Features
The new President must learn from Gota!
By Austin Fernando
I am proud that I have served all Executive Presidents of Sri Lanka from Presidents JR Jayewardene to Gotabaya Rajapaksa at some stage or another. I may be the only public ‘officer’ to have done so. With Mahinda Rajapaksa, it was secondary, but I was his ‘lifesaver’ along with Ranil Wickremesinghe. (See ‘My Belly is White’ (2008) pages 140 to 142). Hence, I claim I have accumulated a mixed bag of experiences.
I do not intend to sound like a Pundit; I only mention a few (out of several) mistakes made by Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has owned up to two of them, to caution the next President. If the new President repeats them, he will also end up being holed up in a military camp or praying at Gnanakka’s Kovil or Kataragama or Tirupati, Vatican, or Mecca.
The need for cautioning the next President arises from the fact that we are a sensitive, sensible electorate and society, which can unhesitatingly dump a political dynasty into the dustbin for their wrongs. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa government crashed within two and half years although Rajapaksa is a war hero who polled 6.9 million votes at the 2019 presidential election, mustered a two-thirds majority in Parliament, and became a monarch of sorts by introducing the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. This should serve as a warning to future Presidents.
Overestimating popularity
Everyone may agree on Gotabaya’s miserable failures, which led to his ouster by a People Power Movement despite his massive mandate and heroism. His popularity infused him with extraordinary courage, confidence, and what is known as a ‘royalty feel.’ But he was impervious to reason, democratic bonds, equality concerns, common touch, etc., and given to arrogance, militaristic cronyism, and even intolerance of dissent. Gotabaya proved that popularity was not permanent. The new President will have to be mindful of this fact.
Gotabaya’s popularity increased following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks. Vociferous Buddhist clergy exerted influence on Gotabaya over matters that were not only Buddhistic but also others such as the burial of the Muslims who died of Covid-19. There are lessons to be drawn from the ‘one-country-one-Law’ project, granting university chancellorship, chemical fertilizer ban, etc.
What one gathers from Gotabaya’s experience is that election campaigns and government must be kept free from religion. It is not that the new President should not seek the advice of religious leaders when required but there should be a limit. Gotabaya failed to draw that line even with Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith who helped him in the 2019 November presidential election, disappointing him.
Gotabaya enlisted the support of the members of the think tanks, Viyath Maga and Eliya, and the electronic media Moghuls, and relied more on personal foreign contacts and senior military officers. Like the Buddhist clergy loyal to Gotabaya, these persons also ventured into fields where they lack expertise such as Public Service Commission, money-spinning businesses allegedly during the pandemic, telecommunications, Ministry Secretary-postings, Statutory Authorities, diplomatic assignments, etc. The new President can learn how not to seek guidance from those who seek to further their personal interests, in that way.
Old baggage!
Gotabaya used his military background and his contribution to the war victory to project himself as a demi-god. He was lucky to have a free hand as the Defence Secretary because his elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was the President. All these factors may have made him try to manage the affairs of the state just like those of the Defence Ministry during the war. Al Jazeera has reported, quoting an aide of Mahinda Rajapaksa that Gotabaya did not listen even to Mahinda. He took very crucial decisions without heeding expert advice. Probably, he thought in the military style that everyone could comply and complain later.
The three candidates contesting for the presidency in Parliament this time have different experiences and capacities. If they put their heads together and pool their talents and energies, they will be able to solve our problems, and there is a pressing need for a team effort that was absent during Gotabaya’s presidency.
The hangers-on never asked questions from Gotabaya. I remember, at a ‘Gama Samagin Pilisandara’ when he declared with a chuckle that his word was the government circular, and an Administrative Service senior seated next to him, smiled approvingly! Advisors, experts, and consultants should have been persons of integrity and courageous enough to speak the truth at any cost, which was not the case with him. If they had done so and Gotabaya had taken their views on board, he would have been the President even today. I hope this will serve as a lesson for the new President and his advisors.
New baggage
New advisors emerged from the Think Tanks Gotabaya created. They were the new baggage! They were responsible, educated, and experienced but the advice they proffered lacked strategic thinking and an understanding of international relations. The Millennium Corporation Compact (US), the Light Railway Project (Japan), the East Container Terminal Project, and Kerawalapitiya LNG Project (both Japan and India) were scrapped at the behest of such advisors. There may have been some justifications. Gotabaya in his military style scrapped them abruptly, sometimes even without heeding common diplomatic courtesies, as alleged. The consequence was that the Gotabhaya government lost international backing. This is a lesson that the next President has to draw from Gotabaya’s experience.
However, I am happy to note Secretary Aruni Wijewardena has commenced moving the ball in the right direction with Japan. The new President should assist her in her endeavor even with other countries. It is the correct path to move, going by the functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs given in the 13th Amendment List II.
This is not to say that Sri Lanka should risk losing its sovereignty, but handling such issues requires a sophisticated approach. A wag says Gotabaya’s rise to the presidency exemplifies the Peter Principle in management, wherein a person rising in the hierarchy through promotion reaches a level of respective incompetence! It may be a new lesson for the electorate on how to elect leaders in the future. Gotabaya remained impervious to criticism and did not care to review his decisions until total failure was imminent. The new President should take notice of this.
Silent and silenced media
It was well known that the State Media always praises the incumbent President and his actions, however controversial they may be. The Rajapaksas neutralized all opposition, both within and without, through persuasion, purchasing, punishing, and intrigue in line with Chanakya Neethi’s methodology of saam, damm, dand, and bhed. They controlled the private media by “owning,” “proxy-ownership,” “holding to ransom,” or “devastating!”
With such controls and the Criminal Investigation Department being under the thumb of the Executive, officially and unofficially, the media mostly succumbed to political pressure. The media remained silent because of what befell Lasantha Wickramatunga, Poddala Jayantha, Pradeep Ekneligoda, Kugan, et al when Gotabaya was the Defence Secretary, and also attacks on SIRASA, SIYATHA, Lankaenews. By 09 July 2022, all were muted. This should serve as a lesson for the new President.
Learning from Dhammapada
After his departure, I came across interesting electronic media references. I quote one from the Maldivian Parliament’s Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. It said:
“President GR has resigned. I hope Sri Lanka can now move forward. I believe the President would not have resigned if he were still in Sri Lanka, and fearful of losing his life.”
(07.36 am on 14-7-2022)
Gotabaya used to openly quote serious tough stands taken by him during the war. His tone and delivery of such were threatening, and the wink in his eyes were foxy. He was heedless of the pains of conflict and thought the protests could be crushed by the military. He once indicated his capacity to cultivate paddy fields engaging the military, if he so desired! But the above quote shows his weak mental frame before he fled. I do not blame him for fear of death. Dhammapada has this to say:
Sabbe tasanti daṇḍassa
Sabbe bhāyanti maccuno
Attānaṃ upamaṃ katvā
Na haneyya na ghātaye
(Dhammapada – Danda Vagga – Stanza 129)
Everybody trembles at punishment; everybody fears death. Having made the comparison with oneself, let one not kill, nor cause another to kill.
Sabbe tasanti daṇḍassa
Sabbesaṃ jīvitaṃ piyaṃ
Attānaṃ upamaṃ katvā
Na haneyya na ghātaye
(Dhammapada – Danda Vagga – Stanza 130)
Everybody trembles at punishment; life is dear to everybody. Having made the comparison with oneself, let one not kill, nor cause another to kill.
This is the eternal truth the Buddha preached more than two and a half millennia ago, remembered by Gotabhaya, and must not be forgotten by the new President to be elected today.
Dasa Raja Dharma
Buddhist literature speaks of the Dasa Raja Dharma that should be abided by rulers. I think Gotabaya did that to some extent. If Dana is considered, I have seen him at almsgivings, donations, temples, etc. But the Dana principle means much more— sacrificing for the public well-being and serving public interests. The obverse of this became evident in his handling of some issues like his fertilizer ban that took its toll on the well-being of farmers.
One is also reminded of Pariccaga Dharma. Gotabaya was accused of cronyism; the questionable abolition of duty on sugar for the benefit of a friend at the expense of the public. The sugar duty scam could be considered a violation of Ajjava (honesty) quality too, though there was no evidence that he personally gained from it. However, his reluctance to have the loss amounting to Rs. 16 billion recovered even though the Auditor General recommended such action, showed his partiality to the scammer. The new President also should remember this as a good lesson and must recover the losses.
It was well known even among parliamentarians, ministers, and officials that Gotabaya lacked Maddava, the gentle temperament or avoidance of , and defaming others, (e. g., Central Bank Governor WD Lakshman and his team were ‘verbally abused’ as seen from a video clip.) Even a junior administrator would have told him, “Praise publicly, criticize individually!” Perhaps, he emulated President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who launched into a tirade against his political opponents in addressing the Parliament after the prorogation following an abortive bid to impeach him, and President Maithripala Sirisena, who carried out a scathing verbal attack on Ranil Wickremesinghe (in the presence of Madam Maithri Wickremesinghe) after reappointing him as the Prime Minister after the failed Constitutional Coup of 2018.
Another was Akkodha (non-anger) quality, being free from and remaining calm amid . Gotabaya lacked it as was seen when he was the Secretary of Defence interacting with the international media who well remember the quotations such as “Who is Lasantha?” and “I will hang him” (meaning Sarath Fonseka). As a military person, he ought to have known that a word spoken was like a bullet fired, never to return. This is also a lesson for the new President.
That Avihimsa quality is alien to Gotabaya has become evident from damning allegations against him. He also lacked Kshanthi quality, and Avirodhana, or quality of uprightness, respecting others’ opinions, and the avoidance of prejudice as could be seen from the representation made by agriculture professionals and economists on chemical fertilizer ban, and debt restructuring and representing matters to the IMF respectively. As for personal prejudice and arrogance, I have had my personal experience as High Commissioner in India, but I refrain from elaborating, as I have forgiven him. I am more mature!
It is obvious he feared losing his life. Who does not? To his credit, media reports are saying that when the President’s House was surrounded and inquired whether to open fire, he had ordered them not to although he was in real danger. His conduct must be appreciated. Even at the risk of his life, he has imparted a lesson to future Presidents and the Military.
Ridiculing Gotabaya
There have been instances where Gotabaya was ridiculed. Recently after Gotabhaya was deposed Frederica Jansz jokingly invited Gotabhaya to a cup of coffee in Seattle, where she ran for her dear life having been threatened by him. I presume Gotabhaya may have ignored such ridicule. But the lesson for the incoming Presidents is that life is the most valuable, and death is the most abhorred, and they must respect this eternal truth, especially since realization will dawn the day when faced with the threat of life. Over to you, Mr. New President!
With my experience with Presidents, I may recall that here two Presidents were excessively ridiculed by the public. Some yarns were coined about President Premadasa, but fortunately for him, those were the pre-social media days. With the expansion of social and electronic media, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to stomach ridicule. Of course, they are fortunate that no one has published Joke Books about them like on Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney!
One message that could be given to the incoming Presidents is that if they fail to meet the aspirations of the people, they will beat Gotabhaya, and no amount of military, batons, water cannons, tear gas canisters, or bullets shall cease or seize “peoples’ struggles” or “Aragalayas.” If action is pursued with these they may have to finally run for dear life- sometimes as fugitives, jumping from one city to other, being rejected from the dearest place they wish to live, for want of visas. This is the final lesson to be learned from Gotabaya.
Best wishes to the person who becomes the President today!
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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