Features
THE DRAMATIC END – Part 31
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
A Surprise at the Union AGM
The hotel union of Coral Gardens was hoping to deal with the new Manager, Major Siri Samarakoon more effectively with input from their superiors. The annual general meeting (AGM) was expected to re-establish the strength of the union. A very important chief guest, Mr. Bala Tampoe (Comrade Bala) was attending, A notice came from the hotel union to Major ‘informing’ the management of the details related to their AGM. Major wrote in bold letters across the notice, “Approved by the Manager”, signed the notice and placed it on the union notice board himself.
After all the hype, Comrade Bala arrived at the hotel in an old car and was given a rousing welcome by his devoted followers. They covered him with fresh flower garlands and ceremonially ushered him from the entrance of the hotel to the employee dormitory area where the AGM was to be held. The union was ready for the magic to happen. I was in the office in my chef uniform listening to the loud cheers of the employees celebrating the visit by their hero Comrade Bala.
I was thinking of what would happen after the AGM. At that time, Major appeared in the office dressed in a bright red shirt and a pair of jeans. I was surprised and asked him if he was going out somewhere. “Yes, of course, to the union AGM,” he said in an excited voice. When I asked him, “Are you invited to the AGM?” he said that, “As the Manager of the hotel I am their host and I certainly do not need any invitation to go anywhere in the hotel.” I was baffled, when he said, “Chandana, let’s go and have some fun with these bloody communists.”
Around 100 employees attending the AGM were shocked to see Major and I marching bravely towards their leader just before the meeting commenced. That was the first union meeting I had ever attended. I followed Major and sat right in the front row after shaking hands with Comrade Bala, who looked confused by our surprise appearance. At 4:00 pm sharp, at the exact time the AGM was supposed to commence, the Major went to the podium, took the microphone in his hand, checked the sound and addressed the gathering, uninvited.
The Major stated the importance of commencing such meetings promptly, as busy people like him do not like to waste time. He then compared himself to Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Bala Tampoe, as all four were lawyers or legal scholars. After that, Major gave a lengthy and informative lecture to the union on how he admired Karl Marx’s theories and philosophies on economics and socialism. Then he compared communism in USSR, China and Cuba. He argued that unions must embrace concepts that benefit members rather than the concepts that boost the egos of their selfish leaders.
He ended his unsolicited lecture by saying that if anyone at the AGM needs to learn more about socialism, communism or unionism, to make an appointment to consult him. He wished the union all success and left before any questions were posed to him. “Chandana, let’s leave this AGM to do some productive work,” he said while marching away, proudly. Comrade Bala and his loyal followers looked totally baffled.
Russian Roulette – Fire or Promote?
Towards the end of the tourist season in 1977, we had two more managers on our team. Sabinus Fernando had just retired from the National Milk Board as the Personnel Manager. He was an expert in handling tough unions. Neville Fernando was a volunteer Lieutenant of the Army who was previously trained by Major. He looked after security. Although they were on the management team of four, Major designated Sabinus and Neville as General Supervisors I and II. I familiarized both in hotel operations.
One day, Major had a special management meeting with one agenda item – terminating the services of either the President (Edmond) or the Secretary (Kalansooriya) of the hotel union. “Let’s break the union by promoting one leader and sacking the other. Let’s decide which one gets sacked.” Major sought our input, with a sadistic laugh. As there were no clear grounds for dismissal, I voted against such action, but the other three managers agreed to fire the younger and more radical union leader – Kalansooriya. I felt that the whole voting process was choreographed by Major. “What happens to Butler Edmond?” I questioned. “Let’s promote him as the Restaurant Supervisor!” Major concluded.
Major delegated three members of his management team specific tasks to implement his strategy:
= Chandana – Training, developing and promoting Edmond with new uniforms, good increment and benefits.
= Sabinus – Building a special case file for Kalansooriya and continuously provoking him until he makes a major mistake. “Sabinus, if you can provoke Kalanasooriya in such a manner for you to get slapped on the face by him in public, that would be perfect!” Major suggested. He was not joking.
= Neville – Getting Security Guards to check Kalansooriya thoroughly every time he leaves work while further harassing him with frequent questioning.
The very next day, I promoted Edmond and issued general notices to all employees. Edmond was very pleased with his new title and impressive salary increase. He came to our office with a big smile to thank Major and myself. “Sir, should I wear a tie to work?” a highly motivated Edmond asked us. Major did not want to spend any more hotel money for buying ties. Therefore, he told me, “I say Chandana, I see that you have a big collection of ties. Just give this chap a couple of your old ties.” I did so immediately, without asking any questions.
After that even when Edmond was off duty, he travelled home wearing my old ties, as that was a status symbol in his village. Before issuing the letter of promotion to Edmond, Major told him, “Edmond, one thing you need to do before your promotion is confirmed. You must resign from the hotel union.” “No problem, Sir, I will do that now.” Edmond said.
Timely, but Unfair Action
By early April, 1977, on the last day of the tourist season, when the last European tour group left the hotel, the occupancy dropped down to single digits. Major terminated Kalansooriya’s service on that day, as the last tourist coach left the hotel. Major had drafted a long letter with many legal terms. He managed to get the letter of termination issued from the head office and signed by a member of the board. We were expecting a strike, and if that happened, Major was prepared to close the hotel for the off season of six months to focus on maintenance and upgrading projects.
The union delegates wanted to meet with the management to discuss what they termed as: “a revengeful and unfair dismissal”. During that emotional meeting, a few union delegates broke down in tears. Major looked very sorry and spoke softly, “My heart goes to Kalansooriya, but unfortunately my hands are tied as the letter was issued and signed by my superior – the Hotel Company Director from the head office.” The union delegates then asked. “Can’t you speak with the Director and try to convince him to give Kalansooriya a second chance?” Major responded, “Sure, I will ask that when the Director returns to Sri Lanka after his current two-month holiday in England.” That was the end of the story.
After a week, there was no more talk about Kalansooriya among employees. Although, now not a part of the union that he built and led over 10 years, Edmond appeared to be a popular supervisor. Major took a one-month vacation making me the Acting Manager, once again.
Meeting JR
One morning in May, 1977, the kitchen became busy with a last-minute order for a Sri Lankan lunch for 50 persons of a major political party. As the majority of cooks were on their annual leave during the off season, I did most of the cooking. When the group arrived, I realised that it was for then Leader of the Opposition and the Member of the Parliament for Colombo South, where I was registered to vote. The veteran politician, Mr. Junius Richard Jayewardene (JR) was campaigning hard to bring his United National Party (UNP) back to power and become the sixth and the oldest person to become the Prime Minister of Ceylon/Sri Lanka. At age 70, he appeared to have a lot of energy to do three rallies a day during a three month-long campaign.
When JR arrived at the hotel, his 50 close supporters expected him to have lunch with them in the restaurant, but he had a different idea. When I greeted JR on his arrival at the entrance of the hotel, he wanted to meet with the Hotel Manager. I told him that I was acting for the Manager who was on vacation. JR said, “I thought that you are the Chef.” “Yes, Sir. I am. Do you need anything apart from lunch?” I inquired.
JR wanted a room and all newspapers of the day. I knew that JR had given strict instructions to his followers to boycott all newspapers published by the Lake House Group which had been taken over by the government of Sirima Bandaranaike. Therefore, I quickly asked, “Except the Daily News and Dinamina?” “I need to read all news papers including those two prior to my next rally this afternoon.” He was very clear. I ushered him to his room and arranged for his lunch to be served there. Then, while I was leaving his room, JR requested, “Can you stay and chat with me?”
JR had a quick wash and sat for lunch by himself while glancing through the headlines of the Daily News. I kept standing for over an hour chatting with JR. He sounded optimistic of a landslide victory during the general election scheduled for July 21, 1977. As the voters of Ceylon/Sri Lanka gave the victory to the main opposition party at all five general elections held after 1952, it was not a difficult prediction. Overstaying their term by two additional years by the government of Sirima Bandaranaike, motivated the voters to opt for a change. As arguably the father of modern-day tourism, JR was happy that I was a graduate of the Ceylon Hotel School. He was also pleased that I was from Colombo South and his namesake.
In the midst of our chat about various topics, including tourism, sea erosion, supply chain challenges stemming from the closed economic policy, frustrations of the local population; JR asked me, “Didn’t we meet at Sirikotha (UNP head office) some years back?” I said, “Yes, soon after your party suffered a big loss at the general elections in 1970.”
As a young child, listening to my fathers’ interesting stories about his interactions with then Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, I became interested in politics. When my father asked me what job I’d to do, I made him laugh by saying that, “I want to be like Banda.” I then followed activities of charismatic political leaders of Ceylon and around the world. In fact, as a pre-teen, one of my key hobbies was maintaining an album of photographs and articles about various politicians such as JFK, Nehru, Mao, Nasser, Jomo Kenyatta, Castro, Che, SWRD and JR.
In the late 1960s, I also became a big fan of Pierre Trudeau. I was fascinated how he rapidly rose to the position of the Prime Minister of Canada only after a short two and half years as a member of the parliament. I was delighted when Pierre Trudeau visited Ceylon to open the Colombo airport re-built and expanded with generous funding from Canada. With hundreds of other school children, I stood in line under the hot sun along the Galle Road for hours holding a Canadian flag to cheer this charismatic leader.
Three people – my father, and two politically-active classmates of mine at Grade 11 (Imthiaz Bakeer Markar and Sarath Kongahage – both who became lawyers and leading politicians in later years) encouraged me to get involved in politics. When I was 16 years of age Imthiaz took me and a few other students of Ananda College to meet the newly elected leader of the UNP – JR, who wanted to recruit young members to his political party, which he was re-uilding then, with the assistance of R. Premadasa as his right-hand man.
“How come you did not join the UNP in 1970 and get into politics? You would have done well,” JR said. I told him that owing to undemocratic practices by all political parties in Sri Lanka, I lost interest in that career option. However, he was happy that I was focused on a long career in tourism and hospitality, which he believed would be the main industry in Sri Lanka in years to come.
After he finished his lunch JR thanked me and said that he will now rest. “At my age, I realised that I am more productive if I break my long days into two with a short cat nap in between” he said.
Hosting JR, Again
Over the next 12 years, I hosted JR a few times at hotel functions during his two terms as the first Executive President of Sri Lanka. My last meeting with JR was in 1993, when I conducted a quick tour of the upgraded historic wing of the Mount Lavinia Hotel at his request. By then he had retired from politics and I was planning to leave Sri Lanka to re-commence my international career.
During that last meeting JR told me how as a young man he and his buddies partied at the Little Hut Night Club of the Mount Lavinia Hotel. “Your Excellency, why don’t you bring all your good friends and have a night out at the Little Hut. Pick any day and I will make all arrangements including a live band to play all your favourite songs all night long” I offered. JR smiled, thought about it, looked at his wife, and then said, “Thank you very much. Let Elina and I think about it. The challenge is that most of my former buddies have now passed away.” He was 87 years of age then, but still had that quick wit. Mr. J. R. Jayewardene was the first of 35 heads of state or government I hosted during my career as an international hotelier.
Socialism Rejected
As predicted by JR the election results on July 21, 1977 was a landslide victory for the UNP, which won 140 of the 168 seats in the National State Assembly. Controlling over 83% of seats, JR was able to initiate several amendments to the constitution and become far more powerful than all his five predecessors of the independent Ceylon/Sri Lanka. The leftist parties which controlled the trade unions lost all 19 seats they had held previously. Major took great joy in announcing to his small management team that the era of the communist unions in Sri Lanka had just ended! “Let’s bring the number of members in the Coral Gardens Hotel union to zero within a month,” said Major expanding his new vision.
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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