NPP appoints two defeated candidates as NL MPs

NPP appoints two defeated candidates as NL MPs

They are Abubakar Adambawa and Ranthnayake Hettige Upali Samarasinghe, who unsuccessfully contested from the Digamadulla and Vanni Districts, respectively.

NPP's General Election TV Advert-ENB Snap shot

 The Island 2024/11/18

The NPP yesterday released the names of its National List (NL) MPs and they include two of its candidates who failed to secure enough votes to enter Parliament in last week’s general election.They are Abubakar Adambawa and Ranthnayake Hettige Upali Samarasinghe, who unsuccessfully contested from the Digamadulla and Vanni Districts, respectively.

The NPP obtained 18 out of 29 NL seats. Other NPP NL MPs are as follows: Bimal Niroshan Rathnayake, Dr. Anura Karunathilake, Prof. Upali Pannilage, Eranga Udesh Weerarathna, Aruna Jayasekara, Dr. Harshana Sooriyapperuma, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Punya Sri Kumara Jayakody, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Dr. Najith Indika, Sugath Thilakaratne, Lakmali Kanchana Hemachandra, Sunil Kumara Gamage, Gamini Rathnayake, Prof. Ruwan Chaminda Ranasinghe and Sugath Wasantha de Silva.

The NPP original list contained those 16 names along with Dr. Wasantha Subhasinghe, Keerthi Walisarage, Chamila Kumudu Peris, Abdul Fatah Mohammad Ikram, Ranjan Jayalal Perera, Mohomed Mohammadu Nazeeer Ikram, Clomet Martin Nelson, Romesh Mohan De Mal, Benita Prishanthi Hettithantri, Pubudu Nuwan Samaraweera, Sarath Lal Perera, Anura Hettigoda Gamage and Hemathilaka Gamage.⍐

SL needs ‘B’ credit rating to repay IMF: World Bank

• Government urged to prioritise digital economy and tourism
• Balancing growth and fiscal discipline crucial for long-term recovery

The Morning 20 Nov 2024 | By Imesh Ranasinghe

Sri Lanka’s new government should do everything to regain the ‘B’ credit rating by 2027-28 to pay back its creditors including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through affordable market borrowings, World Bank Sri Lanka Lead Economist Gregory Smith said.

Speaking at a webinar by London based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on Monday (18), he said that the government should do everything they can to regain a ‘B’ rating as the IMF goes from putting money to taking money out in a few years’ time.

He said that the borrowings from the market would be affordable under such a rating to repay some of the debt otherwise Sri Lanka will certainly have to go for another IMF programme to pay back the IMF.

Moreover, he said that during the discussions between the World Bank and the new government, they have stressed a few areas as priorities to develop the economy, such as tourism, exporting agro business and a digital economy.

“Digital economy is going to be huge, half in terms of creating IT jobs but also in terms of e-government and trying to make customs and tax collection much more efficient,” Smith said.

He said that the World Bank expects that Sri Lanka’s economy to bounce back by 4-4.5% with getting the economy back on its feet, “but then we go back to some of the structural impediments that might restrict growth to 3% next year.”

Further, he said that the government will have to trade-off between achieving growth and running primary surpluses as achieving primary surplus target through taxation is a really difficult thing to unravel.

He added that without growth, the debt burden is going to be huge in five years’ time while with growth it can be a little bit more manageable.⍐

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