Govt. spent Rs. 26.2 mn. so far on Rohana Wijeweera’s family

The Government has spent Rs. 26,278,052 to date on the maintenance of the wife and children of Rohana Wijeweera – founder of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Parliament was informed yesterday (July 21). The disclosure was made in response to a question raised by Kurunegala District MP – Dayasiri Jayasekara, with the reply tabled by Deputy Minister of Defence Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd.). According to the response, the annual maintenance expenditure, which stood at around Rs. 26,309.63 in 1993, had increased to Rs. 2,823,590.50 last year. So far this year, the Government has spent Rs. 272,245 on the family’s maintenance. Advertisement The Deputy Minister also stated that Wijeweera’s family was accommodated at the Trincomalee Naval Base from June 1992 until Aug. 1999 and has since been residing at the Welisara Naval Complex. The Monetary Policy Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), at its meeting held yesterday (July 21) decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at the current level of 8.75%. The Board arrived at this decision after carefully considering the evolving conditions and outlook on the domestic and global fronts. Renewed tensions in the Middle East have resulted in a surge in global commodity prices, particularly petroleum. These developments are likely to dampen global economic prospects with potential spillovers to the domestic economy through multiple channels. Headline inflation accelerated to 6.8% (y-o-y) in June 2026, mainly due to higher domestic energy and food prices. Headline inflation is expected to remain above the target of 5% in the near term before gradually returning to the target level. Core inflation is also expected to increase and remain around the headline inflation target. In spite of the near-term uptick in actual inflation, inflation expectations remain well-anchored around the inflation target over the medium term. Although the acceleration of headline inflation is largely supply-driven, demand conditions in the economy have also strengthened. However, together with other policy measures taken by the Government and the Central Bank, the monetary policy tightening in May 2026 and its gradual transmission to the real economy are expected to moderate credit growth and the buildup of demand pressures going forward. Advertisement The pressure on the external sector caused by the Middle East conflict has eased somewhat, although the outlook remains uncertain due to renewed tensions. Since April 2026, the external current account recorded a deficit, mainly because higher fuel import costs widened the merchandise trade deficit and tourism earnings slowed down. Going forward, import demand, including demand for motor vehicles, is expected to reduce in response to recent policy measures. Meanwhile, workers’ remittances have remained strong so far in 2026. Gross Official Reserves stood at USD 6.45 bn at the end of June 2026, amid foreign debt service payments. The Sri Lanka rupee has stabilised somewhat in recent weeks reflecting the impact of policy measures that have been taken thus far. The CBSL says they will continue to closely monitor domestic and global developments for emerging risks. The Central Bank expects the monetary policy tightening carried out previously to transmit to the economy in the period ahead. It stands ready to take appropriate measures to ensure that inflation stabilises around the 5% target, while supporting the economy to reach its potential over the medium term. The release of the next regular statement on the monetary policy review will be on 30 September 2026. A few showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in the Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts today (July 22), the Department of Meteorology stated. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva and Eastern provinces after 2.00 p.m. Mainly dry weather will prevail over the other areas of the island. Meanwhile, strong winds of about 40-50kmph can be expected at times over the Northern and North-central provinces and in the Hambantota and Trincomalee districts. Advertisement The general public has been requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers. The Southern Provincial Education Department has postponed the Grade 9 Geography and Civic Education question paper scheduled for today (July 22) under the second term examinations. The paper will now be held on July 24, the Southern Provincial Director of Education announced. The decision was taken after the question papers could not be distributed to the relevant divisional education offices due to a printing delay. Officials have informed all school principals in the respective education zones regarding the change.