Features
The musings of ‘Kothu’ as National brand
by B. Nimal Veerasingham
A YouTube parody song that I watched recently, captures the conversation between the Mission Control and the two astronauts just landed on Mars.
Mission Control:
Have you safely landed?
Astronauts: Yes – No worries – we have brought the packed lunch as well.
Mission Control:
What??
Astronauts:
Yes – in case you want to know – its ‘Pittu’ in banana leaf, with mutton curry, Liver fry, a day-old fish curry, brinjal moju, Katta sambal and omelette.
The people in the Mission Control nod in unison, figuring more gastronomy than astronomy.
At the present times of intense globalization and interdependence of borderless goods and services, where demarcation lines are in unknown territory, the question of ‘National foods’ have become very much muddled. The glory days of TV cooking shows place the presenters and chefs into celebrity status drawing millions of viewers into trying the same in their own kitchens. The TV celebrity Chefs dominate the culinary experiments, fusing regional and ethnic flavours into altogether new food cultures, behaviour, preparation, procurement, and consumption; questioning the authenticity, both sides of the realms. Quite logically, food adventuring leads to new cultures and lands, the print and visual media conjoins culinary tourism with this new ‘unknown’, ‘exotic’ and ‘authentic’ experiment into spinning an industry of its own, infusing center of tourism with novelty food adventuring.
Food Culture
The popularity of food culture, both in the East and the West, bring to light the food adventurer’s accomplishment at having discovered the ‘hidden’, to their own enrichment and pleasure. Jamie Oliver’s ‘American Road Trip’ or Anthony Bourdain’s ‘No Reservation’ or Andrew Zimmern’s ‘Bizarre World’ accomplishes this effort of loosely commodifying, while the original gatekeepers and their lived histories quite often overlooked as to how ownership is identified.
The so-called food patriotism in aligning or claiming to be the rightful owners of a particular food always created an uncomfortable dilemma; sort of bad taste in the mouth, when tracing the origins with impartiality. Italians lead the pack as being the undisputed Global foodies, holding the rightful ownership for pasta to spaghetti and pizza to cannoli, and anything in between numbering more than 100s if not 1000s of delicacies. In the 50’s, Author Prezzolini questioned as to ‘What is the glory of Dante compared to spaghetti?’, continuing, ‘the spaghetti has entered many American homes where the name Dante is never pronounced’. It is very interesting that Dante who is one of the greatest philosophers, theologian and considered as the father of the Italian Language is being compared to mundane palatal taste that is rightfully at times overcomes fine liturgies of human worthiness. The culinary identity to the DNA is so strong that simply dressing like pizza or wearing a chef hat would propagate Italian identity in the Global stage, as witnessed in the recently held Euro Cup.
Pasta and Chicken Tikka Masala
But claiming authenticity is not a straightforward process, but a complicated one. The origins of pasta, as not simply having Asian origins, but born out of Mediterranean melting pot, would certainly bring back protesting gladiators in the streets of Rome. Long before Marco Polo, the so-called pioneer of East-West exchange brought forward the spectrum of pollination regarding starchy pasta versions, there were pioneers from variety of convergences, who made it even harder for the so-called authenticity to carry the day. Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi (10th Century), a member of the Norman King Roger ll’s court in Palermo (Southern Italy) identified pasta as ‘Itriyya’. Interestingly a Jewish Doctor’s medical text in an Arabic journal appeared for the same, two centuries earlier where we now call ‘Tunisia’.
Chicken Tikka-Masala as the national food of UK is another episode of 360° split jump on a gymnastic beam, in this meringue of food spasms. Chicken Tikka Masala, not being a mainstay of continental India, introduced by Bengali chefs in the likes of Shakespearean era Fleet Street Pubs, where culinary tastes are vigorously tested before placed in podium. The past U.K Foreign Secretary’s proclamation on Chicken Tikka Masala as being the National food of the U.K, clearly surpasses the arguments of colonised and colonizer, indigenous or imported.
Chilli’s crowning moment
Chilli-pepper is another mother of all decorum that hits home curry base harder. Who would ever accept that chilli-pepper (capsicum annuum) that matches native peppercorn in heat units, is native to South America and the Portuguese introduced it to the Indian sub-continent in 15th century to create a pungent heat to their profitability? The world’s raw green chili pepper production stands roughly around 40 million tons today, half of which produced in China.
Food pervades a wide spectrum of social, political, and economic discourse, and at times questions the ‘genuine’ or ‘authentic’ labelling by the faithful, while retaining a fundamental relativity and background, many times evolutionary. Anthropologists argue that food is a moral thought, sponsors human contact and permeates nationalist barriers society tries to impose. There is good reason on the merit of the Hindustani saying, ‘Every two miles the water (taste) changes; and every four, the language’.
Wheat loyalists
The influence of wheat in Asian culinary consumption, though second to rice, is phenomenal. Though China and India lead in the production, their populations consume most, as such the West has found a niche export market through their advanced productive methodologies. Imported wheat, though contains less nutrients than rice, has the advantage of providing instant carbohydrate energy with longer shelf life. It provides greater flexibility and exceptional creative maneuverability through its high gluten content.
The use of advanced technology in agriculture production of the West has allowed Wheat to be stored for longer period, to fend off shipping time to far away destinations. Bleaching is a process that greatly enhances this prorogue, which critics points that nutrients are shelved out and put back artificially, a practice banned by regulators in EU.
Sri Lankan timeline
Wheat, also called ‘American flour’ or ‘Godamba’, on the street and households, is so popular though not produced but imported mostly from the West. The first encounter with Europeans at the shores of the Island, records what will become the country’s eventual obsession. The ‘Rajawali’ thus describes, ‘and now it came to pass, in the month of April, in the Christian year 1552, that a ship from Portugal in the Jambu-dwipa arrived…. For their food, they eat Budhu gal (a sort of white stone), and they drank blood (meaning unleavened bread and port wine).
From that accidental encounter with the group led by the son of Governor of Goa Francisco D’Almeida, the obsession for the gluttonous white wheat flour grew beyond the established guidelines of hereditary cuisines. The diversity and influence propagated by the three colonisers on the inhabitants gave birth to experimental fusion of many culinary delights.
The romance with white or bleached ‘American’ wheat is not simply a page marker for the scribes. it could be measured, where the small Island ranked as the 16th largest purchaser from the US markets in the 80s. Along with sprung variety of short-eats or street food, not to mention as an alternative to anything and everything the native rice flour could call shots.
That brings about the invention of the most popular street food of all times – ‘Kothu Roti’ or ‘Kothu’ in short. The glory of ‘Kothu’ (Meaning chop in Tamil) and it’s burst into variations and reinventions as a highly acclaimed food fusion, wholly, or being a side dining enhancer, has mostly resulted with the spread of Diaspora to all corners of the Globe within the last five decades.
Kothu’s humble beginnings
In the 70’s, one of the grand culinary experience the streets of Colombo could offer is the grandiose ‘Biryani’ – mutton, beef, or chicken of your choice, specialised by the Muslim eateries. The experience is though compact and not on quantity, was a delicious burst of contrasting gustatory sensations – fluffy steaming, sometimes intermittently coloured rice, fried chicken, boiled egg, green chili\onion\cilantro sambol, pickle, cucumber salad. It did safely transition above a notch, outside the everyday home experience.
But something else was brewing in the 70’s in the East, initially as an experiment, most likely through the influence on the exposure and convulsion of fine gastronomical creativity. Or maybe an accidental decoction of natural elements already found in the days’ cooking. ‘Veechu Roti’ (Veechu means ‘throwing/stretching in Tamil) is made from the ‘Godamba’ or ‘American flour’ is a great puller by itself without any chopping. Freshly made thin and stretchy ‘Veechu Roti’ with thickened mutton/beef gravy is a transitional experience by its own then. So, its natural that someone decided to mix both factors together, to make it as an alternate to ‘Biryani’ to snare the taste buds. The brightly lit, flat hot iron plate or griddle where the ‘veechu roti’ was made, has multifunctional dimensions; first to divide the massaged glutenous flour ball into equal portions with generous amount of oil, stretch to the limits and toast it in folded flat square shape.
The American flour’s highly glutinous content allows the stretching to paper thin size. Then use the same flat base griddle to mix the diced roti with egg, onions, green chilli, spices, curry leaves, choice of available vegetables and of course generous amount of mutton/beef/chicken curry, with plenty of gravy. The melodious sound bite, at times at the discretional musical personality of the ‘Kothu Chef’, arising from the banging or chopping of the metal cleavers over the griddle, evenly flip the semi soggy mixture. The sound bites also served as a marketing tool inviting the passersby. It also served as a barometer to the larger neighborhood, as to how young or dead the night is, to have a late snack or a forum with friends.
In the 70s, any youngster living at Batticaloa would scrap the last cent out of his pocket to have the ‘Kothu’ delight at ‘Rasheediya’s’, ‘Hadjiars’, Hotel de Paris or many other in the suburbs, without a blink. The richness of Batticaloa ‘Kothu’ then, was derived from the aromatic explosion of the mutton/beef curry, deeply seeped, and thickened in array of spices. Only the richness of the curry will carry the ‘Kothu’, and nothing else. Literally there was no unsaturated pieces of roti, but fully soaked in aromatic gravy. On top of it, you will be given an extra small dish of gravy to soak it further. To enjoy it with full senses, it must be eaten by hand to say the least, because a fork won’t hold that swampy mixer on the first place.
‘Kothu’ became the choice of meal while travelling on the Batticaloa night train to Colombo during the same period. At a time when travelling by bus with accommodative dinner stops to Colombo is unheard of, a 10-hour train journey starting at 8.00PM needed fuel for the commuter. The ‘buffet’ compartment is hardly reachable due to the absolute crowding, besides it had mostly bread and tea on the top list. As a result, quite logically, Night mail train as it was called then, provided another experience of smelling the aromatics arising from the ‘Kothu’ parcels consumed everywhere from compartment corridors and floor. Those who studied or worked in Colombo during that time, searched in vain to experience a similar feast of the senses in the Capital city, until they are back home by the Batti ‘Kothu’ labs.
Kothu in the world stage
Today the humble ‘Kothu’ has exploded into creative culinary variations with fine dining experience, mostly where the diaspora has expanded its roots, due to the availability of diverse sources for the base-curry. Iddiyapa Kothu, Pittu Kothu, ‘Kudal Kothu’ (Intestine), Liver Kothu, Seafood Kothu, Dolphin Kothu, Chilli-chicken Kothu, Tandoori Kothu, Poutine Kothu, Calamari kothu, Shawarma Kothu, just to name a few. Literally the choice and richness of the curry dominates the outcome and satisfaction of the consumer. Roti at this stage only functions as an enhancer of the experience.
There are many commentators, critiques, restaurants, and eateries highlight the ‘Kothu’ as a Sri Lankan street food in the Global culinary scene, everywhere from Europe, North America, Australia to Asia. The Indian observers sometimes compares this to South Indian ‘Kothu Parota’, though varies mostly on the richness and fiery intensity of the Sri Lankan curry base.
From its meagre beginning, the growth of ‘Kothu’ in some ways compensates the decline of Tea from its glory days as the national showcase, though not in anyway directly compared. The times of the boomers are getting out of steam, while the affluent generation ‘X’rs, ‘Y’rs, and millennials are in full force, willing to adventure newer creations to upsurge exotic experiences from culinary realms. The servings of ‘Kothu’ at Wedding receptions to 5-star hotel buffet menus, trade exhibitions to summer picnic tables, reiterates its earned place, tested by fire, of course. This is not in any way interrelating territorial dimension with handed down traditions. As a commodity of sensory delight in the global culinary theatre, ‘Kothu’ highlights the elevation of Sri Lankan unique food experience. Like the Italian spaghetti and the UK’s Chicken Tikka Masala, its evolution from the fusion of imported ‘American flour’, with its own rich and fiery curry brand has created a symbol easily associated with and traced to Sri Lanka. Thanks to the pioneers who wouldn’t have dreamt or envisioned, but the ‘Kothu’ has become the national brand of Sri Lanka in the world stage.
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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