Features
Doc cum scribe fighting for better health and environmental and social justice
* An interview with Dr. Prasanna Cooray
By Udara Karunaratne
Dr. Prasanna Cooray is a social health expert with postgraduate qualifications in Public Health, Sociology and Economics. He has compiled the “Health & Society” and “Environment & Society” for the last 20 years and was adjudged the Best Environmental Journalist in 2017 and the Best Investigative Journalist in 2008 by the Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka. In 2018, his contribution to the protection of Sri Lankan forests was acknowledged by the London-based Earth Journalism Network and awarded a fellowship to research and write a series of articles on Sinharaja rainforest covering many aspects.
A social and environmental activist for over 20 years, Dr. Cooray is contesting the upcoming general election from the Jathika Sanvardana Peramuna in the Colombo District. He intends to take his campaign for better health for all and environmental protection to the next level, if elected.
Q – You were a journalist for 20 year besides being a medical doctor. What made you enter politics?
A- I was also a social and environmental activist for over 20 years. I was the founding general secretary of the Green Party of Sri Lanka. In the past I have believed in other people to deliver “good” that I aspired for the people and the country. I backed Mahinda Rajapaksa twice in his presidential candidacy. Then Mr. Maithriplala Sirisena, thinking he would usher in “yahaplana” and bring the rogues of the previous regime to book. All that had, by and large, gone waste. I don’t believe in others anymore. I only believe in myself, and my own honesty. And that’s why I joined the race this time.
Q – But now you are with Dr. Rohan Pallewatte?
A – Yes, we joined hands with Dr. Pallewatte’s party at the last presidential election. That was a collective decision of my group, the Democratic Social Alliance. But we were not card-carrying members of his party. By then we knew he was not a wining horse. But we supported him on principles. For the principles and the brand of politics his party stood for – social democracy. And the economic blueprint his party had for the country. We believe that is far superior to what any other party had. I think that is now becoming evident in the local political scene than ever before. All what they were grappling with in the past – the “billas” and fear psychosis syndrome – all that were just deceptions from the main problem, which is economic. We believe the economic problem of this country will be best tackled by Rohan and his team, ably led by Prof. Krishan Deheragoda, the party president.
Q – What is the programme you offer to people as a candidate from Colombo?
A – First of all, we tell people we are there not to form a government, but to constitute a strong opposition. We contest in eight districts and have put forward some good candidates people can trust.
Also, we need to be cognizant of the primary rolls of a parliamentarian, which are law making and matters related to regulating public finances. Further, these need to be discussed and debated, both in and outside the parliament. Sadly, today both these happen very minimally, and that is why a big gap exists between people’s aspirations and what they get. Unless people are cognizant of these facts, and consider them when electing their representatives, we will never be able to change this corrupt system. After all, you get what you deserve.
With regard to specificities, all what we are to offer to the people are there in our policy document, which is accessible at sdpsl.lk. We have looked at things at macro and micro levels. Also from a top down approach and a bottom up. Further, our policy document remains one and the same for the past four years. It is not something that emerges and disappears “peri-electionally” (in and around elections) like with many other parties.
Q – You have been an ardent writer on health and environment for years. You have fought many battles on both these fronts. How do you expect to further this in politics?
A- On health and environment both our party and I have studied deeply all the core issues and have come out with remedies.
With regard to health, I say three fundamental areas need due attention. One is we have to understand this big myth behind “free” health in Sri Lanka. There’s no more free health in Sri Lanka. Now people have to spend much more than what the government spend on health. As per the grand statistic, out of the total health expenditure of the country the government’s share is only 44%, when people spend 56% out of pocket or through insurance etc. This means today people are made to bare a good part of their health costs, and this could be colossal at times. This even plunge people into poverty. Thus, today we talk of “catastrophic health expenditure” and “impoverishing health costs”.
The second, which is actually the root cause of the first, is that today’s governments spend very little on health. Very much less than what they ought to, considering the growing demands in the field of modern medicine. This figure in the past decades had been on average around 1.5% of the GDP. This is highly insufficient. We propose this to be raised urgently to at least 2.5% over three years.
The third is the step motherly treatment the ayurvedic and traditional systems of medicine continue to receive. Out of the total government health expenditure, this is only a meager 1.5%. This is not only insufficient, unjust as well. Because there are many people who have faith on and seek treatment from this system of medicine, especially for chronic diseases and orthopedic conditions etc. What we propose is that there should be equal allocation of increased governmental spending on health sharing between western and traditional system of healthcare. 50-50 distribution. Of this too, we propose 25% be dedicated to research and development (R & D) of both systems.
To address immediate problems affecting our health system we propose three urgent remedies.
One, to bring the different health systems under a regulatory authority to address the pressing issues urgently. Two, bring private hospitals under regulatory bodies to strike a balance between cost and quality service. Three, to introduce affordable insurance schemes for those who are willing to pay to ease off government health costs to some degree.
Q – What about pressing environmental issues?
A – Yes, environment is one of the worst affected today. Look at some of the things that happened in the last seven months since coming to power of this government. Withdrawal of sand and clay permits, aloe vera project in Wilpattu buffer zone, apple farm project in Pidurutalagala reserve, kaleido beach project in Mount Lavinia and now possible cancellation of 5/2001 circular on other forest lands and to bring them under district secretaries, all these we see as ominous signals of a possible bad time ahead. Not many people understand the gravity of this even if they comprehend the ongoing onslaught on country’s environment. This we have to see in the light of global climate change.
Sri Lanka is one of the worst hit by the global climate change, and this has been shown by many top scientific researches. This we experience on a daily basis with increase in mean temperature, rains not falling on proper time, long continuing draughts, short bouts of torrential rains ending in deluge, loss of important ecosystems, extinction of indigenous species etc. Therefore, turning this tide is very important.
I have made five proposals to be considered on an urgent basis.
1. To bring all the environment related institutions under the environment ministry. Today most of these institutions are dispersed across a wide array of ministries. This has made coordination of these institutions difficult.
2. To assess the forest cover of Sri Lanka by re-surveying. Although government claims the country’s forest cover as 24% of the total land area, this is highly disputed. Some claim it to be around 16%. Whatever it is, there are definite impacts of reduction of forest cover evident by increase in mean temperature, human-elephant conflict, various ill effects faced by wildlife which trespass into human habitations etc. This could only be resolved by scientific reassessment of the country’s forest cover. Even as a party we endorse that the country’s forest cover should at least be 30%.
3. Human-elephant conflict has become a serious issue today. Annually there are about 225 elephant and 80 human deaths that take place in the country. Loss of habitation of elephants is a major reason for this. This has to be addressed urgently through proper scientific approaches.
4. To impose an “environmental tax” on all environmentally harmful products and services, and thereby to discourage their use.
5. To introduce an incentive scheme for environment friendly products and services and to promote them.
Q – What are the social justice issues that you intend to take up on an urgent basis?
With regard to social justice we believe establishing a “Sri Lankan” identity among various ethnic groups in the country as a priority issue. People belonging to all ethnicities and religions should have an environment to live peacefully and without fear. In this regard a proposal against hate speech on social media is one I am campaigning for. The communication norms of a civilized society should be applied to the social media as well.
And also we place special emphasis on the “informal sector” living in the Colombo district. This is a large segment of the population both in Colombo district and elsewhere. They contribute immensely through whatever they do to the local economy and this should be duly recognized. We have already developed a set of proposals in conjunction with some three-wheeler associations in order to establish dignity to their profession enabling them to offer better service safeguarding the interests of both them and the public. Just one line about the magnitude of the hiring three wheelers in the country – there are over 800,000, and if you consider a family of five is maintained by each of these, that means 20% of the country’s population today live on a “three-wheeler economy”.
Q – What would happen to your journalism career if you are elected to parliament?
A- Writing is in my blood. I cannot resist writing. I will keep on writing and would create a bigger platform for the people to engage in governance, policy issues and bring their concerns to the fore. In fact I have already started that through my FB page named Dr. Prasanna Cooray. I’m a strong believer of participatory democracy. I think this age of IT has created the opportunity for that.
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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