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India infuses additional funds into ongoing grant projects

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High Commissioner of India,- Mr. Santosh Jha and Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development and Housing Mr. W.S. Sathyananda signed and exchanged diplomatic letters today (March 21) to formalize Government of India’s (GOI) decision to provide an additional grant of SLR 150 million for the Construction of Houses and Infrastructure Facilities in Sobitha Thero Village in Anuradhapura. 

With this, GOI’s total commitment to the project currently stands at SLR 450 million.
With the formalization of the additional grant amount, 90 houses shall be constructed in the village with the GOI grant.  The project is currently underway and the proposed houses are at various stages of construction. The project is being executed in collaboration with Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thero Commemoration Foundation.

 Responding to the drastic changes in the economic landscape of Sri Lanka, GOI decided to infuse additional funds into 9 ongoing grant projects in order to expeditiously complete these projects, while also minimizing the impact of the sharp rise in cost of construction materials on the original scope of projects. The extent of additional funds is upto 50% of the original commitment by GOI in each of the 9 projects.

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IMF grants waivers despite obligation breach & erred reporting

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The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviewed non complying purchases made by Sri Lanka under the 2023 Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) as well as inaccuracies of information reported to the IMF.

However, the IMF has decided to grant waivers and not pursue further action, citing corrective measures and a commitment to reform by Sri Lankan authorities.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair – Mr. Kenji Okamura, has issued the following statement:

“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reviewed non complying purchases made by Sri Lanka under the 2023 Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (“EFF”), as well as a breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5. The noncomplying purchases arose as a result of the provision of inaccurate information by the authorities on the stock of expenditure arrears at the first, second, and third reviews under the EFF.

“The inaccuracies in information provided to the IMF were inadvertent and arose because of weaknesses in the timely reporting of arrears by line ministries to the Ministry of Finance, as well as a misunderstanding by the authorities of the definition of “arrears” under the Technical Memorandum of Understanding. 

“The Executive Board positively considered the authorities’ corrective actions, the fact that arrears repayments will be accommodated within the existing fiscal envelope, and the authorities’ commitment to improving public financial management procedures in line with the new PFM law, to reduce the risk of accruing arrears or inaccurate reporting of information going forward. In view of the above, the Executive Board agreed to grant waivers for the nonobservances of the quantitative performance criterion that gave rise to the noncomplying purchases and decided not to require further action in connection with the breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5.”

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Abdul Wazeeth appointed to Parliament from SLMC national list

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Abdul Wazeeth of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) has been appointed as a Member of Parliament, the National Election Commission has announced.

His appointment comes following the resignation of former MP M. S. Naleem, who had entered Parliament through the SLMC National List after the 2024 parliamentary election.

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Tense situation in Kahawatta as residents clash with police

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Police had been compelled to use tear gas to control a tense situation that erupted between residents and police in Kahawatta following the funeral of a youth who was shot dead recently.

The funeral was held today (July 03) and the clash had broken out shortly afterwards.

Residents had expressed anger over the handling of the and had hurled stones at the police, reports say.

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