Features
Childhood to University, memoirs of an outstanding business leader
Today we begin excerpting from the memoirs of Desamanya Lalith de Mel, the first Sri Lankan to be appointed to the main board of Reckit and Colman, a top 100 British listed company. De Mel, M.A. (Cantab.), AMP (Harvard Business School), who joined the British multinational firm Reckitt and Colman in Sri Lanka, as a Marketing Manager retired from the Main Board of this company, a top 100 company in the UK. The first Sri Lankan and second Asian to be on the Board of any top 100 company in the UK.
He was also a British Government-nominated Director of CDC Plc, the 100%-owned Government company created to support development in poorer countries. He lived and worked in four countries, learnt fluent Portuguese (the language in Brazil) and middling Bahasa. He was on the Board of 26 group companies and came back to Sri Lanka and worked free for the Government in a variety of high-profile roles, reporting at various times to six different ministers.
At various times he was Chairman, Sri Lanka Telecom; Chairman, Board of Investment; Senior Adviser, Ministry of Finance; and Head of monitoring and implementation of major Government infrastructure projects; Director, People’s Bank; Director, State Enterprise Management Agency; Chairman, Tourism Cluster; and Director, National Council for Economic Development.
He made his knowledge and experience available to private sector companies in Sri Lanka and has been on the Board of 11 companies. When he retired he had worked for 55 years.
Lalith is a member of the well-known de Mel family from Moratuwa. His great-grandfather, Johannes de Mel, bought hundreds of acres of Crown land to plant coconuts, from the King of England, who owned all the land in Sri Lanka at the time . His father was Clinton de Mel. His mother, Lois, died when he was seven.
Mutwal was the posh residential area at the turn of the 20th century. Cinnamon Gardens was then akin to what Pelawatte was 20 years ago and viewed as an area that would develop. The extended de Mel family had bought 16 one-acre plots of land in Cinnamon Gardens and built houses on them in the early days of the 20th century. He lived in Gregory’s Road in one of these houses. All the houses on the road were on one-acre plots and every family had a large garden, an ideal cricket ground, and children used to spend their evenings playing cricket.
His father was a keen horseman and good rider. His house had stables at the end of the garden and an ex-Arab racehorse named Shian Aziz. Riding was something the well-to-do people did. D.S. Senanayake, the Prime Minister, was also a keen rider and was often seen having a gentle trot down Gregory’s Road, probably on his way to the Racecourse, which was a popular place to ride. From an early age he was taught to ride but he found this boring and gave up as soon as he could. He enjoyed belting around town on his bicycle or playing cricket rather than riding a horse round and round the Racecourse.
Lalith with his prize-winning bull Terrier and trophies
The family were dog lovers and always had dogs. They had different breeds at different times Labrador Retrievers, Fox Terriers, Pomeranians and Alsatians. His personal pets were Bull Terriers. He had some prizewinning Bull Terriers that he exhibited at the Kennel Club Shows and won many prizes (see photograph with his dog Maylands Malcolm, the Best Country Bred Dog and Reserve Best Dog at the show). He lost the Best in Show to an imported Boxer.
All the old families were dog lovers (which followed the tradition of aristocratic families in the UK where dogs were an. important part of the household). Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was also a dog lover and had an elegant imported greyhound called Farmer Rex.
School
He started his schooling at St. Bridget’s Convent, which was a short walk from home at the top of Gregory’s Road and then went on to St. Joseph’s College. He didn’t take his studies seriously at the outset and his recollection is that he was closer to the bottom end than the top. He told his father that he would start studying by the time he reached pre-senior school certificate (equivalent to pre-O/Level).
He did as promised and moved from last in the class to first. That year he won the class prize and three other prizes. He still remembers that, due to a breakdown in communication, his father did not attend the prize-giving. He also recalls being in hospital for two operations and no family spending the night with him there.
His daughter Chiara believes that it was these early episodes, being sent to England on his own, and having no family visiting him or attending his graduation – all of which were sensitive occasions – that led to the key trait in his character of always trusting only his judgment, and doing what he wanted, instead of depending on others.
He had an active school career, engaging in various activities. He played virtually every sport for his house and was a good athlete. He played badminton and rugby for St. Joseph’s. He was the Editor of the school paper called `New Horizons’.
Rugby was a high-profile sport. There were two well-known clubs in Colombo, the CR&FC, which was the club of the locals, and the CH&FC, exclusively for the whites. Many of the top English company executives played rugby for CH. Well-known Mark Bostock, later Chairman of John Keells, was a keen member of the CH&FC. He also started a jazz band named the Bohemians, and played jazz during lunch time.
A group of Josephians were keen to start rugby at St. Joseph’s. Fr. Peter Pillai, the Rector, was adamant not to bring rugby to college. This group of boys was equally determined to bring rugby there. Chrisantha Fernando, who was the cricket captain at the time, and Lalith started a team named the Josephian Hornets. Chrisantha left shortly afterwards to England to pursue his studies and Lalith was elected captain.
Both the leading Colombo clubs, CH and CR, were very supportive and allowed the Hornets to use their grounds for practice and matches. They also each provided a coach. The press gave a lot of publicity to the Hornets when they played as they supported the idea of getting another school to play rugby. After two years of Hornets, Fr. Rector relented and St. Joseph’s played rugby from 1955.
University
There was a tradition in his family that all the male boys were sent to England for their university education. He had five older male cousins; three of them went to Oxford and two of them who did Medicine went to London. His younger cousin studied Medicine in London as well. When it was time to go to university, his father was determined that he should apply to Cambridge. He did this with great reluctance, as all his friends were going to the University of Ceylon in Peradeniya and he too wanted to go there and study English, which was his favourite subject.
But the parental pressure could not be opposed. It was an era when children had to listen to and obey their parents. So he applied to Cambridge and was duly accepted. He got a place at Peterhouse, the oldest college in Cambridge University.
Prior to going to Cambridge, his father took him to meet various senior business personalities. Their suggestion was that he should study Economics and he was pushed into studying Economics. He had never studied it before. He borrowed a book from his cousin who had studied Economics, and read that book on the ship to London to find out a little more about Economics en route to London.
In 1955, he was put on a boat and sent off to England, clutching his cousin’s book on Economics. He went by himself, no parents accompanied him and after a two – and- a-half-week voyage, arrived in London. The family used a private bank called Richardson’s. The funds were sent to them to pay the bills and to give the agreed weekly amount as pocket money.
After three weeks in London, again by himself, with his suitcases, he took the train from King’s Cross Station to Cambridge. He was shrouded in anxiety on the train, wondering how he would fit in at a university full of British undergrads, whether he could cope with the studies and pass the exams, whether his English was good enough for Cambridge, and whether he would be happy or miserable. Throughout the train journey he kept turning these thoughts around in his mind.
When the train arrived at Cambridge, he took a taxi and went to Peterhouse. All the new boys were coming in their family cars, accompanied by their fathers and mothers. There was lot of hugging and kissing, and there was no one to hug and kiss him as he was on his own.
The porter showed him to his rooms. That was the first thing that cheered him as it was a nice set of rooms, with a large sitting room, a fireplace and an attached bedroom. That was the beginning of the university journey.
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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