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A group of trade unions and civil society groups has requested President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to abandon his government’s controversial plan for the proposed tripartite management of the EPF.
The group has told the President: “We strongly object to the government’s plan to transfer the EPF to a tripartite board—jointly promoted by the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO)—and to increase the investments of those funds within private equity and debt markets.
“While the EFC and the government jointly project this plan as a ‘modern governance framework’, it poses a serious threat to the EPF’s financial stability, fiduciary conduct, and returns to workers’ life savings, with severe consequences for broader macroeconomic stability. Rather than replacing the corruption existing in the public sector, this tripartite framework paves the way for a corporate takeover of the EPF. Through this, the fund is exposed to unlawful business practices such as insider trading using internal information of EPF investments, conflicts of interest and corporate bailouts of unstable private companies.
“Sri Lanka’s corporate sector has a tremendously negative track record, which you alluded to during your victorious election campaign in 2024. This was recently unravelled by the multi-billion-dollar illicit capital flight through trade misinvoicing, which your administration is now actively working to curb in the imports sector.
“The recent banking sector fraud exceeds Rs. 13 billion; widespread corporate tax evasion destabilised the fiscal position (Sri Lanka Auditor General’s Department Annual Reports) and consequently inflated the tax burden on the general public. The EFC has found it convenient to remain silent about these crimes, possibly assuming that their silence would preserve their social standing. Considering this inherent corruption within Sri Lanka’s corporate sector and its disregard to the living standards of the general public, there is no realistic basis to integrate corporate interests to actively manage the EPF. The corporate sector of Sri Lanka has not developed sufficiently on technical and ethical grounds to safely entrust the largest retirement savings pool in the country. The EPF is a captive fund that has no mechanism for the owners to divest if the management is corrupt. This further increases the possibility of corporate fraud when the management of the fund is jointly held with the corporate sector.
“Furthermore, during the recent public discussion with trade unions, Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Anila Jayantha pointed out that the domestic debt restructuring (DDR) would inflict a loss of Rs. 600 billion to the EPF. Our independent calculations—formally submitted as an affidavit to the Supreme Court approved by the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations in 2024—reveal that nominal loss alone is Rs. 634.4 billion. When factoring in foreclosed reinvestment returns, the true loss skyrockets to Rs. 1,711 billion, wiping out 48% of the fund’s projected gross income for the 2023 – 2028 period. Under the pretext of safeguarding the banking system, this colossal robbery preserved high yields on government bonds held by commercial banks and high-net-worth individuals, subsequently reaping them astronomical profits. Now, the exact same plunder is rearing its head again disguised as a tripartite committee.”
“The main arguments supporting our resistance and viable alternatives for optimising EPF management directly under the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), are outlined below.
“Objections to the government’s tripartite proposal:
1. The “International best practice and conflict of interest fallacies”
The government holds that tripartite management of pension funds is the “international best practice” and that there is a “conflict of interest” in CBSL managing the EPF. They are key pillars justifying government’s tripartite proposal.
These two positions are shockingly misleading given that four of the five largest pension funds in the world, in Norway, Japan, the U.S., and Singapore, are managed directly by state bodies or central banks. Therefore, ‘international best practice’ in pension fund management is the exact opposite of what the government and the IMF are proposing. We hence reject these baseless positions.
2. Corporate captivity and bailouts
It is clear that the EFC is desperately pushing for this proposal at a time of global uncertainty, to cushion the effects of the crisis and maximise gains. Under corporate influence within the proposed tripartite board, the private conglomerates can use the multi-trillion-rupee EPF to continue their unstable commercial operations without having to risk their own capital or savings to do so. This will severely erode the financial stability of the EPF and its returns.
“Because the EPF is a colossal fund, its investment decisions can alter asset prices. This creates immense monetary value for the information generated by its investment decisions. Corporate representatives on the proposed tripartite board will be perfectly positioned to use this information to trade ahead of the EPF (front-running), buying assets cheaply and dumping them onto the EPF at inflated prices for guaranteed corporate gain, resulting in a reduction of returns to the EPF.
“Presence of a separate group of investment analysts, trade union representatives and government officials within the proposed tripartite structure cannot prevent pre-market corporate access to EPF’s investment decisions. Investment proposals made by the analysts has to be first approved by the proposed tripartite committee, making it impossible to prevent corporate access to insider information on EPF investments.”
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United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday (08) said that Friday’s devastating flood in Colombo could have been averted if the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), and other relevant officials, heeded Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya’s directive to clean canals and drainage systems across Colombo.
Dr. Amarasuriya issued the directive on October 13, 2026, at the Colombo District Coordinating Committee meeting in Narahenpita. Dr. Amarasuriya wanted the clean-up completed within two years. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, MP Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi and Samanmali Gunasinghe, local government representatives and Colombo District Secretary Ginige Prasanna Janaka Kumara were present on the occasion.
Former Minister Ranawaka dismissed Colombo Mayor Vraie Cally Balthazaar’s claim that the drainage couldn’tsystem couldn’t cope up with 129mm of rainfall, received on 06 Nov., as it was designed to handle 30mm of rain, as a blatant lie. First of all, the Mayor should explain as to why the CMC couldn’t carry out the PM’s specific directive, the former parliamentarian said, urging the government to inquire into the Mayor’s inaction.
Absolutely nothing had been done since the NPP won the CMC at the May 2025 local government polls, the ex-lawmaker said, pointing out that the National Hospital had never been flooded before though Colombo received far heavier rainfall before. The Fort Central Bus Stand hadn’t been so badly affected before, the URF leader said, emphasising that the crisis was caused by the CMC’s failure.
During the 13 Oct. meeting, chaired by Dr. Amarasuriya, local authorities (including Divisional Secretariats, the Department of Agrarian Development, and the Provincial Irrigation Department) explained the shortage of technical officers, in addition to difficulty in drafting plans and cost estimates, as well as long-standing maintenance gaps.
Ex-lawmaker Ranawaka said that the CMC shouldn’t only accept the responsibility for significant losses suffered by the business community and ordinary people, sufficient compensation should be paid. However, it would be pertinent to examine the failure on the part of the much hyped ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ project to intervene in Colombo, he said, pointing out that the devastating flood highlighted almost total negligence on the part of the boastful top CMC management.
Instead of taking tangible measures to improve the Colombo canals and drainage systems, the Mayor seemed to have engaged in a social media campaign to deceive the public, the ex-parliamentarian said. Ranawaka compared the CMC response to the PM’s directive with the warning issued by Athula Karunanayake, the Director General of the Meteorology Department on 12 Nov. 2025 regarding the impending cyclone. The warning was issued during an appearance on TV Derana’s Big Focus programme. Hundreds died in Cyclone Ditwah in late Nov., 2025.
Former Minister Ranawaka said that Colombo Mayor’s claim as regards the capacity of the drainage system to meet just 30 mm rainfall had been contradicted by the relevant government authorities and the government was no longer in position to side-step the issue. For those who genuinely believed in good governance and accountability, under NPP, now realised the ruling party was on a wrong path, Ranawaka said, declaring that the incumbent administration lacked vision to undertake major projects at any level.
The ground floor of the Outpatient Department (OPD) of Kandy National Hospital was inundated following heavy rainfall in Kandy town on Saturday evening.
Water accumulated at several locations within the hospital premises, causing considerable inconvenience to patients and other visitors.
Central Province Governor Specialist Dr. Harsha Suranga Fernando visited the hospital on Sunday to inspect the affected areas and assess the emergency situation. He issued directives to hospital authorities to take necessary measures to prevent a recurrence.
Hospital administrators, including Dr. Ravindra Weliwita and Dr. Iresha Fernando, were present during the inspection.
Kandy Railway Station was also affected by severe flooding following the heavy downpour.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has called on the Government to restore duty-concession vehicle import permits, suspended in 2022.
In a statement issued yesterday (08), GMOA Secretary Dr. U.K.B. Warakagoda said doctors would stage a protest outside the Colombo National Hospital on November 10 over unresolved grievances, including salary and allowance issues and the shortage of medical professionals.
The Association alleged that the Health Ministry had failed to respond to repeated requests for discussions on problems confronting medical professionals.
It said the cancellation of duty-concession vehicle permits following the 2022 economic crisis, coupled with increased taxation on doctors’ earnings and work-related allowances, had aggravated their financial difficulties.
The GMOA further claimed that one-third of doctors’ overtime and holiday allowances had been withheld under the 2025 public sector salary revision, with the Government reportedly undertaking to restore the payments once the country’s economic situation improved.
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