Author: Rohan Samarajiva

Jan 24, 2011 (LBO) – On one side the big story is about the floods. On the other side is the political debate around “Senior Ministers.” Are they connected? The rainfall was excessive. Floods were unavoidable. But we had more than just floods. The most serious damage was caused by breached reservoirs and by the […]

Dec 24, 2010 (LBO) – In a recent column on the failure of Sri Lankan universities, I said that: Faculty select their successors.Poor-quality faculty will select more poor-quality academics. Because they want to be the big dogs in the pound they admit only weaker animals. The big dogs retire, and the weaklings replace them. They apply the […]

Nov 01, 2010 (LBO) – I keep getting asked about when Sri Lanka will change its visa policies. The out-of-the-blue announcement that visitors from all countries other than the Maldives and Singapore would have to obtain visas prior to arrival and the even more sudden suspension of that decision appears to have carried far. I […]

Sept 21, 2010 (LBO) – When all else fails in a modern computer, we hit “restart.” The machine powers down, clears all kinds of dysfunctions from the system and starts fresh. Not a panacea, but works most of the time. This is what we need to do with our universities. All else has failed. In […]

Aug 30, 2010 (LBO) – The Minister of Higher Education has been quoted in the media as planning to reduce the fees charged from foreign students wishing to enroll in Sri Lanka universities: It will be a good way to generate more foreign income. We hope to offer a degree for US $ 5,000 to […]

July 12, 2010 (LBO) – It is not the responsibility of a regulatory agency to ensure the profitability of telecom operators. Yet, when every single operator in the country, including the incumbent who used to make profits even under inefficient government management, starts bleeding red ink, it is not possible for the government and the […]

July 5, 2010 (LBO) – Although Sri Lanka was not known for exports of IT and business processing services, since 2005 this activity has graduated to earn around US$ 250 million of foreign exchange, in addition to giving a place of pride to our IT professionals enabling to establish their names in international markets. This […]

May 18, 2010 (LBO) – Coming from Brasilia to waterlogged Colombo was a shock. Brazil is still not a developed economy, but its capital, Brasilia, definitely does not belong to the developing world.buy feldene generic buy feldene over the counter Fifty years ago, a visionary president and architect willed this planned city into being in […]

May 04, 2010 (LBO) – The Wagah border crossing on the Grand Trunk Road, between Lahore and Amritsar, is world famous for the elaborate rituals of nationalism enacted at sundown every day. High stepping soldiers in ceremonial dress glower at each other cheered on by large crowds on both sides whipped up to (different) nationalistic […]

Apr 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to become a “Naval, Aviation, Commercial, Energy and Knowledge hub.” What are the conditions for maintaining and enhancing Colombo’s position as a shipping hub for the southern Indian subcontinental region? This is perhaps the easiest of the five. We have to thank the late Minister Lalith Athulathmudali […]

Apr 04, 2010 (LBO) – This is an election special. There is value in analyzing election messages. Whether positive or negative, such analysis advances debate and understanding. As said elsewhere, elections are teachable moments. buy lipitor online https://www.indcheminternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/png/lipitor.html no prescription pharmacy And a note to the candidates: “Publicity, darling. Just publicity. Any kind is better […]

Mar 24, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to become a “Naval, Aviation, Commercial, Energy and Knowledge hub.” Of the five hub visions, this is the longest shot. But not impossible, especially if combined with the plan for a shipping hub (I assume the intention was talk about civilian shipping, and not about ships with […]