Features
Learning To Bounce Back – Part 8
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
The Second Chance
After reading the letter from the Principal of the Ceylon Hotel School (CHS), strongly suggesting that I should leave CHS, my father became silent. With his deep disappointment, he 
stopped talking to me for a few days. My mother commenced gently inquiring about other career options for her only son. Now that hotel-keeping was not an option for me anymore, I continued with something I have enjoyed in the past – sports. This included Rugby Football representing my neighbourhood team (which had four national players and an unbeaten record for years), Judo and organising track and field athletic events in my neighbourhood.
One day towards the end of 1972 summer, my father spoke with me again and he asked me to get ready to go to CHS for an important meeting. My father had made an appointment with Mr. Eardley Edrisinha, Vice Principal of CHS (and at that time, the Acting Principal). Herr Sterner, the Principal was in West Germany on his summer vacation. Mr. Edrisinha was an excellent teacher of non-hospitality subjects and a highly respected educator. Having worked in the UK for several years as a teacher, he was well experienced in balancing student discipline with strategies for student success.
My father spoke privately with him, while I waited nervously outside. I was summoned into the office at the end of the meeting. My father then told Mr. Edrisinha, “Please give this buffoon one last chance, as he has promised to study seriously, work hard and behave himself at CHS from now on.” That worked. As the Acting Principal, Mr. Edrisinha made the final decision to give me a second chance at CHS. He told us that he will inform the Principal when he returned to Sri Lanka. Knowing that Mr. Sterner was adamant to get rid of me, I was pleasantly surprised about this. I understood that it was a bad cop – good cop strategy. I made up my mind to do a little bit of studies and stay out of trouble at CHS, during my second year.
Lifelong Friendship
Mr. Eardley Edrisinha was the best teacher I had in Sri Lanka. He was also a lifelong learner. Nineteen years after this incident, in 1991 as the Managing Director, I founded the International Hotel School of Sri Lanka (IHS). I hired Mr. Edrisinha to be the Principal of this new hotel school. When I continued to address him as “Sir” during management meetings he was somewhat annoyed and told me privately, “Chandana, you are my boss. Please stop calling me Sir.” I responded, “OK, Sir.”
During the second year of IHS operation I developed and delivered an Executive Diploma Program in Hotel Administration. This program was accredited by the Hotel & Catering International Management Association (HCIMA), UK. It was worth 34 valuable HCIMA education points towards membership (a British bachelor’s degree in hospitality management was worth 60 education points). Mr. Edrisinha participated in that program as my student, without any reluctance. After he completed his dissertation under my supervision, I sponsored his membership of HCIMA, as his referee. He and I also did a few joint writing of conference papers. These were chosen and presented at large annual conferences organized by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura held in Colombo and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) held in Bali. He was an excellent team player and a true gentleman. He worked with me until I left Sri Lanka for good in 1994.
After that, during each of my annual trips to Sri Lanka I visited him, and on his invitation, I presented a few guest lectures to his students. After he passed away, Mrs. Edrisinha invited me to their home and gifted me her husband’s favourite tie. She said that “Eardley wanted you to have this.” Thank you, for giving me a second chance at CHS and your friendship, Mr. Eardley Edrisinha. I shall remain forever grateful and cherish your memory, Sir!
Sports Meet Organiser
Almost all students who spent 12e years at Ananda College and passed the GCE Ordinary Level examinations at their first attempt, and entered grade eleven were made College Prefects. I was an exception. Although I was a senior student with all pre-requisites, due to my long history of mischief, the teachers simply could not simply authorise me to enforce discipline. The only leadership role I held during my high school years was when I got elected by popular vote, as the Captain of one of the four college houses for sports in 1970.
As the house I led had around 1,500 students, it was a big responsibility for a 16-year-old. I quickly fitted into this responsible job by wisely surrounding myself with friends who had better leadership and organisational skills. With their help I motivated members of the house to take part in track and field team and individual events organised by the Master of Sports of the college. I always did better in action learning a new skill. Soon after gaining that experience, I wanted to organise a similar sport meet in my neighbourhood.
Since September 1970, I was the leader of a small group of teenagers who organised an eight-event annual neighbourhood sports meet. This was for all children above ten years of age in 92 homes within Bambalapitiya Flats, Colombo. I did the overall plan and delegated functions such as fundraising, logistical arrangements, time-keeping, score-keeping, printing of certificates, purchasing of trophies and organising the awards ceremony; to neighbourhood buddies of my age group. These annual sport meets provided entertainment to the neighbourhood for a few days every September. I also competed in all eight track and field events in 16+ years category, as I wanted to win the overall championship. Having done this event in 1970 and 1971, during my summer break from CHS in 1972, I organised the third annual sports meet. It was a big success, although I, as a participating athlete, failed to win the overall championship by one point.
Tournament Secretary
Mr. Vernon de Alwis, a neighbour in his early thirties made an interesting offer to me soon after the award ceremony. He had heard that I was a student of CHS, and was impressed with the manner in which the 1972 neighbourhood sports meet was organised. He worked for the Ceylon Steel Corporation and was the Secretary of the Nationalised Services Athletics Association (NSAA) of Sri Lanka. The member organisations of this association were large government-owned corporations and boards, including the Bank of Ceylon, Air Ceylon (national airline) and Ceylon Tourist Board (organization which administered CHS). He told me that his association’s executive committee needed some new blood and efficient young office bearers. He then inquired if I would be interested in the post of the Tournament Secretary for Athletics of NSAA. To convince me, he mentioned that this honorary post would look good on my resume.
I went to my first ever NSAA committee meeting riding on Mr. Alwis’s motorcycle pillion. When I was elected uncontested, as the Tournament Secretary I became the youngest office bearer in NSAA’s history. I quicky settled into this role. I learnt a lot from my much elder and experienced colleagues in the committee. Apart from giving me rides to the committee meetings, during my two-year term as the Tournament Secretary of NSAA, Mr. Alwis became a mentor to me. NSAA also had a Rugby Football Club and the committee decided to commence a new seven-a-side Rugby Football Tournament with me as the Tournament Secretary. After my successful persuasions with NSAA committee colleagues, CHS was allowed to compete in this tournament on behalf of the Ceylon Tourist Board. Unfortunately, the CHS team got knocked out in the second round. Some of the twelve teams competing were very good with several national Ruggerites, representing their employers.
Cleaning Supervisor
Upon returning to CHS after the summer break in 1972, we had to do extra seasonal cleaning. Some of the younger Lecturers tried various new methods to get students motivated to do these ‘unpopular’ cleaning tasks. Due to my bad reputation during my first year at CHS, one young Lecturer, Mr. Felix Bartholomeusz refused to give me any type of responsibility when I returned to CHS for my second year. Therefore, I was surprised when a colleague of his, Mr. Rohan De Silva, gave me a temporary title as the ‘Cleaning Supervisor’ and allocated a group of my batch mates to work with me.
Mr. Rohan De Silva delegated all cleaning tasks to me and empowered me to get those tasks done through my team of peers. I quite enjoyed that and ended up not doing any manual work, but just supervision. Decades later, Mr. De Silva told me that his technique helped him to get the CHS Principal off his back and reduced the time he spent on assigning individual tasks to a large group of students. Then he said “Chandana, I knew that you would not do any work. I did not mind that as I was sure that you will get the job done through others.”
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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