Features
Schooling at Ladies College
BY PADMANI MENDIS
Excerpted from Memories that linger…..
I had started schooling at Ladies’ College at the age of five years. First memories are of dancing round the maypole with Miss Nellie, our teacher in the “Baby Class”. Her enthusiasm while with us was infectious. Singing with her “Jack and Jill”, “Little Miss Muffet”, “Humpty Dumpty” and so many other nursery rhymes is clear, is unforgettable. My favourite song was “The Pansy Flower is Purple” because to me, it was about my mother. I yet remember the words.
My best friend from our first day in the “Baby Class” was Deepthi Mendis. Our families knew each other which made ties stronger. We remained “best friends” throughout our time in school. That she is now my sister-in-law is but a coincidence. Other “baby” friends starting school together were Ruki, Chandrani, Yogarani and Sunil. Unfortunately, those are the only ones whose names come to mind.
Then there was Miss Freda and Miss Gladys, our class teachers over the next two years. I remember Miss Freda liked me and I received my first school prize that year. A vivid memory I have of this time is of the annual Kindergarten Concert. One year, one of the action songs I was selected to sing with two others was “Polly Put the Kettle On”. The younger of my brothers never let me forget this, three of them together often imitating me at home, exaggerating the performance of course. My mother was at the concert and bought me an ice-cream during the interval.
Other memories really become clear enough to recall only when I reached about the end of our time in Primary School. Mino had joined Ladies’ at the age of eight. She, with her sisters Shireen, Mali and Neelakanthi, had been at Visakha until then. Mino clicked immediately with Deepthi and me, so now we were three. When the Tamil and Sinhala streams were merged in Form I, Vasanth was put into the same class as Deepthi, Mino and me. We blended instantly and now we were four. The next year, Saro came to Ladies’ and we ended up as five best friends for the rest of our time at school.
While at school Deepthi’s sister Sita, and her friends, Kantha and Neela had been inseparable, starting school one year before us in the “Baby Class”. Savi was with us since she came to Ladies’ in the Upper Kindergarten and Deirdre since she came towards the end of primary school. Savi always carried away the class prize. So, it was no surprise when she took to the academia and as Professor Savitri Goonesekere, to become the first woman Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo.In the latter years of school and after that, and with university, friendships merged and the group expanded. And now, nearly eighty years since some of us first came together, we have all been bound closely and remain friends. We meet frequently, sometimes on birthdays, at other times over a meal in each other’s homes.
Kantha is the most frequent hostess. She never forgets to include other friends from the past. She sometimes entertains in her home at Spathodea Avenue and at other times it has of course to be at the Green Cabin. After all she was the granddaughter of its founder, Mudliyar Thomas Rodrigo. Generosity, concern, hospitality and giving continue to be a part of her, as it is of her family. The Green Cabin continues to be a family business.
Mino at school was naughty, a born prankster. Her first prank, which we still recall with laughter, is one she played on our class teacher, Mrs. Samarasekera. Sambo was very religious. She had just been given a beautiful new Bible by her family and she brought this to the classroom every day, placing it lovingly on the front of her desk. One morning, Mino produced a metallic imitational blob of blue ink from somewhere and while Sambo had gone out for a moment, placed it on Sambo’s Bible. One does not need to describe the consequences…
Another prank I remember is related to the death of Joseph Stalin. Mino got us all, the whole class, to play a prank on “Rat” or Sugirtham Ratnanayagam, our class teacher in Form Three. She was very strict and made every one of us afraid of her. School finished at 3.15 p.m. Mino’s plan was that at 3.00 o’clock sharp, I as the class captain would stand up, and then the whole class would follow and stand to attention. A two-minute silence was to be observed for Stalin.
This we did. And there was “Rat”, not knowing what it was all about, shouting at us to sit down. As class-captain, Rat expected me to listen to her. So there she was, shouting “Padmini, sit down. Sit down.” That there was no response from her “goodie” Padmini was a surprise to her. She continued naming others who she thought would obey her, but none did. We kept our word to each other and sat down only when the time was up. Our punishment was severe …
As far back as I could remember, I had been the class captain. School was where we first learned democratic values. Class monitors and the class committees were always elected fair and square. Never selected by a class teacher. My classmates obviously liked me. And I am confident that they would not have liked me had I been loud and bossy. I was told that I was “quiet”. I believe I was diligent and conscientious and, I hope, with prejudice to none.Every year the school awarded a Class Shield for the best behaved, and our class had been a recipient of that. A Class Shield for the best kept classroom, Garden Shield and a Garden Prize were also awarded every year and we have received all those as well at one annual prize-giving or another.
Going back to Form Three. At the start of the last term of the year the new captain and committee were to be elected again. “Rat” our class teacher, had had enough of our pranks by now. So she declared, quite undemocratically we thought, that Padmini and the others could not be re-elected. She wanted a new set. So there it was.
But came the day of the announcement of prizes and Form Three had been awarded the shield for the best kept classroom. Now that made “Rat” proud. We were “her girls”. But what was she to do? She had set a dilemma for herself. Who was she to send up to collect the shield? She knew that I had not stopped being my usual diligent and helpful self.
It was in Form I that our class won the Garden Shield. Or it may have been the Garden Prize. As the school year started, any class wanting to do so could select the piece of land they wanted for a garden.So we selected a plot that was in size about 12 inches wide and may be 12 or 14 feet in length. This plot was convenient because it was close to where our classroom was located that year. We tilled the land with garden spades and other small implements we brought from home; we made proper drains for irrigation and then divided it into 12 small beds.
On six beds we planted vegetables – a carrot, a beetroot, a leek, a Bombay onion and the like. The space of each vegetable bed, as you can imagine, did not allow for more than one plant of each variety. Similarly, on the other six plots we planted flowers – marigold, cosmos, phlox, zenia and so on. Probably again from seeds we brought from home. Different groups led by committee members took responsibility for watering, fertilising, weeding and other associated tasks by the week. Another lesson in democracy. And oh what fun that learning was!
Much later I was a school prefect for two years, in Form six, one and two. Head prefects during these two years were the sisters Sita and Deepthi, now my sisters-in-law. The main role of a school prefect was to ensure school discipline. To ensure discipline in others, one had first to be disciplined oneself.
So being a prefect brought about within me an amazing change, responsibility together with self-discipline, one that I am thankful for to this day. That sense of responsibility and self-discipline carried me through a working life and career that was at times hard to face. These difficulties I will recall later. I am impatient now to share with you one of the happiest phases of my childhood – life with my Hulugalle cousins and their parents.
Boarding Life
But before that, to jump forward and get out of the way an experience that was to me not too pleasant. At the time I had started secondary school my mother felt I was old enough to be in the school boarding. Deirdre Jonklaas had also come into the boarding with me and was a friend indeed when one was needed. It was comforting to have her as a confidante because I was not very happy with boarding life. In a boarding full of girls, there were bound to be insincerity, petty tale-telling and broken friendships.
When I came to Form five and was getting ready to sit for the Senior School Certificate Examination, I persuaded my mother that she had to do something about my dissatisfaction. So she discussed my situation with Miss Mabel Simon, the School Principal. It was the practice at the time that our school principals would be sent by the Church Missionary Society in the UK and as was Miss Simon. By nationality, she was Australian.
She gave her permission for me to be a weekly-boarder. My mother could take me home on Friday evening and get me back on Sunday evening, in time to be taken to Evensong at Christ Church, Galle Face with all other boarders in Form one and above. That did not solve my problem. I was still unhappy. So my mother took me out of the boarding for my last year at school.
Living with Cousins
At around the year 1945 when I started school, Kalubowila, where we lived was considered to be quite distant from Colombo. Too distant for me to travel daily to school from there. It was natural that Aunty Lily asked my mother to let me live with her. Aunty Lily was my mother’s sister, Lilian, married to Herbert Hulugalle. H.A.J. as he was known in the world of journalism, newspapers and to all who knew him or of him. He was at one time the Editor of the Ceylon Daily News.
Aunty Lily was that to others, but to her nieces and nephews she was “Darla Mamma”. “Darla” because that was how my oldest brother just learning to speak said the word “Darling”. And with her unlimited affection, and equally unlimited kindness, concern and generous giving, she was “Darla Mamma”, darling to all of us nieces and nephews who were to follow.
She married after my mother and so her younger children were closer to my age. While the older ones were Damayantha, Upatissa, Harrischandra and Lakdasa, it was Lilamani, Arjuna and Ranjan with whom I interacted most. Damayantha was “Akka” to all and so she was to me. The love she demonstrated to me I can never forget. When she passed me by, she could not but resist squatting down, pulling my fat cheeks apart to place a quick peck on each. At other times she would grab me, tap me on my bulging tummy and say “what is in here?” And I would have to answer with the one she had taught me saying, “a baby elephant”. And we would both laugh happily over it.
Not long ago, her sister, my cousin Lilamani, whose father had called “Lili Budge” (and now her cousins continue to call “Budge”), and I were reminiscing about our childhood together. There was much to talk about our mothers and of the lasting influence they had on us, as they had with their other children. They were both loving and gave generously to those who had less. They were humble in their giving and made it demonstrably a sharing. They had been born with the literal “silver spoons in their mouths” and had an exotic childhood.
They had grown up in Regina Walauwa while frequenting their grandparent’s home just down the path at Alfred House to meet their cousins and to play with them. They had been schooled by English Governesses at home. They had been driven in carriages led by horses. Their father was the Consul for Chile. These were colonial times. They had witnessed their parents entertain bounteously foreign elite. It is said that their father raced horses and enjoyed that. There is still a flagpole standing in the front garden of College House. It would of course have been used to hoist the Chilean flag when occasion demanded it.
Our mothers seldom talked of this side of their childhood. Instead of what would have been stories from that life, they spoke to us of their family life at a more intimate and personal level so that they would implant in us values they considered to be important. It is clear to us to this day that this is what mattered to them and that it stayed with them; it was the foundation from which they could spin stories for us and from which we would learn and be what they wished us to be.
They spoke about the effects of losing their mother at a young age, and how they learned to cope with that; of how their father had done all he could to save her. His grief which was endless and what they did to comfort him. And more, how their father then took the place their mother in their lives so that they could use his ear to confide in; of him telling them stories at bed time.
At other times, with the younger perched on his knees and the others kneeling and sitting on the ground, encouraging them to share with him and with the other siblings, how they had spent the day. Which cousins they had met and what they had done together. What they had learned from their governess and how she had treated them. He would sing with them songs that they had learned.
Our mothers told us about the happy times they spent at their grandfather’s home in Moratuwa. They did not speak to us much about Alfred House. It was clear the glamorous side of their childhood had not remained with them. To them it seemed to be a past that could never be relived. That was taken for granted; it was a matter of fact. It had not influenced their values. And they did not wish it to influence ours.I was sad to leave the Hulugalle home when my mother moved me to the school boarding. I was used to being with loved ones all my life and I missed them. It gladdened me when many years later, Budge told me she too had missed me when I left them.
(To be continued)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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