Features
More on the Legal Drafgtsman’s Dept. and those who adorned it
Excerpted from a Cabinet Secretary’s Memoirs by BP Peiris
(Continued from Apr. 9)
Mervyn was succeeded as Legal Draftsman by P. C. Villavarayan, a classical scholar from Oxford and a great gentleman, so polished in his manners that he never liked to hurt anyone else’s feelings. He always had a Greek and a Latin book on his table: Martial’s Epigrams, Vergil, or the Greek Anthology to check up on quotations. Apart from being a scholar, he was a philosopher and his philosophy was obviously based on and influenced by his classical training.
He was never worried; he was never flurried; and he never seemed to be in a hurry. His ordinary letters were short essays in English, polished and cultured. He was the politest of men; but when the occasion demanded, he could be the firmest also. He had integrity and strength of character and was not prepared to knuckle down to others.
When I started as a temporary draftsman, P. C. V. was asked to supervise my work. He went out of his way to help me. I worked in his room and we lunched together in an ante-room. There has always been a camaraderie among the legal profession and age did not seem to count. I had rice and curry from home. He existed on four cheese sandwiches, two plantains and an apple.
His lunch was the same every day and, as if his doctor had prescribed it, he always consumed the three items of his diet in the order mentioned, the apple coming last. He gave no explanation for this rigid habit—how could he?—for he was robust and in the best of health. In spite of the age difference between the two of us, he was a genial companion.
Colonel Halland, the new Inspector-General of Police imported from India, was an imperialist and a snob. Admiral Layton, the Commander-in-Chief, once summoned a conference to decide on the steps to be taken to impose a blackout. It was attended by senior officers of the Police, the Local Government Department, the Controller of Motor Traffic, others concerned with various aspects of the problem, and P. C. V. Decisions were reached and orders given that the necessary draft legislation should be got ready as soon as possible for the consideration of the Commander-in-Chief. The next day, while I was in P. C. V.’s room, his telephone rang. Col. Halland was on the line and the following conversation took place:
Halland – About yesterday’s conference, I have fixed a meeting in my room for 11 a.m. today and I expect to see you here. I hope the time suits you.
V. – The time suits me, Col. Halland. Meetings of this nature are always held in my chambers and I will be waiting for all of you here.
H. – But why is that? I have called this meeting.
V. – That is correct, but on yesterday’s decisions, a legal draft has to be prepared, and that is always done in my Chambers.
H. – You must remember that I am the Head of a large and important Department.
V. – I know that, Col. Halland, but you have not been long enough in this country to know that I am the head of a very small but very important department.
H. – What is the principle about this?
V. – There is no principle. It has always been the practice. But if you want to know, I suppose it is on the basis that the client comes to the lawyer, not the lawyer to the client.
H.- But you ate not putting me in the position of an ordinary client? I told you that I am the head of a very big department.
V. – Well, Col. Halland, Admiral Layton has ordered you to produce a draft of the proposed legislation. If you can prepare it, please do so. If you want me to prepare it, it will be done in my Chambers.
H. – I shall report this to the Legal Secretary.
V. – Please do so. He knows the practice.
The conference was held in the Legal Draftsman’s Chambers, but Halland did not attend. The bubble of his arrogance had been pricked by Villavarayan and he sent a subordinate officer to represent him. That was how the Defence (Blackout) Regulations came to be drafted.
I was asked to draft a set of Defence Regulations for the formation of a Women’s Auxiliary Corps. At that time we had the WRENS and the WAAFS here, and I had therefore to draft in such a way that our girls would not be mistaken for the foreigners. Following normal office routine, my draft found its way into P. C. V.’s tray. After he had been through it, he sent for me and said something like this: “Peiris, in your regulations, you have grossly insulted the women who will be the members of this Corps. Look at the name you have given to the Corps – ‘Ceylon Auxiliary Territorial Service’ – Can these women carry the letters CATS on their caps? I am altering it to ATS (C). In the second place, you are guilty of gross cruelty to the women. Look at your regulation 18, which deals with uniforms. You say here that medals shall be pinned on the left breast. I cannot possibly let that pass.” And he altered the word “breast” to “lapel of the coat.” My regulation had been taken over rather carelessly from a corresponding regulation relating to a men’s regiment.
P. C. V. retired at 55 when he could have worked till sixty because, as he said, he was disappointed with the D.S. Senanayake regime. D.S. had P. C. V.’s salary increased by £ 200 on the condition he would not ask to be considered for appointment to the Supreme Court Bench.
On his retirement, he refused a farewell by his office staff, came to the office on his last day of work, and walked out at the end of the day without saying “Good-bye” to a single one of his colleagues or the members of the staff. We were all sorry he left us in this way.
At the time when Mervyn was Draftsman, P. C. V., the senior assistant and I, a temporary assistant; the next in the line of succession was Harry Wendt, a son of Mr Justice Wendt and a brother of Lionel, a name too well known in Ceylon and abroad to need any special reference from me. Harry was a well-bred, well-read gentleman. There is one thing that a legal draftsman dislikes, and that is to be disturbed in the middle of his drafting; it breaks his train of thought.
This sort of disturbance never seemed to affect Harry. He was ever ready to put his draft away and give us, Juniors, his advice on a matter of law or drafting whenever his advise was sought. He would put his own papers away, listen to our problem, bring his mind to bear on our difficulty, and then tell us how we should proceed with our draft. A gracious, patient man.
Harry had few friends. He used to come to my house in a rickshaw, dressed in a well-starched suit. He liked informality and was in the habit of taking his coat off and making himself comfortable in my armchair. Then followed, over a drink, a very interesting conversation lasting a couple of hours. I once kept him to dinner. We had string hoppers, chicken curry and a very hot sambol, prepared by my wife at Harry’s special request. Harry enjoyed the sambol, but towards the end of the meal, tears were streaming out of his eyes and he called them tears of joy.
Harry was a slow but a very thorough draftsman. After several years of drafting, he became tired of the work; the strain was beginning to tell on him and he desired a change. Drayton said that no man ought to be kept as a draftsman for more than 10 years. Howard, who was then Legal Secretary was sympathetic, and asked Harry whether he would like to go as Additional District Judge, Nuwara Eliya, which post was at that moment vacant.
The change of work and the climate would have done Harry a world of good. Harry was happy and accepted, but Mervyn, as Head of Department said that he could not be released. Harry never forgave Mervyn for that. Later, everyone saw the reasonableness of Harry’s request for a change of work and Villavarayan saw to it that he went as Additional District Judge of Galle.
I asked Harry what he would do, never having been a judge before, if one of the lawyers suddenly rose before him and raised a preliminary objection. He said that he had been so long drafting that he had forgotten the niceties of the practice of the law. He said he would ask the lawyer under what provision of law he was objecting, would then ask counsel on the other side what he had to say, and, having listened to both sides, would be in a position to make up his own mind and make his order.
He proposed, as much as possible, to keep his mouth shut on the Bench and pretend to be wise, as any sensible judge would, and listen carefully to the arguments presented to him. He was a most popular and acceptable judge. From Galle he came fora short time as Commissioner of Requests, Colombo and, again, carried the office with great dignity.
He died suddenly while having dinner at a friend’s house, in 1945, at the early age of 41. His brother had pre-deceased him, leaving him the patrimony. They came from a very wealthy family. I was a witness to Harry’s last will. After making extremely generous legacies in favour of his servants, he left the entire residue for a trust in the name of his brother. We have today the Lionel Wendt Memorial Hall.
He himself wished to be forgotten. I believe, he left something like Rs 60,000 to his head boy, and lesser amounts to his other servants in proportion to their length of service. One servant got his motor car. This sudden windfall, entirely unexpected, turned the boys’ heads. The head boy, a married man, with a wife and children, used his money to build himself a house. The servant who received the car, ran it for hire and crashed into a bollard. The younger servants took their money to the racecourse and very soon ended up as paupers.
The usual tributes were paid to him in the District Court of Galle and the Court of Requests, Colombo. One of his friends wrote: Others will, out of their qualifications and experience, speak of the contributions which Harry Wendt made to the intellectual dignity of Ceylon, both in the draftsmanship of the law and its adjudication. But there are many who will not soon forget the incomparable quality of gentle friendship which this sensitive man had, and which, lightened by a wit and much intimacy with cultivated ideas and civilized thought, he gave out freely and with catholicity. Ceylon is much impoverished by the passing of the Wendts, Harry so soon after Lionel; but their standards are clearly there for us to see.”
Another friend said: It was only the other day that Harry Wendt and 1, after calling on a friend, drove together to the sea front and there talked, among other things, of his plan for the future. He looked forward, in the years ahead, to resuming a practice at the Bar, in which he felt there would be a field under the constitution to be, and, upon my urging, almost assented to writing a comprehensive treatise on the laws of Ceylon, written as only he could have written, with erudition, lucidity, ease, grace and a meditative balance of mind. Well, that locus classicus on the laws of Ceylon, which only Harry Wendt could have written, will now never be written. It is indeed inscrutable that glorious spirits like these should pass away while gnomes and ghouls remain and flourish.
On Harry’s death in 1945 and Mervyn Fonseka’s in 1946, each of the assistants rose two steps up the departmental ladder – Clifford Pereira’s third and fourth correct predictions. The Department now consisted of Villavarayan, Legal Draftsman, H. N. G. Fernando (now Chief Justice), myself, and the following in order of seniority – James Homer-Vanniasinkam (later acting Attorney-General, Seychelles), A. W. H. Abeysundera (later Puisne Justice), S. Namasivayam (later Parliamentary Counsel, Ghana), Percy de Silva (now Legal Draftsman) and S. Mahadeva. It is gratifying to note that views in high quarters have changed and that a legal draftsman is no longer considered merely as a quill-driver and a scissors and paste artist.
H. N. G. was the most brilliant man I have been privileged to work with. He had a brain like a razor blade, sharp and quick. When he was asked to draft a Bill, he would roll the scheme in his mind for four or five days without putting pencil to paper. He would then have the Bill firmly fixed in his mind, call the stenographer and dictate the entire Bill, a thing which no other draftsman ever dared to attempt.
We would struggle with our pencil, write something, cut it out, write again, rewrite and so on ad infinitum. To listen to him dictating a Bill was a treat. Naturally, he would go wrong on a few cross-references, but these mistakes were not many. All in all, it was an amazing piece of work and a feat of memory.
Fernando and I had, one day, to meet a deputation of three senior doctors from the Ministry of Health over an amendment of the Schedules to the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. The names of the Drugs specified in the Schedules were long and commuted from the Schedule. After a few hours’ discussion, we arrived at decisions, and H. N. G. asked the doctors how long they would take to send him their report and instructions.
He was surprised to hear that the doctors would need about six weeks. He asked them whether they could wait about half an hour longer, called a stenographer and dictated the doctors’ report, having told them to correct him if he was wrong, and the doctors had not a single correction to make.
Some time -after H. N. G. became Legal Draftsman on P. C. V’s retirement, he applied for silk. Alan Rose, the Attorney-General sat on the file and nothing came of it. But other honours were to come his way later. He was awarded the O.B.E., but the greatest honour was when he was made Puisne Justice and wore his late father’s scarlet robes.
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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