Features
Baurs’ coconut properties, early married life and Ceylon in the 40’s and 50’s
Excerpted from the authorized biography of Thilo Hoffmann by Douglas. B. Ranasinghe
(Continued from last week)
Mr Jobin (the Swiss superintendent) devoted most of his working life to Palugaswewa Estate and the people of the area. He established a fibre mill, produced large quantities of coconut shell charcoal, grew rice and introduced sheep rearing. The estate’s large herd of Mura water buffaloes yielded milk, curd and other products. Many thousands of selected coconut seedlings were raised and sold. Palugaswewa was the model of a modern and profitable coconut property, with much of the profits being ploughed back, until the takeover by the government.
Thilo and Mae often spent weekends here with the Jobins. ‘The property was then on the edge of the vast extent of dry zone jungle which stretched away northward and inland. He recalls the hot evenings when the hosts and guests would sit on the screened-in veranda of the Superintendent’s bungalow. Seasonally in the nearby large mara trees thousands of cicadas would fill the air with their peculiar ‘music’, coming in waves so loud that one could not hear oneself and conversation was almost impossible. A myriad fireflies illuminated the dark night. Packs of jackals would roam the area, and at night their wild howling was heard far and near. There were crocodiles in the surrounding tanks. Of course, there were mosquitoes.
Herds of elephants would move through the estate regularly, and often cause heavy damage especially to young palms and in new or replanted sections of it. The famous Deduru Oya herd, with its mystical connection to the Munesswaram temple, had its home range in the vicinity. This was until the herd was decimated in an attempt to trans-locate it to the Wilpattu National Park in the late 1960s, combined with the first immobilization experiments in Sri Lanka.
Thilo believes that the project was ill-conceived, and that the Wildlife Department organized it at the suggestion of a foreign wildlife movie-maker, who obtained dramatic footage. Sometime later several of the translocated animals returned to their home range, a distance of nearly 100 km.
In 1953 Baurs bought the mostly undeveloped Polontalawa Estate, at Kadigawa on the Deduru Oya some miles inland. This provided both Xavier and Thilo with many opportunities for wilderness adventures. It was here that Thilo’s friend Geoffrey Bawa with Ulrik Plesner later built a unique bungalow complex, its various units fitting among a group of large rocks and boulders with jungle trees between.
One Saturday evening in the 1950s Shirley Corea, the MP for Chilaw threw a party at the Sports Club grounds in the town. The Jobins and Thilo were invited. There was a large crowd, which included Bernard Soysa and Colvin R. de Silva.
Thilo was introduced to Colvin, and soon a friendly discussion took place between them about the merits of State ownership. Colvin asked him why he would not join and manage for the State a fertilizer business like Baurs, on terms and conditions equal to or better than those prevailing in the private sector. Thilo replied: “Because I would not be allowed to run it according to my best knowledge and ability; there would always be people to interfere.”
De Silva was apparently not convinced as, decades later, he used the same reasoning in connection with the State take-over of all agricultural lands of over 50 acres in extent (Land Reform), as the Minister in charge. Thilo recalls that a proprietary planter who thought he would play an important role in the scheme greeted the suggestion with enthusiasm only to find himself disillusioned in no time.
In later years Thilo tried to establish some new crop plants in Sri Lanka. Most successful was the macadamia nut. With difficulty he obtained a few dozen seeds from abroad and had them raised at the four up-country estates owned by Baurs. Then nationalisation intervened. Some years later the new Superintendent of Clarendon Estate sent him sample nuts from the first few harvests, and they were of good quality.
A fairly large trial was carried out with Hibiscus sabdariffa, the dried calyx of which is extensively used in herbal tea mixtures. Several hundredweights of it were exported. Thilo also experimented with soil-less culture and with minor element deficiencies.
MARRIAGE
After his early sojourn in the hill country, young Thilo Hoffmann returned to Colombo and lived in a bungalow belonging to Baurs named ‘Suramma’ at No. 14 Bagatelle Road. It had a large garden with a swimming pool, and in front stood a balsa tree, the ultra-light timber of which had been in great demand during the recent war for the construction of fighter planes. It was run as a chummery by young bachelors employed by Baurs. For one month in rotation each resident would be responsible for the household, supervise the servants and the kitchen, and do the marketing, as well as watch over the expenditure and income. This was a useful exercise for most of them.
At this time Thilo bought his first car, an MG TC, a brand new sports two-seater with a folding hood, bearing registration number CY 1406. He describes it as “hot and sticky” during rain but otherwise a joy to drive.
In late 1947 his fiancee, Mae Klauenbosch, came over from Switzerland. In England she boarded the Empire Brent, a converted passenger ship. She was in an inner cabin with 14 wives of European residents in India who came out to rejoin their husbands after the war. On the return trip to the UK these ships repatriated British soldiers. They were packed with people in both directions. Still, she enjoyed the voyage. Thilo recounts:
“At that time executives were not allowed to marry during the first contract of four years. I somehow managed to break this rule, which did not further endear me to the CEO. In the presence of a small crowd of friends and colleagues we were married by a registrar at the Grand Oriental Hotel.
“The ‘GOH’ then had a Swiss manager and a Swiss chef, and was much larger than today, comprising the entire building, now owned by the Bank of Ceylon. It was known all over the world because the Colombo port was a transit point for thousands of passengers travelling to and from Australia and ports in South East and East Asia. The ships had to stop here for bunkering, and they sailed on strict schedules. Almost all passengers came ashore and frequented the hotel.
“As was then the custom Mae stayed for about ten days, between arrival and wedding, with the family of the CEO of Baurs, who thus acted as substitute for her parents. She was introduced to the basic matters of life in Ceylon such as shopping and handling of servants.
“The newlyweds’ home was a small flat in Baurs building, which stood by the seashore in the Colombo Fort area, at Upper Chatham Street.”
Thilo was given one week off for the honeymoon. Their first stop was Kandy. In the evening they visited the Temple of the Tooth Relic and watched the puja. The next day they drove to Nuwara Eliya via Padiyapelella and Maturata. He recalls the railway line which connected Ragala via Nuwara Eliya to Nanu Oya, as they had to criss-cross its bumpy track between Brookside and Nuwara Eliya a number of times in their hard-sprung MG, an annoying experience. This railway, which today would have been a major tourist attraction, was removed a few years later.
They spent a day or two at Welimada, and then drove home via Bandarawela – Haputale – Koslanda – Wellawaya, with one night at the resthouse in Hambantota. This was then a small, romantic fishing town on the jungle-clad blue bay, with a population of mainly Malays and Burghers. The large ‘forest’ of palmyra palms on the dunes to the west was a special attraction of the place and a protection for it. It is now replaced by Casuarina trees, “alien and ugly” as Thilo says, planted by the Forest Department.
The couple returned home from their brief honeymoon to a room which had only a few pieces of furniture, by a then leading designer Terry Jonklaas. They had to unpack a new mattress and bed linen from Mae’s trunk before they were able to lie down for the night.
LIFE IN CEYLON
Colombo was then a beautiful and clean town, with numerous large gardens and trees. For instance, the Galle Road was entirely residential. Colombo was called the “Garden City” and Ceylon the “Switzerland of the East”. Since then, great changes have not only affected the rural areas of Sri Lanka, as noted often in this book, but, of course, the ever-growing towns, particularly the capital city.
The air was clean, and a myriad stars were visible in the night sky above the city.
Today a permanent haze blots out all but the most prominent of them. Vision throughout the country has become very restricted, with strong haze a normal feature. No longer is it possible to regularly see the southern sea coast from the Haputale area or Adam’s Peak from Colombo city. During his time in Sri Lanka Thilo could observe in the best viewing conditions three “fabulous” comets, namely Ikeya-Seki, Bennett and Kohoutek, a total eclipse of the sun and several of the moon.
There was no air conditioning in those days. Office papers on the desk got stuck to sweaty forearms. During the greatest heat in April and May the Hoffmanns used to drag their large double bed onto the open veranda and sleep in relative coolness under the stars or the moonlit sky. Thilo recalls:
“Our flat was on the fifth floor of Baur’s building. Lying on our stomachs looking over the edge of the veranda 50 feet above Flagstaff Street we used to watch in fascination the seasonal mass migration of butterflies, said to end at Sri Pada. From the ground up to our level millions of butterflies would flutter and fly northward for hours and days, rather like a cloud of large snowflakes. This happened at regular intervals for years, but later the migrations became fewer and the number of butterflies decreased greatly. I have not seen a real migration here for many years now.”
The crows of the whole area roosted at night in Crow Island off Mattakkuliya and their numbers were thus limited. This site is now no more. Today, as Thilo remarks, the population of crows in Colombo has increased out of all proportion, nesting and roosting all over the town, an unfailing indication of unsanitary conditions. They are now a pest and a menace to all other birds.
The Colombo Fort was the business and administrative centre of the country. All the big shops were there, too. There were impressive government buildings, many of which have, in the meantime, been demolished after falling into disrepair and decay. Only a few have been restored. From Baurs building, which stands at a prime location in the Fort, one had a fine view along the west coast as far as Mount Lavinia; this was blocked when the Hotel Intercontinental was built in the 1970s.
There was a wide space at Echelon Square, where now the country’s tallest buildings stand. Gordon Gardens was a public park, the breakwater a recreation area. All roads and buildings were well maintained. Thilo also notes:
“For a long time the tallest structure on the island was the Ceylinco Building at Queen’s Street (now Janadhipathi Mawatha). It was initiated by Senator Justin Kotelawala, who added a helicopter pad to set the height record. The plans for the building were purchased in the USA. But the local builders misread them and it stands with its back to the front. In 1996 it was severely damaged by the devastating LTTE bomb attack on the nearby Central Bank (which I witnessed and which also damaged Baur’s building). Some years later it was reconstructed and the original error corrected to some extent.
The Pettah was an attractive place with hundreds of shops, clean and well-organized roads, the old buildings pretty and colourful with country tiles on the roofs. Now, says Thilo, it is a mixture of mostly tasteless new buildings, and stalls on the pavements.
The city was also run differently, as he observes:
“Unlike today Colombo was subdivided politically and administratively into wards each of which had an elected member in the Municipal Council. The ward member was known to his voters and held personally responsible for the proper functioning of all amenities. Complaints were promptly looked into and rectified in a system far superior to the present anonymity.”
“There were no traffic jams anywhere in the country. Most people found driving a pleasure, even during the hottest season, as it was customary to have trees on both sides of all main roads. Driving on a trunk road in any direction from Colombo was like passing through a tunnel of massive rain trees (pare mara). Today, continues Thilo, only parts of Bauddhaloka Mawata (then Buller’s Road) and a few others in Colombo give an impression of how it was then throughout the country.”
There were tramways. One ran from the Fort through Pettah and Grandpas to Totalanga (just south of the Victoria Bridge) and another to Borella. Mae Hoffmann regularly used the first for shopping at the Pettah market, the fare being five cents one way.
The rupee, of course, had much greater value then. It was worth 1.30 Swiss francs; today one Swiss franc is worth well over 100 rupees. Thilo recalls:
“I had my haircut for one rupee plus a ten cent tip at the Lord Nelson Saloon on Chatham Street, which is still there. The cheapest local cigarette (‘Driving Girl’) cost 40 cents for a tin of 50, and an egg one cent.During the war as metals of all kinds were used to make arms none could be spared for coins, which were replaced by paper money, and even years after the war there were still small banknotes of 25 and 50 cent denominations.”
(To be continued)
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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