Features
Charged by an elephant at Wasgamuwa
by Dianthi S. U. Wijeratne
I am grateful to my parents for encouraging me to appreciate nature. Both of them are great enthusiasts of wildlife and, as a result, our journeys to the wilds began at a very tender age.
One of my childhood memories is of an incident in 1973 where my family consisting of my parents, two brothers, sister and myself traveled to Yala in a car. At the time the roads were not like what they are in the park today. They were quite narrow and the surface was uneven. There was very little traffic unlike today.
I distinctly remember the tracker guiding my father into a little-used side-road. On the way we came across a large bull elephant, and the tracker told us that it was in musth. Usually bull elephants go through this process periodically when a thick fluid oozes from a gland between the eye and ear. Musth is an Urdu word which means `disoriented’. In other words, the elephant has no control over its mind. It is said that this period could last from a month to a year. During this time it makes the animal unpredictable and destructive, and is generally a time for it to attack whoever crosses its path.
As we were passing the animal it flapped its ears and the next thing we knew was that it was charging us. We children were small but excited and scared. My father was driving the car, and I remember my mother showing him the potholes in order to avoid them. However, in the excitement he drove over them, with much jolting of the vehicle. The tracker warned my parents that the road was a dead end, and this was not very soothing news, specially considering the situation we were in. Fortunately, by the time we turned and came back the angry elephant had retreated into the jungle much to the relief of all of us.
Camping at Wasgamuwa
As years went by we no longer traveled in cars to the jungle, but in four-wheel drive vehicles. In any case we were all grown up and could not be accommodated comfortably in a car. The trips too became more adventurous and exciting, with camping trips with family members and friends thrown in.
Our first trip to Wasgomuwa was in 1992 when we drove through the National Park on our way back from a trip to Polonnaruwa and a visit to the old Veddha chief, Uruwarigey Tissahamy in Dambane.
The Wasgamuwa Park is situated in the North Central Province in the extreme south-east corner of Tamankaduwa. It is bounded by the rivers, Mahaweli Ganga, Amban Ganga, Kalu Ganga and Wasgamuwa Oya, and was declared a National Park in August 1984. It was only in 1992 that it was opened to the public. Close to the park, on the way to Hasalaka, one would notice Minisgala which, as its name implies, is a rock depicting an upturned human face. The road to the park was in an appalling condition that year.
The only living creatures we managed to see in the park at that time were some deer and a python. The latter was on the main road within the park, and looked like a log. It was in the same position when we returned about an hour later. We did not have the privilege of seeing any elephants, though it was known to be a favourite habitat. The park was fairly new at the time and did not have any bungalows within for public use.
Yudaganawa
Within the park, a place with a historical significance was Yudaganawa, which is a vast plain with small black rocks visible here and there. The main road within the park passed through it. It was believed to be the venue of King Dutugemunu’s famous battle with King Elara, where the latter was defeated. In the mornings, when the sun shines at an angle, the glare from the pebbles is red, and legend attributes this colour to the blood of soldiers killed or wounded in the battle at this site.
My father had visited the dispensary in Marake on official duty about 35 years ago. The apothecary, as well as some of his officials had told him at the time, that elephants often visited the area, and a place called Yudaganawa, where an ancient battle took place, was only a short distance away from the dispensary.
I heard from Dr. Walter R. Gooneratne that the dispensary has since been moved to a new place, and that the old dispensary building, which my father had visited, had later been converted into a bungalow within the Wasgamuwa National Park, close to its entrance.
Camping
Our second visit to Wasgamuwa Park was on a camping trip. This meant that more effort was needed when planning out the menus, bedding, tents, camping gear and so on. We set off early in the morning, as we always did. I remember that the main road to the park was in a much better condition than on the previous occasion. We reached the park by afternoon. I expected the campsite to be similar to the one at Yala, but it was not up to that standard.
In Wasgamuwa there was actually nothing to indicate that it was a campsite. As always, each of us had a task to perform. We contributed by getting the place swept, cleaned and organized. This was not a problem since ekel brooms too were part of our camping equipment. It was the dry season and setting fire to the dried leaves was not a safe procedure.
The Mahaweli, which flows by the campsite, had dwindled to a mere stream with large extents of sand exposed. Since trees surrounded the campsite the heat of the sun was not unbearable.
On this particular trip we managed to see a few elephants, with one in particular making a mock charge at us at a place called Sansthapitiya.
According to what we heard from the villagers, the human-elephant conflict was very much a threat to both parties. The roaming elephants had attacked many villagers. Chena cultivators apparently burned gunny bags and dropped them on elephants from their watch-huts in the trees in order to chase them away from their cultivations. Is it any wonder why elephants attack humans? It is said that an elephant never forgets.
One evening, while returning to our camp in the fading light, we saw a herd of deer by the side of the road. As we were approaching it, a deer suddenly dashed on to the road in front of us with another spotted animal in hot pursuit. The latter somersaulted and skidded in front of our vehicle and then ran back into the jungle from where it came. It was a spectacular scene of a leopard chasing its dinner, which it missed due to our presence.
Our third and final trip to Wasgamuwa was in May 1998. Everything was planned well ahead of time, since the preparations were very elaborate as we were embarking on another camping trip. We set off to Wasgamuwa in four four-wheel pick-up trucks. Each vehicle was packed with luggage, iceboxes, tents and foodstuffs.
We reached the campsite early, and this gave us ample time to pitch tents. Afterwards we decided on a bath in the river that was always on the agenda when it came to camping. Those who took beer and hot drinks enjoyed it the most, warming themselves from within and cooling from without while having a dip in the river. Next, we sat down to a sumptuous meal prepared by the cook who went with us, of course helped by the ladies as always.
Attack by an elephant
After our late lunch, the senior members of the party, including my father, Dr. Walter R. Gooneratne and Mr.Vernon Edirisinghe, made a decision that we could go for a quick round in the park. Ten of us managed to get into two vehicles leaving Mr. Senath Abegunawardena behind. My younger brother, Dishana with my mother and three gentlemen in it, drove my father’s Toyota. My husband, Rohan was at the wheel of our Mitsubishi with a young tracker by his side. Dr. Gooneratne, my father, Lakmali and myself were in the back seat.
We, who were in the lead vehicle, were taken along a narrow path when we encountered two large elephants with their backs facing us. The tracker wanted us to turn around suspecting they might attack us. My father came, to the conclusion that they possibly could be elephants from the Somawathiya National Park. Since the tracker mentioned that they were female elephants, the possibility that they were members of a herd was strong. It is a known fact that female elephants stay together with small baby elephants, but not with mature males.
Elephants have attacked vehicles many a time within the park. This knowledge did not deter our young tracker who knew very well that the party, which was very enthusiastic and loved wildlife, was willing to take risks. He therefore guided us to Sansthapitiya, which was a vast plain of grass with jungle bordering all round. At the time the sun was setting beyond the hills and nightlife was just beginning to manifest itself. I had my reservations about going to see wildlife at that time of day. Further, all of us were very tired at the time, having travelled most of the day.
There was nothing much to be seen except the bare plains and the jungle, which was about 50 metres away from the road. Everyone was straining his or her eyes ti catch a glimpse of an animal if there was one, when my husband suddenly spotted an elephant. Though we looked in the direction he pointed, we could not see it and neither did the tracker. My brother had followed closely behind our vehicle, in order to see what we were looking at.
The all of a sudden, without any warning, there came toward our vehicle a black ball of an elephant, all curled up and running as fast as its huge legs could carry it. Its ears were like large palm leaves flapping in the air, back and ford with its trunk and tail raised. The tracker got off the vehicle and started shouting and hitting the bonnet with his hands, but it was of no avail. The angry animal kept running directly towards us. The tracker, who was desperate and excited as all of us were, asked my husband to reverse the vehicle.
Reverse he did in haste, as was instructed. There was a thud and we all jolted. We had crashed into my father’s brand new vehicle, which was behind us. Well, that was more than we could stomach at a time like that, with a raging elephant still charging towards us. When my brother tried to reverse he could not move the vehicle. The buffer had been pushed backwards and it jammed the wheels. Then all of a sudden I could see a head with an enormous pair of ears flapping and fiery red eyes in front of our vehicle.
The angry beast looked at my husband who was frozen in his seat, then lowered its head, pushed it into the region of the right mudguard and then raised it up. With the power of the impact, the right side of the entire vehicle was lifted up, so that for a moment it stood only on the two wheels on the left side. We were all dumbstruck. I am sure everyone held his or her breath in shock and fear as I did. The angry animal then released the right side of the vehicle, hurriedly turned back, trumpeted in a frightful manner, lifted its trunk and tail and ran back into the jungle from where it came. It took only a few seconds for all this to happen, nevertheless the damage was vast.
We sat in our vehicle wondering what would happen next and how we were to get my father’s vehicle back to the campsite. Its radiator was bashed in and the buffer was damaged. No one dared to get down, not knowing where that brute of an animal was hiding and watching, maybe to attack again. From the time we reached the park, members of our party tried to get through to their homes in Colombo, but there were no signals on the mobile telephones.
The irony at that moment was that we managed to get a signal on the telephone and contacted the park office. The tracker informed the official of our plight, and the location we were in. He was quite shaken up, but for our luck he remembered the telephone number of the office. If he had not, I dread to think what could have happened next.
We were so relieved to see the rescue party, which included the park warden himself and his deputy. They spoke to all of us and asked us to be calm. The elephant had damaged the mudguard and the bonnet of our vehicle. We were more than lucky that only our vehicles were damaged and none of us was hurt. After inspecting the damage a person from the rescue party picked up a piece of the broken number plate and drew a line across the road in front of our vehicle, and recited a mantram. It was some kind of a protective charm considering the situation.
By this time the rest of the herd that had been hiding and probably watching us, came out on to the road one by one. This made us more nervous. One of the elephants did a mock charge slowly coming towards our vehicle. The rescue party left nothing to chance. Its members and the tracker together banged and thumped on our bonnet and with screams managed to chase them away. With the guidance of Dr. Gooneratne, my brother managed to steer the vehicle, which was towed to the trackers’ beat that was within walking distance from the campsite. The rescue party consoled us and once we were settled in camp they took leave of us at about 7.30 pm.
Our next step was to have a bath in the river, but that too was not possible, for just below the campsite, on the sand bank next to where we usually had a bath, was a large estuary crocodile. All hopes of washing away the aches and soothing the mental pain disappeared. Tension was quite high in the camp. The slightest thing triggered off my husband. I suppose it was unavoidable considering what we had gone through.
(To be continued) (Excerpted from Jungle Journeys in Sri Lanka edited by C.G. 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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