Features
Jungle memories
by H. I. E. Katugaha
I have had a long innings of jungle trips. Many of these were with my uncle, Sam Elapata Dissawe, who had an unrivalled knowledge of elephants and their ways. I learnt from him many things about the jungle and its denizens. I remember now with nostalgia the trips I shared with him. After his death, the interest in the jungle, which I acquired from him as a young schoolboy, has persisted to this day.
A walk up the Menik Ganga
It was in the 1950’s that I was able to join Sam Elapata Dissawe on a trip along the banks of the Menik Ganga during the height of the drought. There were four of us, besides Sam Elapata Dissawe, who did this trek, namely the late A.H.E.Molamure, Robo Singho our tracker, David our cook and myself, then a schoolboy. It was my privilege to be walking with them and learning the ways of the wilds.
Before we reached the riverbank, Robo stopped and pointed to the ground. I could see nothing there. He then drew the footprint of a leopard on the sand. I at once recognized it. He next showed me a leaf of a creeper on the ground. The leaf resembled the shape of the footprint. The name of that creeper was divi pahura (Ipomoea pestigridis). This botanical name, according to Trimen (1898) is a translation of the Sinhalese name, which “from the form of the leaf, (is) thought to resemble a tiger’s foot”. We were next told that it was a medicinal plant used in the treatment of tarantula bites and stings of scorpions, poisonous insects and the like. All one had to do was to crush some of the leaves, add lime and apply on the injury.
I was amazed when he showed me a brown ball, which was smaller than a marble. It was suspended from the under surface of a leaf. “Don’t touch it,” he said. It was a ball of ticks. If any animal or human being brushes past it, hundreds of ticks will be dispersed on the body. Their bites are very painful.
We reached the riverbank at about 9.30 am. The river had no flowing water at all. There were many puddles of stagnant water especially under the larger kumbuk trees. I was told to keep a respectable distance from them as they all harboured crocodiles.
We began our walk in silence. Robo was leading, followed by Uncle Sam, myself, and Uncle Hupp] (Mr. Molamure), with David, carrying our lunch, in the rear. It was cool along the river, though the drought was on. Along the river there were many carcasses of dead buffalo. We stopped at each and examined it. Crocodiles had eaten all of them as shown by the tracks. Wild boar, jackals and crows had picked up the left-over pieces. We did not find any leopard tracks at any of the carcasses. Perhaps they did not have to come to the river to get at food, as many animals died during this drought and there was no shortage of food elsewhere. It is surprising that we did not come across a single carcass of a sambhur. As we walked along, the stench was unbearable at times with so many rotting carcasses. During that morning walk, we counted 168 buffalo carcasses. I dreaded to think how many more there would have been upriver.
A female elephant quietly walked to the river ahead of us. This was what Uncle Sam had come out to see and so we stopped under a tree and watched in silence. She came to the riverbed and stood silently. The wind was in our favour and therefore she was quite unaware of the human intrusion into her domain. Within 10 minutes, as if in answer to summons unheard by us, the rest of the herd consisting of four adult females, two adolescents and two babies came down the bank to join her.
The adults then began digging the riverbed. Using their fore legs and trunks, they dug holes in the sand and waited for the water to fill up. That was the first time I saw elephants dig for water in a dry riverbed. The adults first drank, then splashed water on their bodies and moved aside. The sub adults and babies came next. One baby was too small to use its trunk and had to kneel down and lap up the water. It was an endearing sight to see one of the adults, obviously the matriarch, splash water on the babies. It took them about 45 minutes to complete their task and they went back up the riverbank into the jungle.
It was now time for lunch and we started our meal under a large kumbuk tree. Deer came down to the river and went straight to the elephant wells, but never dared to go to the pools of water under the trees. No doubt they were well aware of the crocodiles that were lurking in the stagnant water. Several peafowl followed. As we were having lunch we watched how the lesser animals made use of these elephant wells and not the stagnant pools. Two stripe-necked mongooses came along and joined the peafowl. Many birds too came over fora drink of water till some wild boar arrived on the scene. The birds scattered, and the wild boar took their turn and made the wells deeper, making good use of their snouts. Not being as patient as the elephants, they did make a mess of things. Just before we left, a solitary female sambhur came down for a drink. We started on our return journey as evening was approaching.
During the day the wild boar were feasting on the carcasses. The crocodiles were most active in the night. We did see two crocodiles finishing off a carcass. They did not move off even when we passed quite close to them. The alarm call of deer and the belling of a sambhur made us aware that a leopard was on the prowl, but with five of us walking along we did not see the leopard. No doubt he saw us and gave us a wide berth.
A lone bull elephant came upriver and we moved behind a tree to let him pass. He was a majestic animal in the prime of his life. He walked up the river. stopping now and then to test the air. We presumed he had got wind of a herd with which he was trying to make contact. With not more than fifty yards to go, another lone bull elephant was walking quickly upriver. Our tracker informed us that the two of them were certainly looking for a herd that must be close by.
We got back to camp late, but it was an enchanting walk up the Menik Ganga. Years later while camping by the Menik Ganga, there was a dead buffalo close to camp. I built a hide and tried to photograph the way the jungle disposed of the dead. Nothing touched the carcass for three days, but on the fourth day when I went in the morning to check, there was no carcass, but only skin and bone were left, The buffalo was eaten in one night by crocodiles. Their tracks revealed that it was the work of six large crocodiles.
Leopard and wild boar
One hot afternoon we were walking along a jungle path with tracker Pinoris leading, when he made us stop by raising his hand. Across an open plain about two hundred yards from us, several wild boar were busy attacking a tree. We stood still for nearly half an hour till the wild boar made off in the opposite direction. It was a leopard, which had picked up a baby wild boar and gone up the tree. In this situation the wild boar would have attacked anything that moved taking it to be a leopard. That was why Pinoris made us stand still. The leopard was lying on a horizontal branch and enjoying his delicacy.
Though they love wild boar flesh, it would be a very foolish leopard that will try to get one from a sounder with a frontal attack. They usually lie in wait and pick up a suckling as the sounder passes. Immediately the wild boar would attack the leopard, and hence it must have a nearby tree to seek shelter. There have been many instances where leopards have been severely injured or even killed after an attack on a sounder of wild boar.
On another occasion, while walking in the jungle we came across a wild boar eating a dead deer. He was so busy having his meal that he did not notice the four of us walking up. It was Uncle Sam who got us to sit down. There, under a tree not ten yards from the kill was a leopard. We belly-crawled back to a bush and got under it. It was obviously the leopard’s kill the boar had taken over. It was only after the boar had finished and moved away that the leopard came to his kill. He did not wait long. He dragged it to the nearest palu tree and effortlessly took it up to a fork where he lodged it firmly. Unfortunately it was not during a time we had telephoto lenses or video cameras.
One morning when we were camping out we had quite a surprise. A sounder of wild boar ran through the camp. They were very agitated. We remained still till they had passed our camp. I then quietly went in the direction from where they came. I had not gone very far when I heard a thud behind me. Looking back I saw a dead baby wild boar on the ground. I did not see the leopard but there was no doubt that the leopard had picked up the baby boar and gone up a tree. The thud I heard marked its inadvertent fall from a height. Quickly I made a hide, determined to photograph the leopard when he came to eat his kill. When I walked back from camp with my camera the kill was gone.
While camping in the 1980’s my children, on their way to the river, had seen a unique sight. A leopard blundered into an adult boar. They had both been surprised. Attack being the best form of defence, the two of them met face to face. They had both stood up on their hind legs before the leopard leapt over the boar and ran into the jungle.
Watching at a water hole
It was in the late 1950’s, during a drought, that Uncle Sam announced that we were going to Ranna to be at a water-hole for the day. Since all animals had to come to water for a drink, he had a hut put up on a tree near the water-hole.
Uncle Sam, together with Upali and I were up early and set off from his residence at Godakawela. We reached Tangalla rest house for an early breakfast. We had to await the arrival of Rupasinghe, who was to meet us. He came only at 10.30 am, and Uncle Sam was annoyed that he was so late. We then decided to leave after lunch, as most animals came to the water-hole in the evening. Uncle Sam then said that it was no use spending only a few hours, and therefore he decided to stay overnight. Thankfully, it was a full moon night. Hastily we got our dinner and flasks of tea ready, and set off after a heavy lunch.
We drove to a spot a few miles from Tangalla and walked the rest of the way. The driver was given instructions to bring the car next morning by 6 am.
The walk in the afternoon was not the most comfortable, but we were able to get to the water-hole at about 2.30 pm. We next had a problem to get Uncle Sam up the ladder leading to the watch-hut on the tree. As he was frightened of heights, it was not easy for him, but the thought of seeing herds of elephants made him forget his fears. The platform was about thirty feet up the tree and had a covering so that we were in the shade. The four of us settled down to see animals.
My thoughts went out to the plight of the chena cultivator, who has to stay up on a watch hut in a tree to drive away animals that come in the night to devour his crops. It is no easy task to keep up the whole night to drive off elephants from one’s chena. Many sing at night to keep themselves from falling asleep and to keep away animals. But we had come to observe wildlife and make the most of the evening and night. Biscuits and tea proved to be wonderful refreshments after that hot afternoon walk. With the wind in our faces we awaited the arrival of animals to this water-hole.
The water-hole seemed to be bare, but careful observation revealed that it was indeed occupied by no less than four fair-sized crocodiles. Their snouts gave them away. It was after four that the birds came down. Twelve painted storks were the first to arrive. They systematically probed the shallows for fish and frogs. Egrets came next; and then two pelicans came over, circled the water-hole twice and veered off to seek another source in their quest for food.
It was not until 4.40 pm that deer came out to the small plain by the pool. They came out slowly in groups of about seven. Soon we had a herd out in front of us that came to the water’s edge, hurriedly had their drink and moved off to start feeding on the dry grass. Wild boar ran straight into water, not caring for the crocodilian eyes.
They were all big adults and did not have babies to worry about. A solitary female sambhur walked slowly to the water’s edge, looked around, quickly had a drink of water and ran back to the jungle.
Elephants that Uncle Sam had come all the way to see arrived late. It was nearly six and shadows had lengthened before a herd of twelve came to water. The breaking of branches and the trumpeting made us aware that more elephants were on their way. Soon there was a congregation of well over thirty in the pool. It was a beautiful sight. The adults beat the surface of the water with their trunks before they entered. Even when they were bathing they kept beating the water. Uncle Sam whispered that this was a way of keeping the crocodiles away from the baby elephants. No sight is more endearing than that of baby elephants sporting in water. We watched them till the day gave way to twilight. The setting sun gave a golden glow to the water and its surroundings. It soon became dark and the elephants moved off back to the jungle.
We settled down for the night. The wind blowing cold made us cover up as much as possible. We had not made any allowances for the cold night that we now had to spend in the tree hut. A hot cup of tea was more than welcome. The moon came up and we were now able to see the water-hole in front and a part of the plain.
Dinner was taken and I was ready for a nap. Soon I was fast asleep curling up to the best of my ability. We took turns to watch the water-hole. Another herd of over fifty came at about 2 am. It was lovely to see them playing in the water by moonlight. At 5.20 am I felt our tree shaking. Peering down from the hut, I was surprised to see a lone bull elephant having a good rub on the very tree that we were on. I now realized the importance of having drawn up the ladder and tied it securely after we climbed up the tree. I became worried when Uncle Sam said aloud chee, aliya (a word of admonition to the elephant).
The effect was even more amazing. He stopped, looked up, trumpeted and ran off into the jungle.
The rest of the night was uneventful. When it was light we had our tea and one by one came down from the tree. It was comforting to be able to stretch our legs and walk. We set off in single file as always, and soon came to a stop. Our lone bull elephant was there in the middle of the jungle track. He seemed to have all the time in the world, but we did not. We watched him for a good half an hour and decided to take a detour. But Uncle Sam coughed. The elephant spun around and faced us. He seemed to be undecided as to what he should do. Uncle Sam walked up and said chee, aliya once again.
The elephant froze with his right front foot raised. Then he ran off to our right, trumpeting all the way. It was wonderful to see a puny man stand up and face a mighty beast. That was enough of excitement for the morning and I was relieved when we came to the main road and saw our car waiting for us. We had seen well over a hundred elephants and Uncle Sam was very happy.
The rest-house keeper provided us with a hearty breakfast. We set off back to Godakawela and reached home for lunch.
(To be continued)
(Excerpted from Jungle Journeys in Sri Lanka edited by CG Uragoda)
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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