Category: Daily Financial Times

Havelock City Mall celebrates its second anniversary this October under the theme ‘Two Years of Smiles, Happiness, and Shared Joy’. Since opening its doors in 2023, the mall has evolved into a vibrant hub for fashion, dining, and entertainment, living up to its promise of being My Happy Place.

The anniversary celebrations will begin with a Tenant Awards Ceremony recognizing top- performing retail partners, and a Mall Staff Awards Ceremony honouring the outstanding contributions of Havelock City Mall employees.

Festivities will take place on 18 and 19 October, featuring discounts of up to 30% from leading brands, an International Food Fiesta, live music and entertainment. In parallel with the second anniversary celebrations, an exclusive loyalty card will also be introduced for Havelock City Apartments residents, offering them special privileges and benefits at Havelock City Mall.

‘As we celebrate this milestone, I extend heartfelt gratitude to our shoppers, retail partners, and vendors for their unwavering support,’ said Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC CEO Pravir Samarasinghe. ‘Together, we have made Havelock City Mall Colombo’s most cherished and joyful destination, truly My Happy Place.’

Spanning over 200,000 square feet across six levels, Havelock City Mall features a curated mix of local and international brands, with more than 130 outlets across fashion, electronics, homeware, health and beauty, dining, cafés, cinema, and family entertainment zones. Since its opening, the mall has set new benchmarks in urban retail and leisure, redefining Colombo’s shopping and entertainment landscape for Sri Lanka’s cosmopolitan community.

Over the past two years, Havelock City Mall has introduced several industry firsts, curating a diverse range of experiences that have redefined the mall environment in Sri Lanka. These include large-scale signature events such as the Elite Auto Show, CarniWOW family carnival, Checkmate blitz chess tournament and ‘Warna’ – the art festival that brought together leading artists and collectors. Each of these milestones has reinforced Havelock City Mall’s position as Colombo’s most happening and experiential retail destination.

Havelock City Mall continues to elevate the retail experience in Sri Lanka with the country’s first and only large-format IMAX theatre and immersive family entertainment zones, including the Wet and Wild Adventure Zone, Jungle Zone, Ocean Zone, a state-of-the-art AR/VR gaming arcade and also an outdoor dining space

called Cheers Garden which brings live

performances and interactive attractions that transform the mall into a dynamic social hub, encouraging longer visits and fostering lasting emotional connections with visitors.

The Inland Revenue Department has exceeded its tax revenue target for the first nine months of 2025, collecting 102% of the estimate, according to data presented to the Parliamentary Committee on Ways and Means.

Officials said the department collected Rs. 1.64 trillion by the end of September, against an expected Rs. 1.61 trillion, reaching 75% of its full-year goal of Rs. 2.19 trillion.

The figures were reviewed during a recent committee session chaired by MP Wijesiri Basnayake.

Attention was also drawn to the plans and challenges for increasing tax revenue, including digitalisation, and tax management. Accordingly, the Committee Chairman informed the officers to provide the Committee with proposals related to the reforms expected from the Inland Revenue Department, the Parliament Secretariat said in a statement yesterday.

Inland Revenue Commissioner General R.P.H. Fernando and senior officials attended the meeting, where members proposed further reforms to strengthen tax administration and improve efficiency.

Every morning, I watch Kandy wake up – and cough. The horns, the fumes, the endless line of vehicles crawling through our small city. As someone who has lived here all my life, I no longer remember what clean air smells like. I’ve sat countless times behind a bus blocking an entire lane, waiting while it collects passengers in the middle of the road, only to be rewarded with a thick black cloud of exhaust when it finally moves.

Kandy is beautiful. But beneath that beauty, it’s suffocating – literally.

Sri Lanka’s air pollution problem – Ground zero: Kandy

My field survey of 100 people showed what we all already know: 95% believe that vehicle emissions are the main cause of Kandy’s air pollution. More than half said the problem is serious; nearly one-third said it’s extremely severe. Over 60% said they suffer from breathing problems that they link directly to the air they breathe here.

That’s not surprising. The narrow roads of our hill city were never built for the 100,000+ vehicles that now flood in every day. According to Prof. Ileperuma, who has studied air quality in Kandy for decades, our city’s air is often worse than Colombo’s – trapped by the surrounding mountains and poisoned by rising vehicle numbers and daily congestion.

And it’s not just theory. During my observations, for the research and just by living here and going to school here, I saw broken pavements near major schools, forcing students to walk on the road. I, too, have been one of them. I remember having to walk along the road to avoid falling into pits nearly five feet deep, where concrete slabs had collapsed over open drains. I became one more body clogging traffic because the sidewalk – meant for me – was impassable.

The law is there – but who’s enforcing it?

Sri Lanka is not without laws. The National Environmental Act No. 47 of 1980 gives the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) the power to control pollution and advise the central government and local authorities. Under sections 10 and 12, the CEA can investigate environmental harm and take corrective action. Vehicle emission standards – in force since 2003 – make it illegal for vehicles to operate beyond permitted emission levels.

And yet, what do we see? Buses and lorries belching smoke every day, unchecked. Emission tests that exist on paper, but not in practice. A 2017 National Audit Office report confirmed what citizens have long known: vehicle exhaust is the major contributor to air pollution in cities, and enforcement is grossly inadequate. Though that’s there, I still get a mouthful of soot from the Mahakanda/Delthota buses that pass my University in little to no traffic.

The Sri Lankan Constitution itself, under Article 27(14), commits the State to ‘protect, preserve and improve the environment for the benefit of the community.’ Under Article 28(f), we, the citizens, have a duty to protect nature and conserve its riches. But how are we to protect the environment when the very institutions meant to uphold these duties turn a blind eye?

Our international commitments – and national failures

Sri Lanka is a signatory to major international environmental instruments – including the Stockholm Declaration (1972), the Rio Declaration (1992), and the Paris Agreement (2015) – each reaffirming the right to a healthy environment. At the United Nations, we pledged to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Three of them directly apply to this crisis:

SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) – Target 3.9.1 aims to reduce deaths and illnesses from air pollution.

SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) – Target 11.6.2 calls for lowering the average levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities.

SDG 13 (Climate Action) – This goal urges countries to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Vehicle emissions are not only a local air-quality problem

Yet here in Kandy, PM2.5 levels on some mornings are three times the World Health Organization guideline. We are failing both our people and our promises.

What my research found

Through desk research, a field survey, personal observations, and an interview with Prof. Ileperuma, I identified recurring patterns:

Buses and lorries are the most polluting vehicles. (In the recent past it was the two-stroke engines of tuks and bikes)

Poor planning and lack of enforcement keep congestion chronic. The 6.4 km from Peradeniya to Kandy which only takes 10 minutes or less to travel by car at night takes more than 30 minutes during the day. Buses during rush hour traffic take well over an hour to go the same distance. As stated in the Project for Formulation of Greater Kandy Urban Plan, future demographic projections indicate a preposterous 72 minutes to travel the 4.5km distance from Gatambe to Kandy.

Broken infrastructure – sidewalks, parking, drainage, the rusty air-bridges that look like a standing tetanus shot that discourages pedestrians from using them- forces pedestrians into danger.

Weak public transport design: long-distance buses still start and end inside the city, instead of in outer terminals like Peradeniya, Katugastota, or Thannekumbura.

Through-traffic unnecessarily passes through the city instead of using bypass routes.

Although road widening projects are underway, the poorly managed construction process has actually worsened traffic congestion – with large sections of both roads from Peradeniya to Kandy being closed off simultaneously, and piles of excavated soil and rock left along the roadside further obstructing traffic flow.

The result? A cocktail of health hazards, lost productivity, and frustrated citizens. One respondent put it perfectly:

‘Every day, I lose an hour in traffic. Every breath smells like diesel.’

The impacts: What’s at stake

The impacts go far beyond inconvenience. Pollution from vehicle emissions causes respiratory diseases, asthma, heart disease, and even strokes, as Prof. Ileperuma pointed out. He also stated that young school children in Kandy have increasing levels of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is a common lung disease seen in chronic smokers. Studies show that 97% of commuters believe traffic congestion seriously affects their productivity.

We’re losing time, health, and money – all because of inaction. Children inhale poisonous air on their way to school. Pedestrians risk their lives because of broken sidewalks. Businesses lose hours in gridlock. This is not just bad management – it’s an environmental injustice.

So what can we do?

We don’t need another report or committee. We need action.

Here’s what can and must be done:

Immediate steps

Repair broken sidewalks, especially near schools – before a child falls into a trench or is hit by a bus.

Crack down on visible smoke emitters – fine and blacklist buses and lorries (and everything else) that flout emission standards.

Ban long-distance buses from entering the city – start and end them at outer terminals.

Set up a hotline or mobile app for the public to report air pollution or road obstructions (over 40% of my survey respondents said they’d report if they knew how).

Medium to long-term solutions

Implement the Kandy Multimodal Transport Terminal and encourage rail or rail-bus travel (the rail-bus existed for a short period and had much potential but was aborted).

Create satellite towns in Peradeniya, Katugastota, and Thannekumbura to decongest the core.

Electrify public transport and enforce stricter inspection regimes. (But this requires adequate charging stations. One of the two easily accessed charging stations in the Peradeniya-Kandy area is powered by a generator that uses fossil fuels to operate)

Introduce parking management and one-way systems to improve traffic flow (the one-way system was introduced a decade or so back but was also snorted within a few days without expert consultation).

A final word – before we all suffocate

I’ve grown up in Kandy. I’ve seen it transform from a serene hill city into a suffocating traffic maze. Every day that passes without meaningful change is another day we poison our lungs and our future.

The right to breathe clean air isn’t a luxury – it’s a constitutional right. It’s a human right. And it’s time we demanded it.

The Central Environmental Authority, the Kandy Municipal Council, the Police, and every Government body involved must step up – not with words, but with visible, measurable action.

Because if we keep waiting, there’ll come a day when we’ll all look out over this beautiful city, see the mist, and wonder: ‘Is that the mist Kandy is famous for, or just the smog that we’ve normalised.’

Infrastructure is often hailed as the engine of productivity and economic growth. Yet in many countries, roads crumble, railways stall, and essential services like water and electricity remain inadequate. The common excuse? A lack of funding-or the political will to raise taxes and cut spending.

But governments have two sources of revenue: taxes and non-tax income. The latter comes from managing public assets and liabilities-essentially, the government’s balance sheet. While resource-rich countries often generate income from oil, gas, or minerals, even countries without such endowments can tap into overlooked assets by managing them more professionally.

Take Singapore, for example. Despite having no natural resources, around one-fifth of its government spending is funded by non-tax revenues. These come from investment returns on public assets, generating about 7% of GDP annually-a figure nearly equal to its corporate tax receipts.

Singapore’s success stems from decades of fiscal discipline and long-term strategy. It has built one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth portfolios, despite its resource scarcity. This includes Temasek Holdings (which manages corporate assets and real estate), the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which holds foreign reserves. Collectively, these entities manage assets valued at three to four times the country’s GDP-surpassing even the sovereign wealth funds of Norway and Saudi Arabia.

Globally, public assets are estimated to have a value three times global GDP, with half of those assets being commercial-real estate and corporate holdings. Yet, very few governments account for or manage these assets strategically. Countries like New Zealand, which adopted accrual accounting decades ago, stand out for recording and valuing all public assets and liabilities at market prices. But most governments still ignore large swaths of their asset base-particularly real estate, which alone is estimated to be worth as much as global GDP.

Much of this overlooked real estate lies around transport infrastructure-railways, ports, airports, and disused industrial sites. These areas, if redeveloped, can significantly boost public wealth and urban renewal.

Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation is a powerful case in point. Inspired by Japanese railway models, MTR built a metro system the size of New York’s without tax funding. Instead, it leveraged land development rights near stations, with property revenue making up 40% of its income annually since the 1990s. This ‘rail plus property’ model turned infrastructure into a self-funding investment.

Similarly, Hamburg and Copenhagen transformed abandoned port infrastructure into thriving urban districts-without relying on taxpayers. These cities created Urban Wealth Funds (UWFs) to manage and develop these assets professionally.

In Hamburg, the city-owned HafenCity GmbH redeveloped a 2.4 sq. km harbour area, delivering 7,000 residential units and commercial space for 35,000 people-plus schools, universities, and a landmark concert hall.

Copenhagen’s UWF, ‘By og Havn I/S’, repurposed an old harbour and a former military site. Covering twice the area of Hamburg’s project, it resulted in over 33,000 new homes, 100,000 jobs, and major infrastructure upgrades, including a metro extension, university, and new parks. All funded by the project’s own revenues.

These developments not only provide a boost to the economy and opportunities for the private sector but also increase the housing stock, promote social mobility, and improve urban liveability-key ingredients for long-term prosperity.

When governments diversify their income sources beyond taxes, they reduce fiscal risk and increase economic resilience. At a time when many are searching for ways to fund critical investments, a balance sheet approach offers a powerful solution.

Focusing on net worth-the difference between public assets and liabilities-enables, and encourages, better financial management than does relying on debt-based fiscal rules, which paint an incomplete picture of fiscal position. Without understanding the full balance sheet, governments risk underinvesting, misallocating debt, and wasting resources.

Importantly, if debt is used to fund consumption for short-term political gain, rather than productive investment, it becomes a burden on future generations. Intergenerational fairness requires that today’s borrowing builds assets that benefit tomorrow’s citizens-not just today’s voters.

By setting a net worth target, governments could shift incentives toward smarter, long-term investments in infrastructure, housing, and innovation-laying the groundwork for sustainable growth.

Ensuring sustainable prosperity requires governments to go beyond short-term fixes and look strategically at their balance sheets. Managing public assets and liabilities more effectively isn’t just about accounting-it’s one of the greatest untapped opportunities to unlock economic potential. By embracing a net worth approach, policymakers can fund infrastructure, reduce reliance on taxes, and create cities that are both liveable and future-ready.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Admiral (Retd.) Sirimevan Ranasinghe yesterday said the Colombo Port could handle a record 8.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this year, supported by the ramp-up of operations at the West Container Terminal (WCT).

‘There is rapid growth at the WCT. It started slowly in April this year, but we are now seeing a strong rise in container handling,’ Ranasinghe said on the sidelines of the ‘Voyage Sri Lanka 2025’ marine summit in Colombo.

He said the Port reached 7.78 million TEUs last year despite having a maximum handling capacity of 7 million. ‘With the new capacity coming online, we expect to reach 8.2 million TEUs this year,’ he added.

Last year, the SLPA’s Jaye Container Terminal and East Container Terminal handled 2.4 million TEUs, while the China-backed Colombo International Container Terminal managed 3.3 million and John Keells Holdings’ South Asia Gateway Terminal handled 2 million.

The India-backed Colombo West International Container Terminal began operations earlier this year.

Ranasinghe said total Port capacity is projected to double to 15 million TEUs by 2026. Despite disruptions during Sri Lanka’s 2022 crisis, the Colombo Port has since rebounded, with transshipment volumes rising 9.7% to 6.31 million TEUs in 2024 due to shipping diversions from the Red Sea via the Cape of Good Hope.

Dumindra Ratnayaka has been appointed as the Chairman of Avinya Foundation, a registered non-profit, philanthropic organisation that provides scholarships to underprivileged Sri Lankan youth. He takes over as Chairman from Avinya Foundation Founder Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, who is also the CEO and Founder of WSO2.

Avinya Foundation operates the Avinya Academy in Bandaragama as a pilot project where full scholarships are provided annually to underprivileged youth 18-25 years of age to equip them with essential 21st Century skills to foster equitable opportunities for those who have failed the traditional education stream.

The academy has joined hands with collaborative partner organisations such as Sampath Bank, Singer Sri Lanka, Sensus BPO, MRS Recovery Services, ROOTS Sri Lanka, Jumping Beans Cafe, Carmart, Mo-cher Salon, Superloop TechHub, SPAR Supermarket and The Tea Project to provide valuable industrial work experience to these students.

Dumindra Ratnayaka is the Immediate Past Chairman of 1990 Suwa Seriya Foundation, which provides island-wide, free pre-hospital emergency care to all Sri Lankans.

He was instrumental in introducing the 1990 pre-hospital care ambulance service in Sri Lanka and served as the Founding Chairman of the Board for two terms, where he helped expand the service to all parts of the island.

Ratnayaka has also held the positions of Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), the apex agency for foreign direct investment in the country, and Board Director and Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Lanka Ltd.

He also served as a Board member of Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), the apex ICT institution of the Government of Sri Lanka. He is a graduate from the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, with a 1st Class Degree in Electronics and Telecommunications.

Avinya Academy’s 2025 cohort is graduating in early December after completing their Empower Scholarship program with an Avinya Foundation certificate for Job skills, English skills, Computer skills, Maths skills with the STEM.org accreditation, and a TVEC NVQ Level 3 certificate for Customer Services.

A selected number of students will also be awarded a certificate in Employability Skills from City and Guilds UK this year.

In 2026, Avinya Academy will be doubling its impact by commencing the six-month full-time program for up to 120 students in January, following which the second batch of 120 students will commence their studies in July.

All facilities and resources at the Academy have been generously donated, with the bulk of donations by its principal benefactor, Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana. These donations have been made with the intention of enabling Sri Lankan youth to enhance their skills, pursue education, and be inspired to achieve success.

A delegation of 10 foreign investors from India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman visited the Colombo Port and Port City this week to assess investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s marine and offshore industries, the Export Development Board (EDB) said yesterday.

The visit took place alongside the Voyage Sri Lanka 2025 Marine Summit which kicked off yesterday organised by the EDB at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo. The summit serves as a platform to discuss sustainable maritime practices, new technologies, and investment prospects in marine and related sectors.

According to the EDB, discussions are focused on strengthening Sri Lanka’s position in marine and aquaculture services and expanding its potential in the boat and shipbuilding industries.

Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams is set to introduce a new addition to Colombo’s entertainment scene with the city’s first-ever Rooftop Oktoberfest. Taking place from 16 to 19 October at The Podium, the four-day festival will bring together Bavarian food, music, and culture against the backdrop of panoramic city views.

The highlight of the event will be Colombo’s largest Oktoberfest buffet, featuring authentic German specialties. Guests can look forward to hearty favourites such as Sauerbraten (roasted beef marinated with red wine vinegar), Schweinshaxe (crispy pork knuckle), Brathähnchen (roast chicken), Leberkäse (grilled meatloaf), and a wide selection of German sausages including Bratwurst, Weisswurst, and Cheese Krainer. Traditional accompaniments such as sauerkraut, sautéed potatoes, and mustard sauce will complete the feast. Classic appetisers like pretzels, German potato salad, and Obatza (a spiced Camembert cheese dip) will set the tone, while Apfelstrudel with ice cream or Rote Grtze (red fruit jelly custard) will round off the meal on a sweet note.

Adding to the festive spirit, a strong music line-up will keep the energy alive each evening. Local favourites including Slipping Chairs, Magic Box Mixup, Section 8, OIC, and Pop Culture will perform live, creating the perfect atmosphere for a night of dancing and celebration.

For those seeking an unforgettable night of great food, lively music, and spectacular city views, Cinnamon Life’s rooftop Oktoberfest promises an unparalleled experience.

Tickets are priced at Rs. 8,900 nett per person, inclusive of buffet access and live entertainment.

Authentic record of the retirement of C.C.A. Brito-Mutunayagam, M.A., B.C.L. (Oxon.), the dedicated First Principal of Ceylon Law College, scholar and gentleman par excellence [From The Ceylon Law College Review 1955/56 ].

Forwarded by Keerthimala Gunasekera, Senior Attorney-at-Law

The eloquent toast to the Principal, delivered by LSU President T.S.P. Senanayake, distinguished by elegant use of Pali and Latin phrases:

My Lord Chief Justice, Mr Attorney, Your Lordship of the Supreme Court Mr Principal, Ladies and Gentlemen

This year annual dinner of the Law Students Union has a great significance in that we are taking the opportunity to bid farewell to Mr C.C.A. Brito Mutunayagam. It was originally our intention to hold a special farewell dinner but like Caesar he thrice declined the honour.

It is my enviable lot Sir, on behalf of 350 law students and hundreds of others to propose a toast to your health and happiness.

I should like to take this opportunity to make a brief resume of your career which should rightly have culminated as Chief Justice. After returning from Oxford you were called to the Official Bar. After a period of distinguished service the expounder of the law was called to draft laws for the colony. During this period the Council of Legal Education was looking round for a suitable person to be appointed as Principal of Law College and their choice very eminently fell upon you.

Tonight those departed Patriarchs might well congratulate themselves on the wisdom of their choice and be associated with these sentiments of Macaulay ‘Their search for a straggling gleanor has been rewarded by an ample sheaf. The legal draftsman’s loss, the Judiciary’s loss proved an inestimable boom to hundreds of law students. You showed by your own illustrious example that the legal profession was a vocation and not just another way of making easy money. The Law College was not merely to be a factory for the production of practitioners but rather to produce men who would take their rightful place in the forefront in the public life of the country.

Quoting Pali: In this auspicious year of the Samma Sambudha Jayanthi it is well to follow the injunctions of the enlightened one Buddha— ‘Pujaca puja Niyanna’ meaning Give honour where honour is due. It is no exaggeration to say that our departing principal has added lustre to the post he’s shortly to relinquish and that in casting his duties he brought to this high office those admirable qualities of head and heart impartiality and generosity

Quoting Latin: In the words of Horace who’ll never become unfashionable to quote as long as black coats are worn at Hultsdorp, I might describe you sir as ‘Justium Et Tenacem Propositi Virum – an upright man of steadfast purpose and I may add Spartan austerity.

As a lecturer you were painstaking and meticulous. Those of us who studied Constitutional Law and Law of Conflict of Laws remember the fundamentals you taught with a sure incisive grasp and never forget that vivid vein of humour which ran like quicksilver through your learned expositions.

In conclusion, I make no apology for quoting as I do Plato’s immortal apology of Socrates: ‘It is now time for us to part for me to remain and you to depart. But as to which of us is going to the better lot is not known to none save the Gods’. I call upon you Ladies and Gentlemen to drink to the health of Mr C.C. Brito-Mutunayagam, one of the greatest gentleman of our time.

The Review of 1955/56 contains a rich harvest of scholarly essays contributed by eminent members of the legal profession, they are:

1] The development of the empire and Commonwealth during the last fifty years by Sir Sydney Abrahams Chief Justice of Ceylon from 1936 to 1939 and was knighted in 1936.

2] Re-codifying the law of Evidence by G. D.Nokes LLD [Kings College London]

3] The Shisho-Kenshu-Sho of Japan or Judicial Training and Research Institute a special training School set up in Japan after the war by Professor Nadaraja Faculty of Law

4] The Source of Kandyan Law by Dr H. W. Tambiah QC

5] The Judiciary under the Constitution by M Tiruchelvam

6] Notes On Professional Etiquette By C. E. Jayawardena Member of the Bar Council

7] Liability for negligent misrepresentation and Chissel v Chapman by Sinha Basnayake [Advocate final year]

The memorable and spirited events that brought life and camaraderie to Law College in 1955

Dunstan de Alwis – who become an eminent lawyer and President’s Counsel was the General Secretary. He had reported with distinction the many activities that enriched the life of the College. Lectures of notable merit were delivered by the Hon Justice Gratien, Q.C., and other eminent members of the Bar and Bench.

A cricket match between the Bench and the Bar Captained by Hon Minster of Justice E.B. Wickremanayake Q.C. The Annual Dance was graced by the presence of the Hon. Justice Sansoni, while the Hon. Sir Allan Rose, Chief Justice, presided and distributed the prizes at the Annual Sports Meet, at which he was also the Chief Guest.

The Annual Oratorical Contest, a keenly fought event, was won by J. de Sa. Bandaranayake, who was awarded the Hector Jayawardene Gold Medal. The distinguished panel of judges included Sir Lalitha Rajapakse, Q.C., the Hon. Justice H.N.G. Fernando, and Corbet Jayawardene. The Review also recorded the spirited sports events tennis, cricket, and many other games that reflected the enthusiasm, discipline, and camaraderie characteristic of college life in that golden era.

Brito Mutunayagam’s name will ever remain associated with the finest traditions of the Ceylon Law College – a Principal whose scholarship, discipline, fearless integrity and gracious personality left an enduring mark upon both the institution and its students

In November 2024, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court issued an unusual ruling: senior Government officials had breached the public trust by drastically cutting taxes in 2019, setting off a ‘domino effect’ that ended in economic collapse in 2022. The Government’s debt default led to a sharp increase in prices, especially for food and transportation, as well as job and wage cuts, the effects of which are still ongoing.

Protests that overthrew Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, and subsequent elections that brought Anura Disanayake to power, make clear that Sri Lankans are determined to set a new economic course. The Government has already taken some steps, but the reforms aren’t deep enough to get at the root of the problem.

The Supreme Court case was focused on the immediate lead up to the crisis, but we found that the root of the problem goes back decades. In the late 1970s, Sri Lanka began an economic shift including tax policies that generated woefully low revenues, and favoured corporations and the wealthy.

This not only sowed the seeds of the 2022 crisis but also meant Government spending that is essential to human rights has lagged far behind growth for decades. By the 2010s, for example, Sri Lanka’s education spending was under 2% of GDP, before falling in 2022 to just 1.5%-the third-lowest rate in the world.

That was a tragic decline for a country that was once a global pioneer in education. Sri Lanka was among the first countries to establish free primary and secondary education for most people. Following independence, government funding of education-particularly in rural areas-lifted literacy and attendance rates to far outpace peer countries, helped spur social and economic mobility, and reduced inequality.

Taxes underpinned these achievements. Government revenues-around 90% from taxes-ranged between 20 and 25% of GDP in the 1960s and 70s. This enabled public education spending of 3 to 5%, close to the broadly accepted target of 4 to 6% to make progress on the right to education.

But a 1977 shift in economic policy toward an approach that gained dominance at the time that promoted growth as its own end, resulted in a sharp decline in tax revenue. The Government began handing out broad and opaque corporate tax exemptions ostensibly to attract investment, despite dubious evidence of their effectiveness. It also made little effort to tax the income or assets of people benefiting from the country’s growth. In the decade prior to the 2019 tax cuts, Sri Lanka’s tax-to-GDP averaged around 10%, less than half what it had been in the past.

The resulting low revenues have translated into inadequate school budgets that squandered Sri Lanka’s early achievements in education. Today, many schools rely on fees or alumni support for things as basic as exam paper and building maintenance.

A teacher in a public school in Colombo said her school had a science lab and smart boards thanks to the old boys club, while an Ampara official said there weren’t enough chairs for students in many of his schools. World Bank and academic research has shown widening disparities based on students’ socio-economic backgrounds, with lower enrolment in poorer areas.

Concerns about the quality of education resulting from decades of underfunding have been driving a proliferation of after school tuition classes to such a degree that experts now describe them as a ‘shadow education’ system.

A domestic worker living on a tea plantation in Hatton said she earns around Rs. 14,000 monthly working seven days a week and struggles to pay Rs. 5,000 every month for both of her children to attend tuition classes, in addition to the Rs. 500 the school charges in various fees every month. ‘When teachers ask for books and papers I can’t get those things,’ she said. ‘I struggle to give nutritious food to my children.’

A woman in Batticaloa put it stark terms: ‘I have difficulty sending [my daughter] to school every day because I don’t earn enough money. I need to choose between food and my daughter’s education.’

To uphold the economic and social rights of Sri Lankans, including to education, the Government should institute tax reforms to increase revenues through progressive measures and curtail regressive taxes, including by increasing tax revenues from personal income and wealth.

It should also end corporate tax incentives that are not tied to a specific and compelling policy rationale and subject to public cost-benefit analysis. Revenue increases should be used to increase social spending, including a goal of moving education spending towards 4 to 6% of GDP.

The new Government, which promised to break from past corruption and failed economic policies, has an opportunity to reverse Sri Lanka’s decades-long neglect of tax revenues and under-spending in social sectors, which culminated in misery and crisis. The time is ripe for an economic approach centred on human rights.