Thilak Mallawaarachchi, PhD

@sallymcmanus And the banks too. This policy is bound to fail: prices are driven by global uncertainty and the levers are not with those people who are under strain.

@AARES_Inc Our 70th Annual meeting is turing out to be another grand one. Have you considered attending? Looking forward to be there and contributing.

As trade relies more on relationships between nations that embody values, would it lead to a new basis for broader cooperation? My first blogpost! open.substack.com/pub/thilakm/p/…

@r_evarts Glad their building plan has worked- stayed there 18 months ago. Take care everyone and stay safe.

This is Mahaweli Reach Hotel, right near my home in Kandy. Stay safe everyone 🙏 #Floods

@spenderallegra Isn’t it a good thing? Certainly not many inside seem to have any good ideas. May be the price is too high?

It’s sad to see the political party of my father and grandfather such a policy vacuum that they’re selling seats to their policy development process.

@TonyHWindsor Really politicians should follow the people: they meant to represent the people who support them. They can also help resolve disputes.

Politicians didn’t drive the debate on Apartheid or the fall of the Berlin Wall…they followed the lead of people power. Today’s March will be part of a global solution where the politicians follow the people once again. Well done Sydney Well done NSW Police

@GitaGopinath @HarvardEcon @IMFNews Congratukations, Professor Gopinath!

After nearly 7 amazing years at the IMF, I have decided to return to my academic roots. On September 1, 2025, I will rejoin @HarvardEcon as the inaugural Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics. I am truly grateful for my time at @IMFnews, first as Chief Economist and then as First Deputy Managing Director. I have had the privilege of working closely with the IMF’s brilliant and committed staff, colleagues in management, the Executive Board, and country authorities. I am especially thankful to @KGeorgieva and her predecessor, @Lagarde, for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve the IMF’s membership during a period of unprecedented challenges. I now return to my roots in academia, where I look forward to continuing to push the research frontier in international finance and macroeconomics to address global challenges, and to training the next generation of economists. imf.org/en/News/Articl…

@GitaGopinath Hope the conference marks a new chapter in Sri Lanka’s economic governance. As we look forward creating conditions for investment should be a key part of the recovery process. Good luck.

I look forward to traveling to Sri Lanka for the joint conference on ‘Sri Lanka’s Road to Recovery: Debt and Governance.’ The mid-point of the program marks a terrific opportunity to focus on lessons learned from Sri Lanka’s experience and their implications for the challenges ahead.

@samarajiva @anuradisanayake @flysrilankan Airline is a business. If managed well they can earn an operating profit. Helping to reduce debt will give them some flexibility to improve operating performance.

In Budget 2025, @anuradisanayake allocates LKR 20 billion to manage @flysrilankan debt but states no money for new aircraft and no support for operations. How will this result in a viable airline?

@anuradisanayake A notable rebalancing of priorities towards inclusive social development. Instituting fiscal discipline is the key to ensuring sustainable growth. A thoughtful and considerate approach.

LIVE | Budget 2025 | 17.02.2025 x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

It was a delight to attend the ⁦@AARES_Inc⁩ annual conference in Brisbane this week. Meeting colleagues from our region with similar perspectives on development challenges we are facing is one of the most exciting things in my professional life. Kudos to organisers.

Our project partner Ellawala Horticulture, a pioneer in modernising mango farming in Sri Lanka is a key catalyst in driving innovation leading to loss mitigation and value creation with #ACIARAUSTRALIA and other collaborators in Sri Lanka

Having a very productive time in Sri Lanka with a visiting delegation of mango value chain partners sharing knowledge and experience with Sri Lankan counterparts. This south-south dialogue was enabled by #ACIARAUSTRALIA VI

@kanchana_wij @anuradisanayake The power to contribute rests with our abilities to see each other’s strengths and sharing our collective energy to make a difference. You will seek those opportunities in numerous other roles you will be working on. The society will be the beneficiary. Stay open and honest.

I congratulate President @anuradisanayake and the NPP Government on the resounding victory at the Parliamentary elections. I wish to also congratulate the winners of the Parliament election and specially the newly elected representatives of the Matara District. Even though I did not manage to secure a Parliament seat in the Matara District by about 1300 votes, I would like to thank everyone that voted for our team, supported us during the campaign, spoke, messaged and posted messages on social media after the results. Since I entered politics in 2009, I’ve always had the understanding that wining and loosing is both part of politics, that no one or a single party can continue winning and that all responsibilities and titles in politics are temporary. My political work in the future too would be following the same principle that I’ve followed through out my career. Irrespective of being in power or not to do the right thing for the country and stand by the right policies and political decisions no matter how unfavorable or unpopular it will be personally for my self. I will continue to serve the country and the people to the best of my ability. Kanchana Wijesekera

@NewsWireLK Quality can overcome deficiencies in quantity. Strength in numbers can reflect weakness within the team, making the team less likely to succeed. Good players can have a strong influence. Yes, leadership matters.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that a strong parliament is not merely about numbers, but about quality representation. Reflecting on the 2020 Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration, he noted that even with a two-thirds majority, power can slip away if real societal needs are not addressed

@oliverinantwist @Jamz5251 Privatisation is not a good idea for many things. Motive of private business is making a profit. Consumers pay the price including those profit margins. If the service is good businesses and consumers benefit The second option is a good partnership as what it had earlier wth EK.

The decision to abandon the privatization of SriLankan Airlines by the NPP government could be seen from multiple perspectives. On one hand, keeping the airline under state control might ensure strategic national interests and protect local jobs. SriLankan Airlines plays a vital role in tourism, a key sector in the country’s economy, and some might argue that privatization could risk losing focus on national priorities in favor of profit-driven motives. On the other hand, the airline has been a significant financial burden due to years of losses and debt. Privatization could have brought in much-needed capital, management expertise, and operational efficiency to turn around the company. Without it, the government may continue to bear the financial losses, potentially diverting resources from other critical sectors. Ultimately, whether this is a good move depends on how the government plans to manage the airline moving forward. Will there be reforms to improve its efficiency, or will it continue to drain public funds? A clearer plan of action would help answer that question.

NPP Government abandons plans to privatize loss making Sri Lankan Airlines, #DailyMirror reports. Is this a good move? What are your thoughts?

@peters_malcolm @PeterDutton_MP Across the globe, if politicians can put their focus on governance and social justice, we could be in a better place. But… greed overrides integrity.

@PeterDutton_MP If you want to be PM you need to talk intelligently about problems. The taxation measures have driven basic human right of a roof over your head beyond reach of many. Rather than cheap politics propose alternatives that will bring prices back.

When Labor runs out of money, they come after yours - and Australians pay the price for Labor’s bad economic management. Australians can’t trust anything this Prime Minister says when it comes to tax.

@kanchana_wij The influence of your work will be seen over many years to come. Improving productivity and efficiency of service delivery is a challenge for all and it is the only way to relieve the burden on people who are struggling. Any waste add to costs and reduce welfare.

I returned the state vehicles and my office yesterday and leave the Ministry of Power & Energy and the Institutes under my purview in stronger financial positions and with adequate stocks of petroleum products and coal for power generation and fuel supply. All the institutes are now on positive balance sheets, recovering costs for its services, making payments on time for suppliers, servicing outstanding debt and providing & supporting the treasury with the additional revenue it’s generating. I wish to thank the President @RW_SRILANKA, colleagues, my family, friends, officials & staff of the Ministry & Institutes, diplomatic missions, development agencies, various government & private stakeholders and everyone who assisted during the last two years. From 4-13 hour power cuts, no fuel situation, no coal, no petroleum products, no suppliers, no cash, limited hydro capacity’s in 2022, I leave with adequate stocks of coal, petroleum products, hydro capacity and financially stronger institutes for an uninterrupted supply of fuel and power generation.

@ianbfarquhar @acccgovau @acccgovau is an important arm of good governance and expanding their power to investigate anticompetitive practices in all forms is a step forward. Even charging for a paper bag when you shop is a devious way to cost shifting. I too applaud these government policies.

I applaud the government via the @acccgovau investigating the increasing prevalence of credit card surcharges, but I think it needs to go further. I am seeing a creeping Americanism in our retail sector, where mandatory charges are hidden as service fees. For example, I just hired a car from @SixtAustralia, and found a $6.50 “registration fee” per day added to the cost, above and beyond the advertised daily charge, optional insurance, and mandatory credit card fee. Can I hire an unregistered vehicle? No. So why is it an extra fee? It shouldn’t be: this is to make the rental seem cheaper than it is. Anyone who has ever visited the USA will have experienced the insanity of retail charges there, with sales tax, other state taxes, and levies added to the cost, sometimes adding 30-40% on the advertised cost. When the GST was introduced in Australia, retailers sought and were denied the ability to separate GST from the sales price. But it seems like they’re trying to bring this in via a back door. This has to stop. It’s fundamentally misleading, and encourages deceptive behavior by retailers claiming low prices and recovering margin in undisclosed mandatory charges. Retailers have form in this: go look at electronics retailers and “Monster Cables” - a fundamentally deceptive approach. If you won’t buy the (margin recovering) cables then suddenly the item is out of stock. @StephenJonesMP - can I respectfully suggest tasking the ACCC with extending the terms of reference to include this widespread behavior, which to me is clearly contrary (in spirit if not in letter) to the prohibition on misleading and deceptive conduct?

@SatPaper @JosephEStiglitz @RDNS_TAI Why then we continue to offer fossil fuel subsidies? Who are the beneficiaries and who pays most?

"If it takes subsidies to encourage mining companies to extract your resources, then they should simply stop extracting them," economist @JosephEStiglitz tells @RDNS_TAI.  "There are so many other things that you could subsidise."  #auspol satpa.pe/dvOidCm

@RW_SRILANKA When we met him, on the issue of University of Peradeniya Animal Husbandry Department moving from the Faculty of Agriculture, he arranged us a meeting with the UGC, raised the issue at the Parliament, and the natter resolved. The present Animal Science Department was formed.

@RW_SRILANKA This photo of @RW_SRILANKA, offering flowers to a buddha statue reminded me the last time I met him when I was a student leader, in 1980. We met at his residence at Green Path at 5:00 am. Before meeting us he did the same and paid respect to his mother. Values matter.

Sri Lanka is on a journey. Since 2022, we have worked hard together to recover from our past challenges, but there is still more to be done. Today, I officially announce my candidacy for President of Sri Lanka, and to continue my duties to you, the Sri Lankan people. My commitment to you and our country is unwavering. Together, we will continue to build a prosperous future, but that can only be done with stability. #Ranil24