Author: Rohan Samarajiva

October 23, 2006 (LBO) – Recently the government imposed tougher import conditions on non-essential items: http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lanka-slaps-limits-on-non-essential-imports-to-curb-credit-growth/ Luxury goods according to the Government of Sri Lanka Palm Oil Chocolates Bread, pastry, cakes, biscuits and other bakers’ wares Beer Wine, vermouth and other fermented beverages Spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages Perfumes and toilet waters Beauty or […]

October 16, 2006 (LBO) – “While the JVP supports a vibrant free market economy to generate growth, we are completely against an unbridled, uncontrolled open economy, which in the long run would cause immense harm to our economy. We believe in an economic model based on the successful models of India and China.” (Somawansa Amarasinghe’s […]

August 28, 2006 (LBO) – In a discussion of two pieces of trade-related legislation now before Parliament, a JVP MP stated that they served the interests of the World Terrorist Organization as he described the WTO (World Trade Organization). It is not surprising that his venom was directed at the WTO and the concepts free […]

August 7, 2006 (LBO) – Generic is cheap and utilitarian. Brand is expensive and status conferring. That’s the common wisdom. But those in the new, hot field of country/place branding say that “every country is a brand, either by default or design.” What is implied is that there are good brands as well as bad. […]

July 25, 2006 (LBO) – The 2004 tsunami was a shock. One out of 500 Sri Lankans died in the short space of three and a half hours when walls of water hit them without even one minute of official warning. We all agreed then that things could not go on the way they had. […]

July 11, 2006 (LBO) – Do infrastructure reforms increase disparities between the wealthy areas around Colombo and the rest of the country? Do they yield kiri for Colombo and kekiri for others? The Central Bank’s Consumer Finance Survey which gives us a snapshot of the household distribution of infrastructure services at the provincial level in […]

July 3, 2006 (LBO) – The Information and Communication Technology Act, No 27 of 2003, was a watershed for a number of reasons. It created a fully government owned company to implement a complex, cross-cutting policy initiative, the e Sri Lanka Initiative, initially funded at 53 million dollars by the World Bank. buy stromectol online […]

June 21, 2006 (LBO) – Recently there was a news report on innovative policing on the Colombo-Kandy road. On two days of the week, the traffic police would follow errant drivers and videotaping violations of various traffic rules, such as crossing the single or double lines.  Then they would ticket the drivers while making them […]

June 8, 2006 (LBO) – Some time ago I wrote a column http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/normal-or-peculiar-standard-time/ about changing the time standard: It was a fun piece because I thought the whole thing was a joke or a smokescreen (for something like:http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lanka-raises-retail-fuel-prices-from-midnight/); and I couldn’t care that much about which way the decision went. But I am no longer […]

May 22, 2006 (LBO) – Most people trying to move across the city of Colombo in recent days have experienced increased difficulties. A trip that used to take 20 minutes now takes double that time or more, especially around the recently closed upper section of Bauddhaloka Mawatha and the Sri Uttarananda Mawatha. One may ask […]

May 12, 2006 (LBO) – The May/June 2006 issue of the international affairs monthly, Foreign Policy, carries an article entitled “The Failed States Index” (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3420). It made the news in several countries and even prompted a senior US trade official to refute the classification of Pakistan as the most endangered South Asian state on the […]

May 01, 2006 (LBO) – It appears that lordships have been sold in the UK, again. Tony Blair, who criticized the Tories for selling honors, is on the back foot, trying to explain away the correlation between those who loaned large sums to the Labor Party and those who were appointed to the House of […]