Features
EXECUTIVE CHEF AT AGE 21 – Part 25
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
The Acid Test
On my second day at Coral Gardens Hotel, the Manager had gone out to do some public relations (PR) with the Inspector of Police in charge of the Hikkaduwa police station. After working the whole day in my new role as the Executive Chef, I returned to my apartment around 6 pm. Soon after that, I heard a loud bang on my door. Two leaders of the hotel union – Edmond and Kalansooriya, had turned up to see me. The younger and more aggressive, Kalansooriya said, “We have a big problem in the staff canteen. You should come there immediately!” I enquired, “What’s the problem?” “We will explain when you come”, Edmond said. “OK, I will be there in five minutes,” I told them.
When I got to the staff canteen about 50 employees were standing outside the staff kitchen holding their plated dinners, waiting for me. Most employees were provided with full-board accommodation in staff quarters behind the hotel. “The fish curry served to us this evening, is made with spoilt fish!” I was told. I took a plate, tasted it and agreed with the union that the fish was not fresh. While all 50 employees were watching how I handled this hostile situation, I spoke with the staff cook who prepared the dinner and instructed him that in the future, if he was ever unsure of the quality of anything issued for staff meals, he should return the item to the stores and inform me immediately.
I then checked with the staff cook what alternative dish he could prepare as quickly as possible if I sent a cook from the main kitchen to help him. We decided that an egg curry will be made within 20 minutes to be served with already prepared rice, tempered potatoes and coconut sambol. I then addressed the 50 employees in Sinhala, apologised for the delay and said, “Your dinner will be ready in 20 minutes.”
Twenty minutes later the dinner was served. Most of those employees seemed satisfied, but not the union leaders. “For today, we will accept your solution, but any repetition of such incidents will not be tolerated by the union”, Edmond warned. I felt that he was being unfairly provocative, but I decided to be as patient as possible. Calmly but firmly, I told him looking him in the eye, “Look here, the poor-quality dinner was prepared by a member of your own union. This time, I will pardon him with a warning letter, but if it happens again, I will fire your member. Do you understand?” Edmond looked baffled, and did not talk any more. There was pindrop silence while I walked back to my apartment.
That evening, my father telephoned to check how I was doing in my new job. I told him about the incident. My father, who was a civil administrator, said, “Oh I see, Chandana. That was an acid test.” When I asked the meaning of that term, my father said that, “The union was checking if you were real gold!” and loudly laughed. “Son, you did well, but watch your back”, he warned. Later, I learnt that the whole incident was set up by the union with help from the stores to find some old fish for the ‘acid test’. My father was right.
I also discovered that all hotel union leaders belonged to Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) which had been founded in 1935 with Marxist-Leninist ideals. In 1975, this party left the coalition government led by the Prime Minister Sirima Badaranaike, and became more aggressive in leading the unions they controlled. The LSSP organized a series of one day strikes as a warning to the government. Edmond, a Restaurant Butler was the old school type of union leader. Kalansooriya, a barman, was young, more educated and more radical. As I looked after the kitchen, stores, restaurant and bars, they both worked in my departments and reported to me. I decided to keep a close eye on them out of the 50 employees who reported to me directly. The hotel had around 100 full-time employees and the other half reported to the Manager through a few supervisors.
Researching the Hotel History
In anything we do, understanding the past always helps in building a brighter future. Often, cultures of hotels are shaped by the previous managers/leaders. The good, the bad and the ugly sides of their personalities, leadership styles and habits seem to impact hotel culture for some time, even long after their departures. As a new and young manager, I decided to research the hotel’s history and culture.
Coral Garden Hotel had different phases of development over the last 100 years. Its location was the best in Hikkaduwa. It was a small rest house until expanded into a hotel in mid-1960s by Ceylon Holiday Resorts Limited floated by a group of investors. It was one of the first hotels to be opened in Ceylon in 100 years, since the opening of the famous three – Mount Lavinia Hotel, Galle Face Hotel and Grand Oriental Hotel in the mid-1860s. Coral Gardens was one of the first three hotels to open in the mid-1960s, encouraged by tax concessions to tourism and hotel developers. Barberyn Reef and Blue Lagoon were the others to open at that time.
At a time when Ceylon did not have a single hotel school, the owner’s choice of manager when Coral Gardens opened was Carl Young, a legendary hotelier, probably the first Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) to be professionally trained in hotel management in Europe in the 1950s. He was a former trade union leader at the famous Galle Face Hotel. Its British owners, in an attempt to weaken the union, had sent Young to Europe for training in hotel management. On returning to Ceylon after his training, and resigning from the union, he had been promoted as a departmental manager. Unfortunately for me, I never had the opportunity of meeting this pioneer. Two decades later, when I worked as the Consultant to the Chairman of Galle Face Hotel, Cyril Gardiner, I heard more interesting stories about Young.
In the mid-1960s, a large group of experienced workers loyal to him left the Galle Face Hotel to join him at Coral Gardens Hotel he was opening. Most of them were from the southern part of the island closer tha Colombo to Coral Gardens. Carl had also hired many fellow Burghers (a small Eurasian ethnic group descended from Portuguese, Dutch or British) as they were culturally westernized and fluent in English. In the early 1970s, Young migrated to Australia. Four successors who managed Coral Gardens Hotel over the next four-year period thereafter, could not match Young’s charisma, leadership style, knowledge, popularity or stability.
When Indrapala Munasinghe (Muna) and I took over its management in October 1975, a majority of the supervisors and clerical employees who were at Coral Gardens were those Burgher gentlemen who were loyal to Carl Young. As a result, the hotel culture was very different to that of Bentota Beach Hotel. I decided to include two popular dishes, ‘Lobster Carlo’ and ‘Chicken Maureen’, named after the popular manager and his wife, in my first à la carte menu as featured items. That gesture of respect proved very popular, among hotel employees.
Challenging the Boss/Baas
In settling down in my new job as the Executive Chef, most of my work involved creating a 14-day rotating menu for lunch and dinner for full-board guests, new buffet menus and an à la carte menu. As the hotel was criticised by the locals for exclusively using Colombo suppliers, I tried to increase purchases of mainly fish, vegetables and fruit from them.
When I commenced training the kitchen brigade on new dishes, I encountered a new challenge. The head cook frequently undermined my authority and disagreed with me publicly. He was about 30 years older than me and well-experienced. He had joined the kitchens of Galle Face Hotel, a few years before I was born. Understandably, he was reluctant to report to a youngster like me with very little experience. He was stubbornly stuck to some older methods and was resistant to modernizing the menus to suit changing tastes of tourists. I decided that I had to put him in his place sooner than later. Next time he disagreed with me about the preparation method of a dish, I decided to take the bull by the horns and challenged him to a cooking competition.
The head cook was respectfully addressed by the cooks as baas unnehe (boss gentleman). “Baas, as you are so sure that your method is better than mine, let’s each prepare the dish using our own method and ask the kitchen brigade to choose the better tasting and better presented dish.” He agreed, and we commenced the competition immediately. I took a chance with this challenge as most of the old-timers in the kitchen were loyal to baas.
I made it a friendly competition. “Baas and I have decided to consult all of you today about the future recipe of one of the most popular dishes of this hotel”, I announced. Then I asked the cooks to stand in a circle to watch baas and I while we were cooking. As they never had such consultation in the past, they were excited. The dish was ‘Lobster Thermidor’ and I did not like baas’s version using an ‘old fashioned’ thick white sauce with a lot of flour. My version was lighter, with less cooking time and ended with a little brandy.
We both cooked at the same time, and the cooks were the judges of the recipe, cooking method, duration, taste, presentation and the cost. My version of the dish was overwhelmingly popular and was voted as the clear winner. With that one incident I commanded lots of respect in the kitchen. When leading a team of skilled workers, nothing is a better motivator than the technical skills of the manager.
Baas immediately changed his attitude and became an obedient member of my kitchen team. Eventually, after a few weeks, he left Coral Gardens to join The Village at Habarana. I was thinking, ‘good riddance’, but gave him a good farewell. After some training, I promoted the ‘hotel school-trained’ kitchen clerk’, Winston Daniel as the kitchen supervisor and my number two in the kitchen. Years later when I became the General manager of The Village, I met baas again. By then he had retired from hotels and had become a small businessman settled in Habarana. We continued to have a cordial relationship. When I addressed him as ‘baas unnehe’ in Habarana, he was pleased, as he felt respected.
Improving the Team Spirit and Food
After that episode in 1975, I used a more participative style in menu planning and kitchen management. I asked each cook to prepare and showcase each of their favourite dishes. As a team we picked the best also with serious consideration of changing the tastes of our guests. This proved to be a highly successful approach, which I continued throughout my career in hospitality. By the end of the month, the team was ready. All were re-trained, menus were printed, and suppliers contracted. We were ready for the tourist season, my first as an Executive Chef.
Having done my research, I was ready to start the tourist season with a bang to make a name for myself as a creative Executive Chef. I used all I learnt during my rewarding year as the Trainee Executive Chef at Bentota Beach, such as organizing buffets with a wide variety of dishes and decorations. I taught myself skills such as cooking Chinese food that the Ceylon Hotel School did not teach then. I also had a few private lessons on cake decorations with a well-known pastry making teacher in Colombo. Using my childhood experience in sculpture, I also learnt to do butter carvings and ice sculpture to improve buffet decorations. The first Sunday lunch buffet we did was a big success in terms of quality, variety, presentation, popularity and profits.
Making a Name
I also commenced a weekly barbecue dinner buffet brainstorming with the restaurant team on the ideal location for this new weekly feature. As it was convenient to them, they suggested laying it just outside the restaurant. Having consulted the tour leaders and a few long-staying guests, I identified the beach as the better location and managed to convince the restaurant team led by the union leader, Butler Edmond, that a little extra work taking all items further to the beach may improve guest satisfaction and waiters’ tip earning potential. That worked.
The surrounding coconut trees, sounds of the waves of the Indian Ocean, fishing boats beyond the reef with flickering lanterns created a positive first impression for our beach barbecues. The sky with a galaxy of stars, the moonlight, and the gentle sea spray created a magically romantic mood. We enhanced the ambience with fire torches, limbo dancers carrying flaming torches and calypso music and finally, with the buffet decorations and aromas of the freshly barbecued fish and meat. It was a big hit!
Many of the repeat guests were highly impressed by the improved menus, theme nights, buffets and decorations. We made a good name for our food and service. The Sunday lunch buffets attracted many well-to-do Sri Lankans from Galle and other nearby towns as well as guests from other hotels. Satisfied tour leaders had praised the ‘improved’ operation and food quality at the head office which in turn complimented the Hotel Manager, Muna and I, for commencing the 1975 tourist season with a bang.
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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