Features
Early 60s in the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs and being appointed Director of Information
by Eric. J. de Silva
Sri Lanka’s constitution until the introduction of the Presidential system required that the Prime Minister should also hold the portfolio of Defence and External Affairs. I had the opportunity of serving two spells in that Ministry, and both happened to be under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
My first posting to this Ministry was as Secretary to a one-man Committee of Inquiry (which was later raised to the status of a Commission) which came under its purview, appointed to investigate and report on some shootings that took place in an estate in Talawakelle (allegedly by the Police acting in collusion with the management), which resulted in the death of a number of estate workers.
Mr. M.F.de Jayaratne, CCS, was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry at the time and when he retired from service shortly thereafter, Mr. N.Q. Dias (also of the Ceylon Civil Service) succeeded him.
At the conclusion of the work of this Commission one year later, I was appointed as Assistant Secretary in charge of the Administration Division of the Ministry. This was in April 1962 just a few months after the failed coup d’etat of January that year which sought to overthrow the lawfully elected government of the day, and it goes without saying that not everyone would have been welcome in that Ministry.
It needs to be remembered that there were quite a few serving and retired senior officers of the armed services and police among the key suspects.
Consequently, the government resorted to very heavy recruitment during this period to the volunteer force under a newly appointed Commandant, Colonel Stanley Ratwatte, who happened to be a close relative of the Prime Minister. While he was a member of the preliminary interview board for selection of officers to the volunteer force if I remember right, I was made its chairman in view of the position I held in the Ministry.
We had to interview large numbers and put up only a limited number of those whom we considered suitable for the final interview held under the chairmanship of the Permanent Secretary. Similar arrangements were made in respect the other two services too. These arrangements obviously would have been with the personal approval of the Prime Minister herself.
While I was holding the position of Assistant Secretary (Administration) in the Ministry, I was called upon a couple of years later to take over as Assistant Secretary (Defence), succeeding Mr. D.B.I.P.S. Siriwardhana, many years my senior in the Civil Service, when he was appointed as D.I.G. (Administration), a very sensitive and vital position in the Police Department considering the number of serving or former Police officers who were among the suspects in the failed coup.
As Assistant Secretary (Defence), I was required to report directly to the Permanent Secretary – an arrangement which surprised many, casting a heavy burden of responsibility on my shoulders. And those who knew Mr.N.Q.Dias also knew what a hard task-master he was.
I must say that I did not have much direct contact with the Prime Minister during this period as she hardly turned up at the Ministry office, and the Permanent Secretary met her with the relevant files at Temple Trees, her official residence. This is not to say that she would have had no knowledge of the officers holding key positions in her Ministry, particularly in the Defence Division in the aftermath of the illegal attempt to overthrow the government (referred to above).
And that obviously explains why Mr. W.T. Jayasinghe found it so easy to obtain her approval to take me back to this Ministry a few years later (in September 1973) as Senior Assistant Secretary (Defence) – a position that had apparently been kept vacant since its previous incumbent left, until a suitable replacement was found.
While I was quite happy working at the Defence Ministry, I was no doubt a little concerned about missing the provincial experience that a Civil Servant was expected to have sufficiently early in his career. On a couple of occasions when the Secretary to the Treasury (as head of the public service) had asked for my release to be posted to a Kachcheri, the Defence Secretary had told him that it would be difficult to release me. This meant I had no choice.
Short spell in provincial administration, then Director of Information
At the time Parliament was dissolved and a General Election fixed for March 22, 1965, the post of Additional Government Agent, Colombo happened to be vacant, and, the Government Agent (B.H. de Zoysa), had taken up with the authorities the need to fill the vacancy urgently in view of the considerable amount of work that had to be done in respect of the Elections.
The Commissioner of Elections had been equally keen to get this position filled early, and had recommended me as a suitable person for the job, if available, having worked in his Department as an Assistant Elections Officer for a few months and being in the thick of it in Kandy during the March 1960 General Elections.
When informal inquiries were made from me by his officials as to whether I would like to take up the appointment, I gave a positive signal although Colombo was hardly the district I had looked forward to serving in when I thought it was time to move out into provincial administration. Mr. B.H. (better known as Buddhi) de Zoysa whom I had met a couple of times in the course of work had been more than happy to accept me in the vacant position.
When Mr. Dias, the Defence Secretary, inquired from me as to whether I am interested in taking up the above appointment (remembering well the previous occasions that he had refused to release me!), I answered in the affirmative. The end result was that I found myself at the Colombo Kachcheri holding the position of Additional Government Agent in mid-January 1965.
Taking my background and experience into account the GA entrusted a large part of the elections work that had to be overseen at the highest level which I was able to carry out to his satisfaction, working closely with the Assistant Elections Officer (D.S. Ratnadurai), whom I had come to know well during the period I worked in the Elections Department, before entering the Ceylon Civil Service.
Once the elections were over and a new government was sworn in under Mr. Dudley Senanayake, I eagerly looked forward to settling down in my job and making the maximum possible contribution in the areas of work entrusted to me although I never had Colombo in mind when I got interested in spending a few years in provincial administration.
It therefore came as a rude shock when I came to know that, without any prior intimation to me, a decision had been made to appoint me as Director of Information in the new Ministry of State under Mr. J.R.Jayewardene. This job did not appeal to me as it was not the type of experience or work I was looking for – at least not at that stage in my career, though it looked outwardly attractive.
When I made inquiries from the relevant officials I found that the appointment was a fait accompli and that it had already been approved by the Minister, and that nothing could be done about it at that stage. I found that I had been recommended for the job by Vincent Panditha, the new Director-General of Broadcasting and Information. Panditha was my school-mate at Mahinda College in Galle and a few years my senior both at school and in the Ceylon Civil Service.
When I got in touch with him and showed my displeasure for not having asked me before putting up my name, he was both surprised and apologetic. However, I found that there was no choice but accept the inevitable. The Information Department and Radio Ceylon had been brought together under the new dispensation and the Information Department had been physically shifted to the Radio Ceylon premises at Torrington Square (presently Independence Square), and I quickly got going with the work in hand.
One of the first things JR did after taking up duties as Minister of State was to appoint a Commission under the chairmanship of Mr. H.A.J. Hulugalle, one-time Ambassador to Italy and Greece, and well-known journalist of days gone by, to review the entire field of broadcasting and information and make suitable recommendations. One of its terms of reference was on the subject of television which had not yet come to Sri Lanka. As providence had decreed, I found myself appointed as Secretary of this Commission, in addition to my duties as Director of Information.
Once public sittings had concluded, the Chairman told me that the Minister was very keen to introduce television and had expressed a desire to have the Commission report in his hands as early as possible. This task naturally fell fairly and squarely on the shoulders of the two of us, and the demands of my substantive job stood in the way of my giving as much time as the task required.
This compelled the Chairman (with my blessings, of course) to make a request to the Minister that I be released from the Information Department to devote my full-time for work of the Commission. The Minister readily agreed to the request and Mr. Hulugalle and I worked round the clock and submitted the report in double quick time.
I then found myself as one of the two Deputy Commissioners in the Department of Agrarian Services to which I had been attached to for a short period during my cadetship in the Civil Service.
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 . )
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
