Minister Bandula Gunawardena says that a decision will be taken next week regarding the parking of 80 buses brought to Sri Lanka before 7 years without being allowed to be taken by the relevant committees.

He points out that it has been a problem for him as well why the relevant procurement committees not allowing the use of these buses citing various reasons, which have been brought on the approval of the Cabinet.

The minister said in a press conference today to announce the cabinet decisions that these buses will be inspected next week, the reasons for parking those buses for a long period will be found and the remaining measures will be taken to put them into operation.

“For school services, we have arranged to implement a new bus program as a pilot project. There was a problem to get batteries for 800 buses that were reconditioned and put into operation, under the foreign currency crisis. He was able to solve them last week. Even after 7 years have passed, 80 buses brought by state company Ashok Leyland have been brought here and parked. Even though the cabinet has issued the permission to buy these, for some reason, it is not allowed to use them. The procurement committees still do not allow these to be used, telling various stories. I hope to go there and have a look and inform the Cabinet about this. With this I prepared to do a pilot project. The technical committees do not give approval to buy those buses. I don’t understand why. We have great advantages from this. This is not for the new exchange rate, but for the old exchange rate. This is very beneficial for us. We expect this to be implemented next week.”

So far 1007 kilos of heroin have been seized in this year alone.

17,597 people were arrested in 17,650 raids.

During this period, the largest number of thieves were arrested in the operations carried out by the Police Narcotics Bureau and the Navy in the high seas. 917 kilos and 40 grams of heroin have been seized along with 29 people in 03 raids on the high sea.

In 17,914 raids by police stations across the island, the amount of heroin arrested is 68 kg and 685 grams along with 16,820 people.

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07 officers of the Sri Lanka Police have taken oath as lawyers in the Supreme Court.

Accordingly, the number of police officers who are lawyers working in the Sri Lanka Police has increased to 41.

Among those 41 there are two senior DIGs and four DIGs.

Senior Deputy Inspector Generals of Police are Ajith Rohana and Priyantha Weerasuriya.

Police Legal Division Chief Asanka Karavita and Special Task Force Commander Varuna Jayasundara are among the DIGs who are lawyers.

The 07 newly joined lawyers in this group are as follows.

Yesterday, three suspects were arrested in Kandy by the Criminal Investigation Department for setting fire to the house of Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.

The suspects are residents of Mulgampala and Kandy. They are 25, 29, and 32 years old.

After the attack on the Galle Face protest site on May 9, Keheliya Rambukwella was attacked and set fire to the minister’s house in the wake of the nationwide unrest.

So far, 17 people have been arrested in connection with the attack on the house of Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.

Officers of Pallewela Police today arrested Mr. Tharanga Jayasinghe, a member of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s Divulapitiya Regional Council, who ran away after attacking a female development officer attached to the Mirigama Divisional Secretariat who was checking the QR code of the Baduragoda filling station.

That is after he surrendered to the police.

This attack happened on the 13th. That was when the MP came on his motorcycle and was ready to refuel. She was the one who was on duty that day to check the QR code there. The attack took place after the MP engaged in an argument with her. That was recorded in the security cameras of the filling station.

After being produced before the Attanagalla court this evening, the suspected MP has been released on two personal bails of Rs. 100,000.

• Races from 5th to 2nd position in the market in 5 years 
• Gross Written Premium of Rs. 11.4 b with an increase in top-line growth of 24%
• Market share of 17.1% as of 30 June 2022 
• Top-line growth of 24% vs an overall industry growth of 18.7%
• Profit After Tax rose to 
• Rs. 1.2 b with a 30% growth
• Maintains a 10-year Compound Annual Growth Rate of 29% in GWP against an industry CAGR of 14.3%

Defying all odds amidst challenging macroeconomic conditions, Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing life insurer Softlogic Life announced yesterday that the company had climbed to become Sri Lanka’s second-largest life insurance company after recording a superior growth performance during the first half of 2022.

The significant milestone makes Softlogic Life the youngest life insurer to achieve this remarkable feat.

During the six months ending 30 June 2022, Softlogic Life has posted a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of Rs. 11.4 billion with an increase in top-line growth of 24% vs overall industry growth of 18.7% compared to last year. The market share of 17.1% recorded as of 30 June 2022 now ranks Softlogic Life as the second largest in the life insurance market, overtaking industry heavyweights that have been prevalent for many decades. 

Since its inception, Softlogic Life has been striving to improve the quality of life of Sri Lankans through relevant disruptive innovations and digitalisation. Industry-first innovations such as one-day automated claims settlement, one-minute hospitalisation claim settlement, 100% digitalised sales platform, automatic policy issuance, and mobile-based micro products have helped the company to deliver a superior customer experience, which has been instrumental in enhancing its competitive position. 

But the biggest reason that enabled the company to grow amidst calamity was that the company stood firmly with over 1.5 million customers in a business landscape disrupted by the pandemic and a full-blown economic crisis, becoming the most prominent COVID claims settler with over Rs. 1.4 billion COVID-19 claims were being paid whilst also attracting more than 17% of the industry’s new business during the review period. 

Recognising this phenomenal growth story year-on-year is why the company was also titled the “Best Life Insurance Company of the Year” at Emerging Asia Awards 2021 and the only brand to have won “Brand of the Year” for two consecutive years at Effie awards – 2019/2021. 

In addition, as a result of the company’s firm commitment to ensuring high standards in transparency and Corporate Governance, Softlogic Life was awarded an overall Silver across industries for excellence in Financial reporting and a Gold Award in the insurance sector at the Annual report awards 2021 organised by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka while also winning an Overall Gold at the CMA Excellence in Integrating Reporting Awards 2021.

Chairman Ashok Pathirage said: “I am truly proud of this achievement by Softlogic Life. Driven by bold leadership, an inspired team with a “Can Do” attitude and a vibrant strategy for continuous improvement, the company always believes in defying the odds. Today they have done just that by moving towards the pinnacle to become Sri Lanka’s second-largest life insurance company. 

“This drive is why global investors have chosen Softlogic Life to invest in and continue to provide invaluable support towards growing our business in all aspects. I’m extremely pleased to see how Softlogic Life, “a company we took under the wings of “Softlogic Group” in 2011, has grown by leaps and bounds whilst also transforming the industry.”

Managing Director Iftikar Ahamed said: “As a young company we have achieved something phenomenal crafting and delivering a winning strategy that is the hallmark of the Softlogic Group in just eight years. It is a historical milestone to achieve the number two spot in an extremely competitive, mature sector that was for years led by decade-old industry giants.

“The top and bottom-line performances during the first half of 2022 show optimism and confidence in continuing to improve our business and delivering great value to our policyholders and stakeholders, even amidst challenging macroeconomic conditions. I want to thank the management team, employees and our sales force for their hard work and commitment to making this vision a reality. I’d also like to thank our customers and all other stakeholders of Softlogic Life for their unwavering trust in us.”

Along with its phenomenal growth momentum, the company has also been resolute regarding its financial stability and overall health. The company’s Profit After Tax (PAT) during the review period rose to Rs. 1.2 billion with a 30% growth. Profit before tax (PBT) rose to Rs.1.7 billion, with a 14% growth compared to last year. Furthermore, Softlogic Life maintained a healthy Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 325%, well above the regulatory CAR requirement of 120%. All this while maintaining a 10-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 29% in GWP against an industry CAGR of 14.3%. 

Zimbabwe, which is one of the countries with the highest inflation in the world, has now started using golden coins for its currency.

Accordingly, the government of Zimbabwe issued a gold coin worth 1800 US dollars last month. This gold coin is available from approved banks and can be used for transactions like cash equivalents.

With the release of this gold coin last month, a significant number of people have obtained this gold coin through banks, the Zimbabwean government says.

Before the introduction of this gold coin by the Zimbabwean government, the people of the country were tempted to trade in US dollars, which greatly reduced the country’s foreign reserves.

Accordingly, with the success of the use of gold coins, the Zimbabwean government has also decided to issue a coin worth 180 US dollars in the future.

It is expected that this coin will be able to control the high inflation in the country. Zimbabwe has a very corrupt political regime and as a result the country is facing a severe economic crisis.

The Election Commission announces that a discussion will be held on the 23rd with the political parties that do not represent the Parliament.

Its chairman Mr. Lawyer Nimal Punchihewa stated that this discussion was called for the purpose of seeking the views of the political parties on the proposals of the Parliamentary Special Committee on the amendment of the Election Laws that have been presented to the Parliament and to discuss a plan to implement those proposals.

Currently, the number of political parties that are not represented in the Parliament is close to 50.

Government institutions, organizations and businesses are now provided with the opportunity to register multiple vehicles under one business registration number for fuel pass with one mobile phone number or multiple mobile phone numbers.

Power and Energy Minister Mr. Kanchana Wijesekera says that government agencies will be given guidelines on their business registration numbers.

Accordingly, the feature of registering multiple vehicles under the business registration number category for one mobile phone number is now enabled.

For that, go to https://fuelpass.gov.lk/ and register the 1st vehicle under the business registration number, then log into your account with the registered mobile phone and click the add button for multiple vehicles to register multiple vehicles for the fuel pass.

The inter-city ultra-luxury weekend ‘Ella Odyssey’ train between Colombo and Badulla has started today (13) at 5.30 am from Colombo Fort railway station.

The luxury train between Colombo and Badulla, a railway destination that has won high tourist attraction in the country, started with the participation of the Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena.

Earlier this train ran from Kandy to Ella.

These train sets, which started traveling from Colombo Fort today, consist of 8 cabin sections.

Seats must be reserved by paying in advance and the train consists of first, second and third class seats.

Speaking to the media after starting the train journey, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena also said:

“The main purpose of this is to provide a special high-luxury tourist train service not only to foreign tourists but also to local tourists. Today, as a first step, a train service was started from Colombo Fort to Badulla. In the future, such weekend super-luxury train services will also be used in areas such as Anuradhapura, Jaffna and Beliatta. Hopefully, the uniqueness of this Ella Odyssey train is that the train will stop for a while at the attractive sightseeing spots from Kandy to Badulla and give the passengers the opportunity to visit those places. I hope that the Railway Department will be able to support the upliftment of the tourism industry by starting such special train programs in the future.”