Several members of the business community joined in a meeting with the President at Temple Trees to broach the rapid development that is taking place since the routing of terrorism. Several large scale development projects are in operation in affiliation to the Hambantota District. The Government’s target is to make Hambantota, which was identified as a very remote and under-developed area in the country, as the second leading City.

The background for the development is being prepared with the launch of the historic Magampura Harbour and the Mattala Airport. Hambantota and the surrounding towns are developing as the world’s leading commercial towns. As such the President invited the business community to to join in reaping maximum benefits. A workshop showcasing the progress in development in Hambantota was also organized at Temple Trees.

Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa and Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabral appraised the business fraternity about the investment opportunities available in Hambantota. President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunge and many senior Government Officials attended this workshop.

Briefing journalists at the Cabinet news briefing, the Minister said a wide political agreement was reached that the Local Government Elections should be held based on the Ward System in view of the shortcomings in the existing Electoral System. The Government observed that there is a social consensus that the present system should be changed. Accordingly, Cabinet approval was granted to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft legislation to amend the Local Government Elections Ordinance and the Municipal Council Ordinance, Urban Council Ordinance and the Pradeshiya Sabha Act, to be presented to Parliament. The Minister pointed out that the Local Authority areas will be delimited into Wards based on the First Past the Post System and a number of members not exceeding 1/3 of the number of Wards of the Local Area will be appointed under PR system.

Briefing the media at the weekly Cabinet news briefing, the Minister totally refuted opposition allegations that the President term of office has been extended through this move. It has not been extended. It is the people’s franchise that has been strengthened through the 18th Amendment Citing the old Constitutions, the Minister said that the Late Sirimavo Bandaranaike had served as Prime Minister on three occasions, while Dudley Senanayake served as the Prime Minister on four occasions. At the same time, the Amendment has given more strength to carry forward the country and in this case the people would be the decisive factor. The Minister reminded the nod given by the Supreme Court and it had determined that the Bill should be ratified with a two thirds majority.

The Minister said they looked at various other National Action Plans which had been put together by various countries. They considered them, particularly the best practices incorporated in those Plans. This was done in the context of putting into place a workable, practical and an appropriate National Action Plan to deal with the issues that Sri Lanka was facing specially in the aftermath of the war. This will building confidence among all the people so that unity can be solicited and everyone can join in the national reconstruction and development effort that the President hopes he would put in place soon after the war, when peace returns.

“Toronto Sun” is a newspaper which was critical of the Sri Lankan Government on various occasions in the past. A latest report appearing in the paper has said that it was amazed over the programme mooted by the Government to resettle the displaced. More than 228,000 civilians were displaced by the conflict and only less than 35,000 civilians are to be resettled. Every week, at least three thousand civilians are being resettled.

It is the opinion of the Canadian newspaper that this is significant and amazing. The resettlement process has entered the final phase setting an example to the entire world. The paper said the Tamil civilians are now enjoying real freedom with the total elimination of terrorism from the country.

The CID is issuing the summons on the orders of the three judge High Court Bench which is examining the case. A group of witnesses including Sunday Leader Editor Fredrica Jansz and Major General Shavendra Silva has been issued with notices to appear in Court when the case will be taken up on the 27th of this month. The Attorney General has indicted Sarath Fonseka for in respect of the false statement he has made denigrating the Armed Forces.

The exhibition will be open on the Saturday from 12.00 noon to 6.00 p.m. and on Sunday from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Admission to the exhibition and demonstrations are free of charge to the public. According to the Japanese Embassy, some of the cultural features of Japan such as Ikebana, Bonsai, Origami, Dolls, Kimono, and posters will be exhibited, thus displaying popular tourism destinations in Japan. Demonstrations of Ikebana, Origami, Bonsai, Calligraphy, and the Tea ceremony will also be held on both days. The Japanese Embassy said the exhibition is designed to display Japan’s culture and lifestyle as well as promote tourism to Japan and thereby to further enhance the friendly relations between the peoples of Japan and Sri Lanka.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya, in the Central Province has seen 107,000 foreign visitors in the first seven month of this year compared with an average of 25,000 from 2005 to 2009. A note to cabinet by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that local visitors had increased to 633,210 in the first seven months compared to an average of about 200,000 from 2005 to 2009.

The Economic Development Ministry had received approval from the Cabinet of Ministers to spend 60 million rupees to build modern toilets for tourists, new ticket officers and facilities for disabled visitors. The note said that existing facilities are around 50 years old. The Peradeniya gardens have a long history dating back to the time of Kandyan Kings but it was a built into a scientifically managed botanical garden after Sri Lanka came under British rule.

According to the system the candidate with the highest number of formal votes will be elected. It is the simplest system of voting and counting votes.

The Minister opined that they are for the functioning of the Commissions in an independent manner. They will extend support to President Rajapajse to achieve rapid economic development.

Meanwhile Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said that certain sectors have attempted to create public anxiety through the use of certain words and phrases. Those who seek to generate trepidation in the masses have sought to undermine public confidence in the administration led by President Rajapaksa.

The Minister however expressed his confidence that the intelligent and erudite members of the house who represent literate and mature electorate will be able to distinguish inescapable truth from insidious fiction.

The BBC said that the Government  was expected to easily win the two-thirds majority needed to pass the amendment. It said that the President Rajapaksa is popular among the masses for presiding over the defeat in May last year of the Tamil Tiger rebels, after a 25-year separatist conflict.

Meanwhile Reuters also gave prominence for the report and  said that the approval of the 18^th Amendment is an important victory for the Government.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Facility Project supports the government’s efforts to improve access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprises affected by the Global Financial Crisis.

Announcing the credit, the monetary institute said that although the Sri Lankan banking sector has proven resilient to the effects of the global credit crisis, SMEs, which represent 91% of firms, have been more impacted.

World Bank Acting Country Director Daniel J. Boyce expressed hope that the development of SMEs will lead to higher incomes and increasing employment opportunities for a larger segment of the population in the country.

Minister Basil Rajapaksa said it is mentioned in the Mahinda Chjintana.

He said that Section 52 of the Mahinda Chintana mentions that the President will participate in Parliamentary sessions strengthening the bond between the President and Parliament.

He said that under the amendment the President is responsible for public security under the existing laws and any other written laws.

He said that the amendment was introduced to make the President more responsible towards the Parliament. The amendment makes it compulsory for the President to attend Parliament.

The Minister expressed this view while participating in the debate on the 18^th Constitutional amendment.

The function organized by the Association of Girl Guides was held at the Prime Minister’s office. Girl Guides from Kandy, Colombo, Kegalla, Galle and  Mannar Districts participated in the ceremony.

87 Girl Guides were awarded with President’s badges while three were awarded the Prime Minister’s badges. President of the Girl Guides Association Venetia Gamage was among a large number of officials who participated.

The aim of the Association is to exchange knowledge and maintain friendly relations. The office bearers were appointed at the Parliamentary complex yesterday.

The new President of the association is Parliamentarian Sudarshani Fernandopulle. The Italian Ambassador Ruben Fedele participated in the occasion that was organized by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.

This fraud had been carried out through a bogus financial institution. The suspects who were produced before the Magistrate were released on bail.

The Court ordered a personal bail of 50 million rupees and a bail of 75,000 rupees on each. The Magistrate ordered the suspects to preset themselves to the Commercial Crime Investigation Unit on the last Sunday of every month. The suspects were ordered to surrender their passports to the courts.

A special Japanese delegation that has arrived in Sri Lanka held detailed discussions in this connection with Minister basil Rajapaksa. They also focused on drawing Japanese investors into Sri Lanka.

They expressed appreciation about the large scale development projects in Sri Lanka. Parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa and Sajin Vaas Gunawardena were present on the occasion.

He was earlier cleared by an SLFP Disciplinary Committee from charges against him involving an incident where he had tied a Sumurdi official to a tree in Kaleniya.

He was stripped of his post while the Sri Lanka Freedom Party membership was temporarily suspended on August 10^th pending an inquiry.

The posters were seized by the Special Investigation Unit of the Mirihana Police. Nine suspects were arrested along with the posters. The press is said to belong to the JVP.

The Police team raided the press on information received by DIG Daya Samaraweera. The posters had pictures of Hitler and Idi Amin printed on them. The driver of the vehicle that distributed the posers in various areas was also arrested. The suspects were produced in court yesterday.