the accusation remains a mere slander. Just 02 months since forming the government, the JVP/NPP leadership got directly involved in one of the largest corruptions to date, releasing 323 containers without inspection by Customs that were “red flagged” and therefore mandated to be physically checked by Customs Officers before release. The Deputy Minister of Ports Janith Kodithuwakku accepted in parliament the responsibility of the government in releasing them without inspection. A clear violation of law and screaming “corruption”. How people-centric and how “clean” was that beginning for a “new political culture”?

Sadly, for the people, the Opposition in parliament has failed to hold the government and Minister of Ports Bimal Rathnayake fully responsible in providing all details about the illegally released 323 containers. Seriousness of this extremely arrogant, high-handed and no doubt corrupt act of the government is mentioned in the public statement made by the Customs Trade Union Alliance (CTUA) on the issue. They clearly say, they would not take responsibility “if these particular containers are found to contain low-quality medicines rejected by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), cosmetic items deemed unfit for use, illegal cigarettes, other illegal imports, drugs or even weapons.”

Timidity of the parliamentary Opposition is one major factor that allows this JVP/NPP leadership, though novice in governance to stubbornly hold back all information they fear would adversely affect them, if made public. Timid and naïve, the Opposition even allows the JVP/NPP government to go without tabling the 07 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) the government signed with India during the most recent official visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi. When asked for these MoUs to be tabled in parliament, the callous response was by Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath who said, if the Opposition wants them, they could request under the RTI Act. This 57-year-old senior politician Vijitha Herath had been a MP from October 2000 and a cabinet minister in President Kumaratunge’s government in 2004-2005. Thus, he cannot be ignorant about rights and privileges of MPs and the responsibility of a government in providing free access to documents a government sign on behalf of Citizens of Sri Lanka. He cannot be as stupid as he sounded, asking MPs to use the RTI Act to have access to the MoUs signed, though a lady Attorney as a JVP/NPP MP kept yelling in a TV panel discussion, the Opposition should request for the MoUs via the RTI Act. How naïve the Opposition is, was proved when they allowed the government to go free with that invalid, irresponsible response.

It is common sense, the RTI Act is irrelevant for MPs. The government is bound to table that in parliament, at least when requested. IF the JVP/NPP leadership believes there is no such legal binding for now, they should at least now accept, the new “clean and people centric” political culture they promised, requires them to be transparent and accountable to “People”. Holds them responsible in establishing the tradition of providing all serious information to parliament. The Opposition should also know, the RTI Act No.12 of 2016, does not allow for any information related to national security and defence to be provided under Section 05.1(b)(i) of the Act. Thus, the RTI Act is of no relevance even to Citizens in requesting information regarding the MoU signed on defence corporation with India.

Though both signatories remain silent on details incorporated in the Defence MoU, Vikram Misri the Secretary to Foreign Affairs in New Delhi was quoted in the “Hindustani Times” of 06 April as having said, “A defence cooperation agreement finalised by India and Sri Lanka on Saturday, the first pact of its kind, will make existing initiatives more structured and lead to more joint exercises and potential defence industry collaboration”. What does the MoU specifically say about “defence industry collaboration”?

This JVP/NPP government of President AKD is now in an understanding with India on defence industry collaboration, an arms supplier to Israel for all its human massacres and tragedies in the Gaza. This same government is also accused of ignoring all complaints about illegal Israeli presence in our tourist sector, constructing illegal buildings for “Chabad Houses”. All this leads to compromising the “Sovereignty of the People” the Constitution says is “inalienable”.

Let me wind off saying, “People’s Sovereignty” therefore demands all information related to governance, out in public domain. MoUs signed with India to be tabled in parliament, forthwith.  Requires all information related to the 323 “red flagged” containers to be tabled in parliament. Claims of few million Rupees saved from fuel, from MPs salaries but not told how and where they would be used, is not transparency and accountability. President not going for Sinhala-Tamil New Year ceremonies, is not what ensures People’s Sovereignty guaranteed in the Constitution. We don’t accept a political culture without transparency and accountability as anything better and decent than what has been cultivated by corrupt regimes in the past.

“In the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable. Sovereignty includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and the franchise.”
Chapter I – The People, State & Sovereignty / Section 03 of the Sri Lanka Constitution.

Kusal Perera
2025 April 25