Features
Colombo’s most popular caricaturist in a bygone era
by Avishka Mario Senewiratne
With the passing of time, Lorenz did not have the time he would like to dedicate to the arts as before. The demand on his time in other fields such as in law and politics necessitated him to mainly if not totally focus on those aspects. However, his pencil and sketchbook never left his side. When inspiration struck him, out came a fine caricature. It has been over 150 years since his death and most of his once famous caricatures have been lost. A few have been reproduced as plates in some important publications over the last 100 years and preserved for posterity.
Caricatures have always been endearing pieces of art which have commented on sophisticated matters. In the dynasty of Lankan caricature artists such as J. L. K. van Dort, Bevis Bawa, Aubrey Collette, W. R. Wijesoma and Gihan de Chickera, C.A. Lorenz can be safely positioned as the ‘pioneer’.
One of the oldest surviving caricatures by Lorenz is that of the famous Wansapurna Dewage David (alias Gongalegoda Banda), leader of the 1848 Matale rebellion and pretender to the Kandyan throne. Upon being captured by the British, Gongalegoda Banda was brought to the Borella Criminal Gaol. It was here that Lorenz had the chance to see him and be inspired. Curious too. His pen did the rest. The result was a lovely caricature of the National hero. Perhaps the first and only live caricature of Banda.
This illustration was hitherto unknown for nearly 75 years until it was published in 1932 in G.K. Pippet’s A History of the Ceylon Police: Volume 1. Here it is mentioned that the illustration was in the possession of Dr. Andreas Nell, nephew of Lorenz’s wife, Eleanor. This sketch was signed and dated by Lorenz on March 3, 1849. Gongalegoda Banda would pass away later that year from a stomach ailment in Malacca where he was exiled.
When Lorenz and his wife left for England in 1853, he once again found some time on his hands as the voyage from Ceylon to Europe would take at least three months. Onboard the ship, Lorenz spent a lot of time drawing caricatures of the crew and various islands and features the ship sailed by. During the long trip to England, Mrs. Lorenz who was uncomfortable with the movements of the ship, fell ill quite often. Lorenz drew a few caricatures of her in this state captioning them as “cribbed, cabined and confined”.
After their arrival and briefly settling in England, Eleanor Lorenz began to regain her health. Lorenz did more illustrations of her. One was captioned as follows: “Ellen is literally rosy, and after a walk in the Park, comes home as red as a boiled crab, as if one could light one’s pipe at her nose.” (Blaze, p. 3)
Morgan and Lorenz caricatures
Sir Richard Morgan was one of Ceylon’s most beloved lawyers and legislators in the mid-19th century. A few years senior to Lorenz, he was one of the first to join the Colombo Academy (later Royal College) in its original batch. Lorenz and Morgan, who shared many interests and were on the same wavelength were great friends. In 1856, Morgan, while serving as the Burgher Member of the Legislative Council and Leader of the Unofficial Bar, was made District Judge of Colombo by Governor Sir Henry Ward. By this time, Morgan who had considerable power in the Colony and its affairs was nicknamed “Governor”. Overjoyed by his friend’s appointment to the high rank, Lorenz drafted the following brief note and caricature of himself celebrating Morgan’s appointment:
Hooray ! ! !
My dear Governor,
The language at my command couldn’t do it. But I’ve tried it in a sketch. So, I says Hooray again!
Yours very sincerely,
C. A. Lorenz
11th July, 1856
Sporting a beard then, upon hearing the news Lorenz leaps with joy. His top hat falls. The rooster crows ‘Hooray’ and the dog joins in the celebration. Sketch by Lorenz himself in 1856.
Caricatures in the Christmas Debates 1860-65
In a lecture on July 6, 1929, at the Dutch Burgher Union, E. H. Van der Wall says the following about Lorenz:
“Lorenz was as gifted with the artist’s pencil as with his pen. During the sittings of the Legislative Council, while pleading at the Bar, and even on the Bench at Chilaw, he often found a few moments for a humorous sketch of passing events. A few words of description or a few strokes with his pencil and the picture was true to life, for Lorenz had the unmistakable artist’s touch.” (Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union, Volume XIX, p. 58)
The debates were initially published in the Ceylon Examiner during 1860 and 1868, with the exception of 1862. Among Lorenz’s many literary pursuits, the Christmas Debates of 1860-65 are widely considered his magnum opus. A true masterpiece, this work printed in 1866 by John Maitland consists of five short reports of Debates and Council Meetings supposed to have taken place on Christmas Eve of each relevant year. Full of humour, wit and facts, the Christmas Debates is an endearing piece of work which was essentially enhanced by Lorenz’s sketches and skilful caricatures.
The then custodian of most Lorenziana, Guy O. Grenier published the Christmas Debates again in 1925 with some additions such as an introduction and blurbs by famous personalities praising them. In both books, the illustrations depicted were hand-pasted photographs of the sketches, possibly taken by W. H. Skeen & Co. in sepia tone and included with a blue circular border.
Personalities pre-eminent in the mid-19th century of Ceylon and who may be labelled as ‘legends’ such as Sir Richard Morgan, George Wall, Thomas Skinner, Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy, etc. as well as British officials like Governor Sir Charles MacCarthy and C. P. Layard are featured in the Christmas debates. The caricatures of these personalities bear an uncanny resemblance to them. It was known that when Lorenz had little work to do during the sittings of the Council or Committees, he would employ his time by sketching the members. Only those published in the Christmas Debates have survived up to today. In the 1866 preface to the Christmas Debates, Francis Fonseka, the printer of that volume comments as follows:
“The illustrations annexed to the said several Debates shall be deemed and construed to represent the person or persons, whom they are intended to represent, and no other”
This writer has made every effort to trace the identity of the 10 caricatures drawn by Lorenz by comparing them with photographs of certain members of the Legislature at that time. Lorenz did not caption the original sketches in the book. One must read the book through to understand what sort of an individual is depicted in the illustrations. However, without knowing what these personalities looked like in reality, it is hard to identify them. Sir Richard Morgan, who is included in the Christmas Debates as well as other illustrations by Lorenz, commented on this masterpiece of Lorenz as follows:
“When Christmas came around and relatives and friends met to express to each other the glad wishes of the Season, the Christmas Supplement of the Examiner; the Mock Council Debates, the rich songs and the richer jokes with which they abounded and his inimitable pen and ink sketches, the gift he had of hitting off a person at almost the first view and perpetuating his peculiarities and idiosyncrasies, gave us no end of merriment and joy.” (Quoted from Grenier, G.O. (Ed.), (1925), Christmas Debates of the Island of Ceylon, p. i)
We had last week inadvertently dropped a painting illustrating “Charles Amrose Lorenz: an unsung artist of the 19th century by Avishka Mario Senewiratne” which is reproduced here. Much of the writer’s text referred to that illustration appearing above. We apologize for the error.
Caricatures of various figures drawn by Lorenz in the Christmas Debates
Muniandi
In 1869, the Examiner press endeavoured a very enthusiastic project by chartering a magazine called Muniandi.. Lorenz’s old friend and colleague in the legislature, John Capper who had just returned from England was made its editor. This magazine, full of satire, illustrations and humour was in the style of the British Punch Magazine. Though Punch lasted till the 21st century, Muniandi had only a brief but notable period of existence. Priced one shilling, the ten-page Muniandi was a good way of amusing the government with its satirical outlook on the affairs of that time. By then, Charles Lorenz was facing the travails of the illness that would result in his early death. Therefore, for this reason, as well as his involvement in multiple fields, disallowed Lorenz to be active in Muniandi as much as he would have liked.
Though there are hardly any signatures or initials differentiating the artists of these satirical caricatures, many scholars then and now have widely accepted that J. L. K. Vandort is one of the leading artists. However, if one is familiar with the works of Lorenz, it is more than fair to assume that Charles Lorenz himself was one of the illustrators in Muniandi. Yasmin Gunaratne in her monumental work English Literature in Ceylon confirms the above as follows: “Muniandi… illustrated almost entirely by a talented Burgher artist, J. L. K. Van Dort, although Lorenz contributed in some drawings.” (Gunaratne, Yasmin, (1968), English Literature in Ceylon 1815-1878, Tisara Press)
The illustration depicted below published in Muniandi is assumed to be by C. A. Lorenz.
Some other work
Even though his busy public life took much of his time, on a few occasions Lorenz did not hesitate to use his prowess in composing music. On one occasion as stated by J. R. Toussaint of the Ceylon Civil Service (1956, p. 51), Sir Richard Cayley during his early stage of serving Ceylon, lived in Lorenz’s Elie House in Mutwal, Colombo. Here they both produced a popular song. Cayley wrote the words and Lorenz arranged the music for the pianoforte. Titled The Pipe of Clay, the two of them performed this song when among friends. Accompanied by Lorenz on the piano, Sir Richard Cayley; who would go on to be a Chief Justice of Ceylon, did the singing. The following are the words:
The Pipe of Clay
To Beauty’s charms or wars alarms
Let others tune their lay, Sir,
But as for me my theme shall be
My rare old pipe of clay, Sir,
Though bowls of wine may be divine
To drive dull care away, Sir,
Yet there’s no bowl can ease the soul
As the bowl of a pipe of clay, Sir.
What incense breaths from fleecy wreaths,
Of vapour lightly rising,
As we sit at night with our pipes alight
All care and strife despising.
Though Fortune flees, though Friendship dies,
Though Hope may fade away, Sir,
Yet there’s a friend that’ll last to the end
In the rare old pipe of clay, Sir.
A note on the art of Lorenz
Among the many artists who followed Lorenz in the 19th century, no one came to prominence or to the brilliance of J. L. K. van Dort. Lorenz invited this fellow student of the Colombo Academy in 1850 to collaborate with him in the Young Ceylon magazine. Van Dort was only 18 years old then. One of the most conspicuous features of the inaugural Young Ceylon magazine was the caricature of The Giant of Matura based on a real-life 6’6 tall man who picked coconuts in Matara.
As the illustration was not signed many readers believed it to be of Lorenz. However, the truth was that it was by van Dort, who though not in his heyday and on the threshold of his fame, had a very similar style to Lorenz. B. R. Blaze comments that Lorenz inspired young van Dort in his early work and that the ‘Lorenz touch’ in van Dort was not ambiguous.
Only a handful of illustrations of Lorenz have survived to date. They are nearly all what was published in Blaze’s Life of Lorenz, the caricatures in Christmas Debates, Muniandi and the Examiner. Dr. Andreas Nell, the nephew of Eleanor Lorenz had a fair collection of Lorenz’s illustrations. However, their fate is not known. Guy O. Grenier who owned a large number of letters, illustrations and memorabilia of Lorenz sold them to the Royal Asiatic Society in the early 1960s.
Some of the contents of that collection remain to date. Unlike the artists who followed in the 20th century such as Keyt, Daraniyagala, Amarasekere, etc., the art of Lorenz may not win the collector’s interest or value. From the perspective of its historical significance, the art of Lorenz is phenomenal, special and endearing. Intertwined with humour, wisdom and knowledge, his caricatures will surely linger for generations not born.
“He (Lorenz) was an admirable artist…”
– Dr. R. K. de Silva, 1998 in 19th Century Newspaper Engravings of Ceylon
References
1. Blaze, B.R., (1948), Life of Lorenz, The Associated Newspapers of Sri Lanka Ltd.
2. Toussaint, J.R., (1956), Lorenz and his Times, Dutch Burgher Union
3. Roberts, Colin-Thome, Raheem, (1989), People Inbetween, Sarvodaya
4. Lorenz collection in the Royal Asiatic Society Library
5. Lorenz, C.A., (1866), Christmas Debates,
6. Mahendran, M.S., (1918), A Brief Sketch of the Life of Charles Ambrose Lorenz, American Ceylon Mission Press
7. De Silva, R.K., (1998), 19th Century Newspaper Engravings of Ceylon, Serendib Publishers
8. Pippet, G.K., (1932), A History of the Ceylon Police, Volume 1
9. Warnapala, K, (2012), ‘Caricaturing Colonial Rule in Sri Lanka: An Analysis of Muniandi, The Ceylon Punch?’, Early Popular Visual Culture, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 227-244
10. Jayawardena, K., (2012), Erasure of the Euro-Asians
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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