Human Rights

Sri Lanka drafting fresh legislation for people with disabilities

Thursday November 9, 2023 11:56 am

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s ministry of social empowerment is “actively crafting” new legislation aimed at improving the rights and well-being of disabled people, State Minister Anupa Pasqual said.

The state minister said speaking to reporters on Wednesday November 08 that a new bill is being designed to “better the lives of differently abled people”, as part of the government’s commitment to “ensuring that differently abled citizens are no longer considered a dependent population and are treated as equal citizens, not relegated to second-class status”.

Pasqual said the bill is being drafted at the recommendation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Discussions on the matter have been ongoing since 2004, but concrete progress has been elusive, said Pasqual.

“We are now committed to drafting and presenting the bill to parliament within the first quarter of the next year. We have also organised a special conference on International Disability Day, set for December 1, under the leadership of Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe,” he said.

According to the state minister, among the tasks assigned to the Ministry of Social Empowerment is the empowerment of one million beneficiaries from underprivileged backgrounds.

“It is crucial to highlight that the 1.6 million differently-abled community members have not received the empowerment they deserve thus far. Under the dedicated guidance of President Wickremesinghe, we are committed to completing these initiatives in the coming year,” he said.

The state minister said in September that Sri Lanka is also aiming to boost employment opportunities for people with disabilities, targeting 10 percent this year from the current 3 percent.

Government data show around 4 percent of the island nation’s 22 million population has some disability while the government has increased the allocations for the disabled to empower them.

Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Open and Responsible Government Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi said in October that Sri Lanka also plans to issue special identification cards to disabled persons to make it easier for them to vote in elections.

Sri Lanka to issue special identification for disabled persons to make voting easier

A new initiative titled Empo 2023, to be launched on December 01, involves disabled individuals from across the island traveling by train from Colombo to Kandy, with a visit to the Dalada Maligawa and a special ceremony planned at the Peradeniya Botanical Garden, the state minister said, noting that the event will bring together differently abled communities from around the world, including China and Japan.

“It is a fundamental aspect of our government’s policy to ensure that the differently abled community is no longer considered a group dependent on others. To achieve this, we are actively working to enable their participation in the development and education sectors. The differently abled community should be treated as equals, with the same rights, technological resources and accessibility as the rest of our population.

“As we embark on the journey into January, our ministry’s primary empowerment goal revolves around productivity. We are keen on exploring how our community can contribute to the overall Gross Domestic Product. Our objective is to establish a micro-level production network involving one million participants,” said Pasqual.

“In addition, we have included proposals in this year’s budget. These proposals entail making the empowerment process mandatory, implementing a pension system and incorporating disability studies into university syllabi,” he added. (Colombo/Nov09/2023)

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Weather and Climate

Water levels rising in Sri Lanka Kalu, Nilwala river basins: Irrigation Department

Sri Lanka Navy assisting in rescue operations (Pic courtesy SL Navy)

Monday June 3, 2024 2:17 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Irrigation Department has issued warnings that water levels in the Kalu and Nilwala river basins are rising and major flooding is possible due to the continuous rain. People living in close proximity are advised to take precautions.

“There is a high possibility of slowly increasing prevailing flood lowline areas of Kiriella, Millaniya, Ingiriya, Horana, Dodangoda, Bulathsinhala, Palinda Nuwara and Madurawala D/S divisions of Ratnapura and Kalutara Districts, up to next 48 hours,” it said issuing a warning.

“In addition, flood situation prevailing at upstream lowline areas of Ratnapura district will further be prevailing with a slight decrease.

“The residents and vehicle drivers running through those area are requested to pay high attention in this regard.

“Disaster Management Authorities are requested to take adequate precautions in this regard.”

The island is in the midst of south western monsoon.

DMC reported that 11,864 people belonging to 3,727 families have been affected due to the weather in Rathnapura, Kegalle, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kalutara, Gampaha, Colombo, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Moneragala, and Trincomalee districts.

Meanwhile, the Meteorology Department stated that showers are expected on most parts of the island today.(Colombo/June3/2024)

Politics

UNP gen secy defends call for postponing Sri Lanka poll, claims opposition silent

The UNP party headquarters in Pitakotte/EconomyNext

Monday June 3, 2024 1:59 pm

ECONOMYNEXT — United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara has defended his call for postponing Sri Lanka’s presidential election by two years, claiming that his proposal was not undemocratic nor unconstitutional.

Speaking to reporters at the UNP headquarters Monday June 03 morning, Bandara also claimed that neither opposition leader Sajith Premadasa nor National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake have spoken against his proposal.

“I have made no statement that’s undemocratic. My statement was in line with provisions of the constitution,” the former UNP parliamentarian said.

He quoted Section 86 of Chapter XIII of the constitution which says: “The President may, subject to the provisions of Article 85, submit to the People by Referendum any matter which in the opinion of the President is of national importance.”

Sections 87.1, 87.2 also elaborates on the matter and describes the parliament’s role, said Bandara.

“I spoke of a referendum and parliament’s duty. Neither of this is antidemocratic or unconstitutional. As per the constitution, priority should be given to ensuring people’s right to life,” he said.

“Some parties may be against what I proposed. They may criticse me. But what I ask them is to come to one position as political parties and make a statement on whether they’re ready to continue the ongoing economic programme,” he added.

Bandara claimed that, though thee has been much criticism of his proposal for a postponement of the presidential election, President Wickremesinghe’s rivals Premadasa and Dissanayake have yet to remark on the matter.

“I suggested that [Premadasa] make this proposal in parliament and for [Dissanayake] to second it. But I don’t see that either Premadasa nor Dissanayake is opposed to it. To date, I have not seen nor heard either of them utter a word against this. I believe they have no objection to my proposal which was made for the betterment of the country,” he said. (Colombo/Jun03/2024)

Accidents

300 of 100,000 trees in Colombo considered high risk: state minister

Monday June 3, 2024 1:05 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Trees in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo are being monitored by the municipal council, Army and Civil Defense Force as the severe weather conditions continue, State Minister for Defense Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said.

“Within the Colombo Municipal Council city limits, there are 100,000 trees. Of these, around 300 are considered high risk,” Tennakoon told reporters at a media conference to raise awareness about the current disaster management situation.

Not all trees required to be cut down he said. “We can trim some of the branches and retain them.”

The problem was that buildings in the vicinity of the tree had cut branches on one side, causing it to become unbalanced, the minister said.

New laws would be brought in so provincial/municipal institutions could strengthen enforcement of building codes.

“We don’t have a single institution that can issue a warning about a tree. Not one to tell us what trees can or cannot be planted near a road.

“Trees should be suitable for the area. Some trees have roots that spread and damage roads, buildings. When the roots can’t go deep, they tend to topple over.

“Now Environment Day is coming up, and anyone can go plant a tree by the road. We have to take a decision about this. We have to enforce laws strongly in future.” (Colombo/June3/2024)