Different drummer @advocatalk
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Joined June 2013
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▶️ I had a conversation with Pubudu Niroshan on the nationwide blackout and the future energy plans.
🔴 ලෝකයම පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්තියට යනකොට හොදින් ඉර පායන දවසට මිනිස්සුන්ගේ වියදමින් ගහපු සෝලා ගලවන්න අපේ විදුලි බල පද්දතිය අවුල් යනවා කියන තරමට රටේ විදුලිබලය ක්ශේත්‍රය බංකොලොත් වීම රටේ ඉදිරි ගමනට හා දියුණුවට මරු පහරක් කාලයක් තිස්සේ ඒකාධිකාරීත්වයක් පවත්වාගනිමින් දේශපාලන අවශ්‍යතාවන්ට ඔළුගෙඩි පුරවමින් තාක්ශනික ආයෝජන හෝ නිසි ඉදිරි දැක්මක් නොමැතිව පාරිභෝගිකයාට කිසිදු තේරීමක් නැති කරමින් වගවීමක් නොමැතිව ගෙන ගිය විදුලබලයේ බලය දැන්වත් රටේ හා ජනතාවගේ සුභ සිද්ධිය උදෙසා ක්‍රියාත්මක කරාවි කියන එක අප කාගෙත් පැතුමයි
youtu.be/VMzFUpyP8Ss
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▶️ One of Sri Lanka’s most underrated economic mistakes is trying to control prices through “certified prices.” Prices signal scarcity. When we distort that signal, shortages and crises follow, whether it’s paddy, fuel or the US dollar. Explaining why on පන්ති සටන.
🔴ආණ්ඩුවට දෝදු ද සර්?
(ස.මි.පි ආර්ථික විද්‍යා පාඩම)
youtu.be/JYG-pOtAtQ0?si=LSOV…
@dhananath @Slvlog
#Farmer #Consumer #Rice #Government #Price
A nationwide blackout. Not even an apology from the NSO or electricity authorities. That’s the arrogance of monopoly.
Competition forces accountability and puts consumers first. Markets can fail, but monopolies esp state monopolies leave consumers with no choice and little power
I’ve started a small economics class on YouTube with a bunch of comedians! The plot? Students caught up in pyramid schemes are sent to my class by court order. My job is to teach them economics, with a bit of humour.
It’s called පන්ති සටන. Give it a watch and share your feedback
🔴පාලන මිල කෙළිය👇👇👇
youtu.be/EahrNOLtU6g?si=4Puq…
@dhananath @Slvlog
#Price #Control #Crisis #Inflación
▶️What happened to $1B?
Five years later, the X-Press Pearl disaster remains shrouded in questions. What really happened after the ship sank, and why are so many questions still unanswered? 🚢
Watch the full podcast to explore the mystery behind one of Sri Lanka’s biggest maritime disasters.
🔗youtu.be/h3tyU_XD2aQ?si=K9da…
Featuring 🎙️- Sean Van Dort (Immediate Past President, Sri Lanka Shippers Council) , @dhananath Fernando, Riyad Riffai
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Fair question, @sanjiva. We had individual bus owners tied to scarce permits, not real competition. AC permits barred standing passengers, unlike Metro. Fare caps discouraged better service, while bus owners' associations acted more like cartels. That's not a competitive market.
Thank you, @afidelf. I wasn't suggesting privatisation, but more Metro-quality buses. With limited public funds, why not let private operators compete under the same standards? Both state and private monopolies are bad for passengers. Competition brings better service and choice.
1️⃣Denial is not a strategy
2️⃣IMF is not a growth strategy
Macroeconomics made simple by @dhananath:
The @IMFNews programme is not a substitute for a national growth strategy for #lka. Yes, IMF helped us much to stabilize economy after #EconomicCrisisLK, but the rest is in our hands. Does our govt realise it?
themorning.lk/articles/Qe19j…
Take a look at the last graph in this thread. We imposed the QR system on 15th March 2026 and looked at what has happened to Petral Diesel sales data. Comparing with what went through 2021-2022
Reflecting back to early 2022, when Sri Lanka was facing 10-hour power cuts and severe fuel shortages, energy consumption was still running off the charts. Excess demand itself became a driver of the shortages. Money printing, moral suasion to hold the LKR at 200, and delays in revising energy prices all artificially suppressed the price mechanism and fuelled unsustainable demand. After prices were revised demand corrected with an overshoot to the downside.
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When fuel prices are not market reflective, we artificially create demand for USD and then blame the Central Bank when the LKR depreciates.
A fuel subsidy may look popular today, but it signals the possibility of a looming crisis tomorrow
This is my attempt to present a rational argument as to why the government should not continue with fuel subsidies. It is NOT the fault of @CBSL that the LKR is weakening - they are acting as per their mandate; distorting energy prices — particularly fuel, but also electricity through differentiated tariffs across user categories — undermines the market’s ability to curtail demand and allocate resources efficiently. Thank you Jamila Husain and @Dailymirror_SL for giving my piece front-page coverage. Link below.
Fuel price adjustments are never popular. ⛽️
But not adjusting prices to reflect cost can be far more unpopular.
If global oil prices rise sharply and we delay, the eventual correction will be painful. 📈
That is when households, businesses and the economy are in real trouble.
My op-ed in @timesofindia on the rupee:
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…
There is nothing automatic about foreign exchange running out. Only the RBI can deplete reserves. The policy question is whether to deplete reserves to support the rupee. I argue that there are ample grounds to let the rupee adjust to arrive at lower imports, higher exports, and to encourage capital inflows. Intervention in FX markets can wait another day.
✈️If misleading Finance Ministers and Presidents and wasting public money were an art, SriLankan Airlines would be its Picasso. 👨✈️
🧵When prices lie crisis’ follow. Facts driven thread on the role of prices. Market system is nothing but allowing the prices to work
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Thank you @gayaradesilva for pointing this out. I admit a better word could be “General Public”. What we meant was private individuals when we said private sector. We always try our best to be above the mark but sometimes we fail. We are sorry.
These are stills taken from a reel made by @advocatalk that really misrepresents the key context. Sri Lanka has long relied heavily on indirect taxes - around 70% in past years, and even in the latest IRD report it’s still about 60%. That means most tax revenue comes from indirect taxes like VAT, which everyone pays, including the poorest households. So framing this as “private sector money being handed out to others” is already misleading ⚠️
On recruitments: yes, public sector hiring is high. But we also have a genuine shortage of skilled workers, and part of the allocation is specifically for hiring qualified recruits. This isn’t just about headcount, it’s also about capability. Government needs to figure out how to restructure and let go of the workforce that’s not adding value (tough given labour laws).
And why are pension allocations being shown as if they are some scandalous handout? Pensions are a standard state obligation in any functioning system.
@advocatalk @dhananath you’ll know better. This reel oversimplifies a complex issue and presents it in a way that’s just not accurate. Been noticing similar biased content so please do better.
👇If a private employer fails to pay EPF/ETF, jail is likely. But when state-owned enterprises don’t pay, they go scot-free and often get more taxpayer funding. When the government sets double standards like this, any serious conversation about entrepreneurship simply dies.
SOE reform is the real game changer. State banks carry over LKR 500B exposure to SOEs. 📉
Real SOE reforms can:
1️⃣Attract FDI 🌏
2️⃣Reduce debt 📉
3️⃣Increase tax revenue 💰
4️⃣Cut govt expenditure ✂️
Continuing the current SOE model does the exact opposite. 🚫
🏠Higher construction costs aren’t just talk. Even the President flagged this before taking office. Now the BOI Chair echoes it. The real test is do we have the courage to cut tariffs on cement, tiles, sanitaryware, and steel in the upcoming budget 2026?
📈Glad to see export growth. It’s not enough, but at least it’s growth. Remember when Modern Monetary Theorists accused exporters of hiding USD 50 B offshore to defend money printing? If that’s true, where’s that USD 50 B now? 🤔 Growth beyond this will be tough without reforms.
🇱🇰⚓️Glad to see our exporters thriving globally. Remember how Modern Monetary Theory failure was covered up by blaming exporters for hiding money overseas? Misinvoicing is WRONG, but it’s fueled by complex tariffs & market controls. Let’s simplify, support, & encourage—not vilify
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