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Schools recognized for excellence in French teaching

On 24th October, the French Embassy in Uganda in partnership with Alliance Francaise de Kampala and the Association of Teachers of French in Uganda (APFO) recognized over seven Ugandan schools with prestigious Label following the conclusion of a two-year initiative aimed at improving the quality of French instruction in Uganda.

The selected schools were recognized for their exceptional dedication, innovative methodologies and outstanding performance in the teaching of the French language.

Among the recognized schools included Kitante Hill School, St Joseph’s S.S Naggalama, St Theresa Secondary School Bwanda, St Henry’s College Kitovu, Ndejje Secondary School, Seeta High School Green Campus and Kira College Butiki.

The recognised institutions were selected following a nationwide evaluation of 47 schools under the Fonds de Solidarité pour les Projets Innovants (FEF) project that aims promote high-quality and harmonized French language teaching in Uganda through supporting the transition towards a competence-based curriculum that places learners at the center of the learning process.

The project encourages students to actively use French in communication and practical situations rather than relying solely on classroom instruction.

The Ambassador of France to Uganda, Virginie Leroy, urged students and teachers to continue practicing the language noting that French language is an important cultural and economic asset that could open opportunities for the students to work in different countries.

‘Let’s take the French language as an asset to open doors, proficiency in French could help Ugandans access employment, build businesses, travel and connect with people across different countries.’ Mr Leroy said.

Mr Frantz Said Ami, a technical expert from Expertise France working with NCDC called for continued collaboration among schools, teachers and development partners to build on the project’s achievements and expand access to French language learning across Uganda noting that.

‘Dear students and teachers, it’s now your duty to expanding French language and examinations beyond Kampala to enable learners in other parts of the country to obtain internationally recognized certification.’

Tamil leaders take anti-terror law fears to UK envoy

Tamil political leaders last week met British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick to convey concerns that the Government’s proposed anti-terrorism and organised crime laws could be used against minority communities, with the envoy expressing deep concern over the anti-terrorism legislation, according to the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO).

TELO Leader and Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) MP Selvam Adaikkalanathan and TELO Vice President and Spokesperson and DTNA Deputy National Organiser Guruswamy Surendran discussed with the High Commissioner the risks posed to the country, and to minority communities in particular, by the Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA) and the Organised Crime Bill presented to Parliament by the Government.

The TELO leaders said the proposed laws could be used to suppress, or facilitate the arbitrary and targeted arrest of, those campaigning on long-standing issues, including the demand for a permanent political solution for Tamils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, land grabbing, enforced disappearances, war crimes, human rights violations, the need for a justice mechanism and the repeated postponement of Provincial Council elections.

They noted that while UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) reports had called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the Government was instead attempting to introduce alternative legislation that posed a significant threat to Tamils and the country as a whole. They also said the continued delay in holding Provincial Council elections had left their regions without a provincial administrative structure, which in turn facilitated land grabbing by State institutions.

On the wider political climate, the TELO leaders said excessive taxation and uncontrollable price increases were severely affecting livelihoods, not only of those below the poverty line but of the broader population. They also told the High Commissioner that six Tamil-speaking political parties represented in Parliament were working together on issues of common concern.

According to TELO, the High Commissioner responded that the need to hold Provincial Council elections had been highlighted in UNHRC reports. On the anti-terrorism legislation, he said the UK had closely monitored such proposals in the past, which had appeared in various guises, and remained deeply concerned about the current version, TELO said.

N4.6trn Lost To Building Collapse In 4 Years – Report

The recurring incidents of building collapse in Nigeria has again raised questions on structural and regulatory supervision in the real estate sector.

Checks by Daily Trust show that about N4.6 trillion has been lost to building collapse which led to the destruction of goods and valuable items.

Additionally, between January 2020 and June 2026, Nigeria recorded dozens of building collapses that killed hundreds and injured many more. Nationwide, more than 650 collapses have killed over 1,600 people since 1974, according to figures the Federal Government cited last month.

Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital accounts for over half of all recorded incidents. High-profile collapses there in 2021, 2022 and 2024 claimed dozens of lives and destroyed livelihoods.

Consequently, incidents continue to climb: residential blocks, commercial properties and even schools have given way, often during heavy rains or while occupants slept.

These are not isolated tragedies but symptoms of systemic failure in materials quality, regulation and enforcement.

Experts attribute these incidents to substandard block-moulding combined with defective materials , unprofessional construction practices, inadequate supervision and the push to cut costs

In Nigeria, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), state works ministries and local councils are mandated by law to regulate and and ensure that building materials are up to standards

N4.6trn lost

The Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), in partnership with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) has set up an initiative to curb building collapses, noting that Nigeria is currently lossing trillions

Speaking at the induction of the inaugural cohort of CEFFI professionals, Dr Iliyasu Gashinbaki, President and Chairman of the Governing Council of CIFCFIN, said the initiative stemmed from disturbing findings in a 2026 engineering study.

According to Gashinbaki, the study identified 111 validated building-collapse incidents in Nigeria between 2015 and 2025.

He said the incidents resulted in 321 deaths and 344 injuries, representing an average of approximately 32 deaths and 34 injuries annually within the dataset.

Gashinbaki added that fire-related losses were equally sobering.

He said a recent analysis of documented incidents between 2022 and 2025 estimated at least N4.6 trillion in destroyed goods, property and business assets.

He said this amounted to roughly N1.15 trillion annually across the dataset.

Gashinbaki said the figures demonstrated the need for Nigeria to move from reactive responses to evidence-based investigation and accountability.Buy Maps

He said the CEFFI initiative would bring together engineering, forensic science, law, regulation and investigation to strengthen the response to engineering failures.

He said a recent analysis of documented incidents between 2022 and 2025 estimated at least N4.6 trillion in destroyed goods, property and business assets.

He said this amounted to roughly N1.15 trillion annually across the dataset.

Gashinbaki said the figures demonstrated the need for Nigeria to move from reactive responses to evidence-based investigation and accountability.Buy Maps

He said the CEFFI initiative would bring together engineering, forensic science, law, regulation and investigation to strengthen the response to engineering failures.

‘Where there is suspected negligence, fraud, malpractice or deliberate compromise of safety, properly conducted forensic engineering can preserve the technical evidence required,’ he said.

He urged regulators, project owners, contractors, professional bodies and law-enforcement agencies to ensure that engineering failures did not end with repairs, abandonment or silence.

Gashinbaki said the initiative would help promote safer infrastructure, stronger institutions, better stewardship of public resources and the protection of human life.

Only recently, Daily Trust reports that one person was injured after a five-storey building under construction partially collapsed on Durban Street, Wuse II, Abuja.

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, confirmed the incident, which occurred at about 6:30 pm on Saturday, October 17, 2026.

In a statement issued by its Press Unit, the agency said its Abuja Operations Office received an alert about the collapse and immediately activated relevant emergency response agencies.

NEMA said the FCT Fire Service and its AYA Emergency Response Ambulance Bay team were among the responders mobilised to the scene to coordinate search and rescue operations.

The agency confirmed that no life was lost in the incident, while the injured worker was evacuated to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

What can be done

Two measures matter most. First, criminal and civil liability must extend to manufacturers, suppliers and complicit professionals where negligence leads to collapse, with State Houses of Assembly legislating penalties stiff enough to deter, alongside whistleblower protection.

Second, SON must move from paper standards to street-level enforcement: mandatory certification for block producers, regular market sampling and lab testing, and tighter import checks. Supporting this, local councils should license and inspect block-moulding sites, publishing lists of certified producers and revoking licenses for repeat offenders.

Approval processes must include mandatory on-site inspection at foundation, lintel and roof stages, not just at submission – with inspectors trained, equipped and rotated to reduce corruption. Digital permit platforms publishing inspection status would add pressure that paper files cannot.

NLC TUC disagree over N70000 transport allowance negotiations

The dispute between the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) over the Federal Government’s N70000 monthly transport allowance for federal workers has intensified with both labour centres exchanging accusations over their authority to negotiate on behalf of workers.

The NLC President Joe Ajaero on Monday insisted that his congress could independently negotiate labour matters with the Federal Government while the TUC President Festus Osifo accused him of excluding the congress from negotiations.

The disagreement followed the Federal Government’s approval of the N70000 monthly transportation intervention for workers across all levels for six months.

Appearing on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief Ajaero said the NLC could negotiate alone based on the International Labour Organisation’s principle of representation by the most representative workers’ organisation.

‘TUC can negotiate along with NLC but NLC can negotiate alone based on the principle of most workers’ representatives of the ILO’ he said.

He maintained that the TUC could not independently negotiate with labour authorities adding that its proposals had to be submitted through the NLC.

‘TUC sent their negotiation alone ahead of the ILO conference but they returned it back and I had to minute on it.

‘They have to send their list here for me to forward it; that is the position of the ILO. NLC determines how TUC participates’ he said.

Ajaero also cited the Trade Union Amendment Act 2005 and Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution arguing that workers had the right to choose their unions.

‘The 2005 Trade Union Amendment Act made membership of trade unions voluntary. It is the worker that determines the union he belongs to’ he said.

He further argued that only one TUC-affiliated union belonged to the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council while seven of its eight constituent unions were affiliated with the NLC.

On the N70000 transport allowance Ajaero said the NLC secured the intervention after issuing the Federal Government an ultimatum and threatening industrial action.

‘We gave government an ultimatum; we were supposed to start an action. The government asked for four days and to meet with us and we met and they resumed sitting after four days.

‘After the meeting the 70k allowance came up’ he said.

But Osifo described the agreement as an aberration insisting that the TUC was not consulted during the negotiations.

Speaking on the same television programme he challenged Ajaero to produce any ILO regulation authorising one labour centre to negotiate on behalf of another without consultation.

‘He should show me in the ILO regulations where it says one party is going to negotiate without the other one being there or consulted. He should show me! He should show Nigerians!’ Osifo said.

He argued that the existence of separate labour centres meant that neither could claim the right to negotiate for the other without its consent.

‘You cannot negotiate for a body that is represented for a body that has a trade union. You cannot negotiate for them on their behalf! It is not there anywhere!’ he said.

Osifo also faulted Ajaero’s interpretation of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council insisting that the meeting at which the transport allowance was agreed was not a formal council meeting.

‘But that meeting that took place was not the Council meeting. The Minister is not a member of the Council. Ajaero is not a member of the Council. The Council even has a quorum and the number of persons that must be seated to form a quorum. But at the end of the day that meeting was not a JNC meeting. The members of JNC were not there!’ he said.

He further criticised the application of a flat N40000 consequential adjustment across the public service following the increase in the minimum wage from N30000 to N70000.

Osifo said the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council should have determined the consequential adjustments rather than applying the difference uniformly.

The dispute has also drawn three public service trade unions which disowned a press release issued in the name of the JNPSNC on October 30 accusing the council of excluding them from discussions.

The Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) Senior Staff Association of Universities Teaching Hospitals Research Institutes and Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI) and Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) said they were neither consulted nor invited to the meeting preceding the statement.

In a joint statement signed by their presidents Kayode Alakija John Alli and Kamal Ibrahim the unions said they did not participate in preparing the release or authorise anyone to speak on their behalf.

They also alleged that the JNPSNC Vice-Chairman representing the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria was excluded from the consultation.

The unions aligned with the TUC in rejecting the N70000 transport intervention describing it as inadequate amid rising costs of transportation food and housing.

They said: ‘With transportation food housing and other essentials becoming increasingly unaffordable this intervention is no substitute for decent wages fair remuneration or sustainable improvement in workers’ living standards.’

They also faulted the previous consequential adjustment alleging that the council applied a flat N40000 addition across the board instead of a 133 per cent adjustment to the lowest-paid worker cascaded across the salary structure.

The unions demanded a review of the adjustment inclusive representation in public service negotiating structures and an end to issuing statements in their name without authorisation.

They maintained that the JNPSNC was a public service negotiating platform not a third national labour centre alongside the NLC and TUC.

The unions declared: ‘You cannot speak for workers without their mandate. You cannot claim consensus without consultation. You cannot negotiate workers’ welfare while denying their unions the right to representation.’-

Tinubu’s wife empowers 500 market women in Cross River

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, through the Women Mobilisation Directorate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, has empowered 500 market women, artisans and petty traders in Cross River State.

The empowerment exercise, which took place in Calabar, was part of the directorate’s grassroots engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Co-Director of the Women Mobilisation Directorate, Dr Betta Edu, who led the outreach, said the beneficiaries received cash grants and working tools to enable them to expand their businesses and improve their livelihoods.

The beneficiaries received deep freezers, blenders, toasters and varying amounts of money, with some petty traders receiving N50,000 to boost their businesses.

Edu said the intervention was particularly targeted at women operating small businesses with limited capital.

‘We have not come empty-handed. We have come with different categories of empowerment,’ she said.

Edu added that some beneficiaries had been operating with capital as low as N5,000 or N10,000, stressing that the financial support would enable them to expand their businesses and provide better living conditions for their families.

She also highlighted some of the social and economic interventions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, including the student loan scheme, free maternal healthcare for pregnant women in public health institutions, subsidised renal dialysis and initiatives providing free eyeglasses to vulnerable Nigerians.

According to Edu, the APC women mobilisation team would extend the empowerment programme to other parts of Cross River State, with Ugep in the Central Senatorial District scheduled to benefit between November and December, while the Northern Senatorial District would be reached in January.

As part of the outreach, the delegation also visited the General Hospital, Calabar, where it inspected the facility, provided care packages and settled medical expenses for vulnerable patients in the maternity and surgical wards.

The hospital administrator, Mrs Bassey Effiong Ephraim, expressed appreciation for the intervention and disclosed that efforts were ongoing to recruit additional medical doctors and nurses to strengthen healthcare delivery.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Esther Bassey, a widow and mother of three from Odukpani Local Government Area, commended the initiative, saying empowerment programmes had helped vulnerable families sustain their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, the women mobilisation exercise also featured a strategic meeting with APC women leaders and supporters in the state, where they were urged to take the party’s campaign to the grassroots ahead of the 2027 elections.

The wife of the Cross River State Governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, charged the women to set aside their grievances and return to their respective polling units to mobilise support for President Tinubu, Governor Bassey Otu and other APC candidates.

She urged them to translate their support for the party into actual votes, challenging each woman to mobilise between 100 and 200 votes at her polling unit.

‘Go back to your polling unit and go and gather your people, beginning with your women, who will be your foot soldiers. Once you gather them, let them begin to canvass door to door, church to church, prayer meeting to prayer meeting, and market to market,’ she said.

The meeting was attended by Dr Edu, female APC candidates, commissioners, local government chairmen and their wives, former commissioners, party leaders and other political stakeholders.

The women pledged their support for the Tinubu-Otu ticket and other APC candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ogun Electricity Regulatory Commission orders mandatory registration for IBEDC EKEDC others

The Ogun State Electricity Regulatory Commission (OGSERC) has begun full regulatory operations in the state ordering all electricity operators licensees and service providers to register with the commission within 30 days or face sanctions.

The directive which affects operators across the electricity value chain sets Tuesday December 2 2026 as the compliance deadline.

Major electricity distribution companies including the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric as well as their subsidiary companies operating in Ogun State were also covered by the directive.

Industrial commercial and private entities involved in electricity undertakings within the state were also instructed to register.

The Commission listed electricity generation distribution transmission supply and trading companies among those required to register.

It also extended the directive to mini-grid off-grid embedded generation and captive power operators as well as electrical contractors installers and other service providers.

A statement by the Chairman of OGSERC Engr. Jide Onakoya warned that operating an electricity-related business in Ogun State without obtaining the necessary registration and licence from the state regulator would violate the Ogun State Electricity Law.

He explained that the development followed the transfer of regulatory oversight of the state’s intrastate electricity market from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to the state.

According to him the transfer was also backed by the Ogun State Electricity Law enacted by the Ogun State House of Assembly in accordance with the Electricity Act 2023 as amended.

Onakoya said the commission was now fully empowered to regulate electricity-related activities within Ogun State adding that all operators must comply with its registration requirements.

He said ‘By this announcement all licensees operators developers and service providers in the electricity value chain in Ogun State are hereby required to register with OGSERC.

‘This exercise backed by law is critical to ensuring safety standardisation consumer protection and an enabling environment for investment in the state’s power sector.’

The Commission warned that no operator would be exempt from the requirement and that conducting electricity business without appropriate registration and licensing from OGSERC was illegal under state law.

It therefore directed affected businesses and operators to begin the registration process at its headquarters on the fifth and sixth floors of OPIC Tower Oke-Ilewo Abeokuta.

Alternatively operators can initiate the process via its official email address.

OGSERC said all affected entities must complete the process within 30 days of the announcement warning that failure to meet the December 2 deadline would attract sanctions prescribed by law.

The Commission however said its regulatory intervention aimed to establish a transparent efficient and reliable electricity market capable of protecting consumers promoting investment and strengthening Ogun State’s position as one of Nigeria’s major industrial centres.

Legislator denies pushing ‘shoot-to-kill’ resolution vs Bato Dela Rosa

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan has denied calling for a resolution that will urge a shoot-to-kill order against Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa should he fail to surrender to authorities, saying that the claim was fabricated.

In a statement on Monday, Suan said he had neither threatened to call a House committee hearing nor proposed a resolution urging authorities to kill the senator if he failed to surrender in connection with an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

‘As a lawyer and public servant, I believe firmly in due process and the rule of law,’ Suan said, stressing that he would not support any action that promotes violence or undermines democratic principles.

Dela Rosa is facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the drug war under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. He served as the Philippine National Police chief under the former president and is accused of allowing extrajudicial killings during anti-drug operations.

The former PNP chief has a P50-million bounty on his head and has been declared a fugitive from justice by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General.

Last Friday, PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Wilson Joseph Lopez told reporters that the police would take ‘appropriate’ legal measures to arrest the senator.

Suan’s office, meanwhile, forwarded to INQUIRER several of the fake quote cards attributed to the lawmaker.

‘The circulating claim is entirely fabricated. It has no basis in any official statement, interview, legislative action, or public remark of mine. Such disinformation is harmful not only to my name and office but to the public’s right to accurate information,’ Suan said.

‘I urge the public to verify information from credible and official sources before believing or sharing it. My official social media accounts and the channels of the House of Representatives remain the only reliable outlets for my positions and statements,’ he added.

This is not the first time that Suan, a member of the House prosecution team for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, was targeted by fake social media quote cards.

As early as April 21 – or when the House committee on justice was tackling the two impeachment complaints against Vice President Duterte – Suan disputed a fake quote about him supposedly praising and touting Ramil Madriaga as a hero.

Madriaga is the vice president’s former aide who accused her of misusing and tinkering with the confidential funds, claiming that he was the one directed to transport and distribute the said allocations.

However, Suan said he did not issue such statements.

Suan has been questioned before about his decision to support Vice President Duterte’s impeachment, considering that he hails from Mindanao – a known bailiwick of the Dutertes.

In response, Suan said last May that, instead of being deterred, his being a Mindanaoan spurred him to back accountability calls and join the prosecution team. Suan explained that he took the job as a member of the prosecution team because funds under Duterte’s jurisdiction – which are now being questioned – were also paid by taxpayers from Mindanao.

Adekanmbi parleys Oyo pensioners, urges them to be vigilant, resist manipulation

The governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State, Mr Bimbo Adekanmbi, has urged members of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the state to ensure that their votes count in 2027.

Adekanmbi stated this on Monday during an interactive session with the leadership and members of the union at Pensioners FM, Agbarigo, in Ibadan.

He said they must resist attempts by manipulators to rob them of their votes and cause crises in their various polling centres across the state.

‘You must not only exercise your voting rights but also take responsibility for ensuring that your votes count. The electoral mandate requires vigilance before, during and after elections,’ he said.

The APM candidate, while citing the recent Osun governorship election as a good example, added that the involvement of pensioners and organised labour in protecting votes demonstrated the importance of citizens’ participation in safeguarding the electoral process.

‘Let me urge you all (Oyo pensioners) to adopt a similar approach in 2027 by remaining at your polling units after voting to monitor the counting, recording and collation of results.

‘Don’t just go out to vote and return home. You must be vigilant and ensure that your votes count. Protect your votes against hijackers. What happens after casting your ballot is equally important. You must remain alert and follow the process to its logical conclusion,’ he urged.

On his governance agenda, Adekanmbi promised to build on the achievements of Governor Seyi Makinde, saying his administration, if elected, would consolidate existing development efforts and take the state to a higher level of competitiveness and wealth creation.

He explained that Makinde’s first term was characterised by accelerated development, while the second focused on sustainable development, adding that his proposed administration would pursue what he described as continued development.

‘Now, my own is being built on continued development. That means there has been acceleration, there has been sustainability, and now you want to position the state for competitiveness, for wealth creation and for getting to the place where it should be in the comity of states,’ he said.

The former commissioner said he would not allow the development trajectory of the state to decline, arguing that the achievements of the present administration should serve as a foundation for further progress.

‘If somebody has done so much over the course of his two terms, the bar must not be dropped. The graph must be up and never flatten out or come down. The graph must continue to grow,’ Adekanmbi said.

Adekanmbi, who said his experience in government had given him firsthand knowledge of the state’s financial and administrative challenges, added that he understood the issues confronting Oyo State and had identified areas requiring urgent intervention.

‘I have firsthand information about the challenges of Oyo State. I know where the problems are, and I know the areas that require attention. I will work on the loopholes and ensure that we continue to move forward,’ he said.

The APM candidate further promised to establish periodic meetings with pensioners if elected, saying the engagement would provide an avenue for retired workers to communicate their concerns directly to his administration.

Govt launches Shs10.5b electricity network plan

Government has embarked on an 18-month, Shs10.5b project to develop a national electricity distribution master plan aimed at guiding network expansion, reducing connection costs and supporting government’s ambition to achieve universal access by 2030.

The plan will provide a comprehensive picture of the country’s existing electricity distribution infrastructure and identify areas requiring new connections, upgrades and alternative energy solutions.

Under government’s 2030 target, half of the population will access electricity through the national grid, while the other half will be connected through off-grid solutions, particularly solar systems.

Ministry of Energy commissioner for rural electrification Abdon Atwine said the project seeks to address weaknesses in the current approach to electricity planning, which largely focuses on taking power to districts and sub-counties.

He said the absence of integrated planning has sometimes resulted in public facilities being established far from existing electricity infrastructure, creating expensive demands for grid extensions.

‘That is something we want to address by working with our stakeholders … to have a robust plan in terms of upgrading our network and extending the grid,’ Atwine said in an interview.

The master plan is expected to bring together electricity infrastructure planning and the development priorities of other government ministries, helping ensure that new public facilities and investments are considered when decisions on network expansion are made.

‘It is a study that will take us 18 months, for Shs10.5b … after 18 months, we should be a harmonised sector,’ he said.

Turkish technology firm Basarsoft has been contracted to undertake the studies, including mapping the electricity distribution network using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The exercise will involve collecting data on existing electricity infrastructure, identifying underserved communities and assessing potential demand to inform future investment decisions.

Basarsoft General Manager Tuncay Kucukpehlivan said the use of GIS would provide government with a reliable and continuously updated database to support electricity planning.

‘We are trying to establish a GIS database by studying all the fields and visiting all villages. We will collect existing infrastructure and potential demands. In this way, we will see the existing system and the demands for the future,’ he said.

The company plans to deploy about 200 field staff to undertake the surveys, which have already started.

The field exercise, Kucukpehlivan said, is expected to cover targeted areas within six months, followed by approximately three months of data evaluation.

The findings will then be used to develop the master plan, with outputs produced progressively across different regions rather than waiting for the entire countrywide exercise to be completed.

He said the process would also allow the Ministry of Energy to access data as it is collected, enabling it to monitor progress and understand emerging findings.

‘There will be regions to be covered; as the data comes, we will open that data also to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to see what’s going on, and after evaluating the data, we start producing the outcomes,’ he said.

The resulting master plan is expected to provide a basis for prioritising electricity investments, coordinating network expansion with public infrastructure development and identifying where grid connections or off-grid solutions would be more appropriate.

COYLE’s ‘I AM’ Leadership Forum 2026 concludes with a focus on stories that shape leaders

The Chamber of Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) concluded its ‘I AM’ Leadership Forum 2026 at Cinnamon Grand Colombo last week, bringing together entrepreneurs and business leaders for an evening of personal stories, shared experience and dialogue on leadership. The event was made possible by principle sponsor, Nations Trust Bank, along with print media sponsors, DailyFT and The Sunday Times.

Held under the theme ‘My Story. My Journey’, the forum reflected COYLE’s broader vision for 2026 of ‘Bridging Generations. Building Futures’, creating space for established and emerging entrepreneurs to learn from one another.

Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha, graced the occasion as Chief Guest and keynote speaker. His participation brought an international dimension to the forum and underscored the value of dialogue between the diplomatic and business communities.

In his welcome address, COYLE Chairman Suren Chandraratna challenged participants to consider the question at the heart of the forum: ‘Who am I?’ Drawing on his own experience as a panellist the previous year, he described the ‘I AM’ platform as an opportunity to reflect on what entrepreneurs have achieved, overcome and become. ‘When a person discovers their ‘I AM’, they stop being defined by where they come from, what others said they could be, or limitations placed upon them. They begin to see not just who they are today, but who they can become tomorrow,’ he said.

Chandraratna also placed entrepreneurial development at the centre of Sri Lanka’s economic future. ‘We believe that it is the Sri Lankan entrepreneurs who can unlock the golden opportunities that our economy has,’ he said, emphasising COYLE’s role in empowering entrepreneurs to discover their potential and share experiences that can inspire others.

The forum featured panelists Sensa Solutions Managing Director Subash Thalangama, Tudawe Brothers CEO Romali Tudawe, and hSenid Group of Companies Founder/Chairman Dinesh Saparamadu, in a discussion moderated by Dr.Tharindu Ameresekera. Bringing perspectives from different businesses and industries, the speakers placed their personal journeys at the centre of the conversation.

Their experiences opened up a discussion about the demands of entrepreneurship: making difficult decisions, navigating uncertainty, responding to setbacks and finding the resolve to move forward. For participants, the value lay in connecting these experiences with the challenges and choices in their own businesses.

The theme ‘My Story. My Journey’ gave the evening a clear focus. Every business is shaped by people, and every leader carries lessons that others can learn from. Creating opportunities to share those lessons is central to building stronger connections between generations of entrepreneurs.

COYLE Committee Chairman Raveen Wickramasinghe delivering the vote of thanks said, ‘The true value of this forum will be measured by what we do next, how we apply what we have learnt, support another entrepreneur and turn a new connection into an opportunity. Each story shared tonight reminds us that experience becomes more powerful when it helps someone else move forward. Let us carry that spirit into our businesses and help more Sri Lankan entrepreneurs succeed.’

The ‘I AM’ Leadership Forum 2026 reinforced COYLE’s commitment to developing a business community in which experience is shared and emerging leaders have access to those who have navigated the journey before them. Its purpose extended beyond a single evening: to encourage entrepreneurs to carry those lessons into the decisions they make, the businesses they build and the people they lead.