Features
Exercising sovereign rights of a coastal state
By Neville Ladduwahetty
Coastal states, such as Sri Lanka, could claim up to 200 nm as its Exclusive Economic Zone, according to the General Principles of the Law of the Sea. Consequently, Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is nearly eight times its land area. According to Article 56 (1) of the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS):
“1. In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State has: (a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting conserving and managing the natural resources» whether living or non-living» of the waters superjacent to the sea-bed and of the sea-bed and its subsoil» and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone such as the production of energy from the water currents and winds”.
In fact, recognition given to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) was underscored by India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar when, he, as the Vice Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), at its 23rd Secession of the Council of Ministers, stated: “India’s priorities are clear.
It is our effort to develop an Indian Ocean community that is stable and prosperous, strong and resilient and which is able to cooperate within and to respond to happenings beyond the ocean. It is thus important to maintain the Indian Ocean as a free, open and inclusive space based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) as the Constitution of Seas.
“India’s commitment to the well-being and progress of nations of the Indian Ocean is based on our Neighbourhood First policy, the SAGAR outlook, our approach to the extended neighbourhood … A multilateral rules-based international order along with SINCERE RESPECT for SOVEREIGNTY and TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY (emphasis added) remains the Foundation for reviving the Indian Ocean as a strong community”.
MARINE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Although UNCLOS recognises Sri Lanka as a “Coastal State” enjoying sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploitation, conserving and managing the living and non-living natural resources, as well as jurisdiction over resource-related off-shore installations and structures, MARINE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (MSR) (emphasis added) and the protection and preservation of the marine environment”, the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) of Sri Lanka is not equipped to carry out marine scientific research in such a way as to make a meaningful contribution to Sri Lanka’s national interests.
For instance, NARA has the capability to stay only five days out at sea, whereas Shi Yan 6 has the capability to operate 80 days out at sea. Therefore, by necessity, NARA is compelled to collaborate with another country that is suitably equipped if the quality of its research is such that it furthers Sri Lanka’s interests; a policy it is reported to have resorted to in the past when Sri Lanka collaborated with countries such as the US and Norway.
Not to exercise the sovereign right to engage in “maritime scientific research” as per Article 56 (1) (ii) of UNCLOS because of spurious “concerns” of India and the US sets a precedent to deny other rights. Furthermore, by limiting the research only to two days as reported, Sri Lanka has been denied the opportunity to gather information that could serve its national interests. This denial is a violation of a sovereign right of a sovereign State.
EXPLOITATION of RESOURCES in SRI LANKA’S EEC
The exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing living and non-living natural resources of a coastal state within its EEC is a sovereign right. Despite this, it is a well recorded and reported fact that thousands of trawlers from India enter Sri Lanka’s EEC and not only exploit its resources but also destroy marine resources by resorting to bottom trawling.
In a United Nations-Nippon Foundation of Japan Fellowship Programme of 2016, Aruna Maheepala claims: “There are over 5,000 mechanised trawlers in Tamil Nadu and nearly 2,500 of them enter Sri Lankan waters on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and often coming at 500 m of the shoreline (emphasis added) …. More than 50,000 marine fishers live in the northern fisheries districts (Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mulative), and they account for about one-fourth of the marine fishers of the country.
Before the commencement of the war (1982) around 40% of the fish production of the country came from Northern fishery districts (except Kilinochchi). However, contribution of the fish production in the northern fishery district drastically dropped to 5% in the peak period of the war (2008) and gradually increased after 2009. Livelihoods of Sri Lankan fishers’ have been drastically affected as a result of the Indian poaching”.
Judging from the map of Sri Lanka’s EEC and its proximity to India’s coastline, to claim that Indian trawlers “drift” into Sri Lankan waters is unacceptable. On the contrary, the India trawlers “drift” into Sri Lankan waters because they have exhausted the resources within India’s EEC.
In the context of the ground situation cited above, for Dr. Jaishankar’s claim that ‘India is committed to the well being and progress of nations of the Indian Ocean is based on our Neighbourhood First’ is far from the truth. Instead, it sounds more like India First in the neighbourhood. To expect India to address this issue despite Dr. Jaishankar’s commitment to “a multilateral rules-based international order along with sincere respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity” is only a pipe dream because it is alleged that the majority of Indian fishing boats entering Sri Lanka waters are connected to Indian politicians who are Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu.
Furthermore, since Sri Lanka’s legal provisions are limited only to violations relating to the illegal plunder of its resources by individuals and their fishing crafts, no action can be taken against those who sponsor and finance such acts. Therefore, there is an urgent need to review existing legal provisions and revise and update them in order to meet current challenges.
PRROPOSAL to SET UP an ANTI-NARCOTIC COMMAND
The need to establish an Anti-Narcotic Command was reportedly realised after detecting the 200 kg of heroin valued at Rs. 4.5 billion, which was intercepted in the high seas. While this is a long overdue measure, it must be accepted that this “interception” is one of many that went undetected; this is inevitable when about 2500 mechanised trawlers brazenly enter Sri Lankan waters three times a week with absolutely no regard to Sri Lanka’s sovereign rights.
In such a context, Dr. Jaishankar’s sincerity and respect for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty will have no significance unless and until India is held accountable for deliberately overlooking the vandalism caused not only to Sri Lanka’s marine resources but also to security related issues such as crimes relating to drugs, human trafficking, arms smuggling and money laundering.
Even if India and Sri Lanka work out an arrangement to compensate Sri Lanka materially for the lost revenue to the Sri Lankan fishing community and for the damage done to its marine resources, the very fact that Indian fishing craft continue to enter Sri Lanka’s EEC means that the threats to security from drugs and other crimes would continue unabated despite the establishment of an Anti-Narcotic Command because no Command, however effective, would be able to identify which of the 2,500 Indian trawlers that come three times a week become the means by which to support other crimes that are a threat to Sri Lanka’s security. The collective cost to the Sri Lankan State and its citizens pales in significance compared to the loans and lines of credit given by India.
The irony is that Sri Lanka is prepared to address security concerns of India but India is totally impervious to those of Sri Lanka, not to mention the loss of livelihood to its citizens and to deny their opportunity to develop its fishing sector.
DRAFT OF FISHERIES AND ACQUATIC ACT
A draft of an Act to repeal and replace the existing Act of 1996 is presented below:
“AN ACT TO REPEAL AND REPLACE THE FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES ACT No. 2 of 1996. AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGULATION, LONG TERM CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF MARINE FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES, AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE OF SRI LANKA; TO GIVE EFFECT TO SRI LANKAS’ OBLIGATIONS UNDER REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS; AND TO REPEAL AND REPLACE THE FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES ACT, No. 2 of 1996 AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH WITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO”.
“PART VII – SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION”
“Section 92 – Scientific research by fishing vessels Section 93 – Scientific research by a foreign research organization or another State Section 94 – Fisheries Data Collection Programs Section 95 – Collection, transmission and validation of data”.
“PART XI – MEDIATION, ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS”
“Section 147; Cost Incurred by the State
The owner or charterer of a foreign fishing vessel, upon conviction, shall bear any cost or expenditure incurred by the State, as determined by Court where an application is made on that behalf by the State in all or any of the following instances: a) the seizure of the foreign vessel for an offence under this Act, including any relevant costs of pursuit of a vessel; b) the prosecution for an offence in accordance with this Act; and c) the repatriation of the master or crew of any vessel seized under this Act. 2. The amount of any cost and/or expenditure awarded by Court under subsection (1) may be recovered as a fine and shall be imposed in addition to any other fine or penalty that has already been determined by Court. 3. Nothing in subsection (1) shall be deemed to permit the recovery of any cost and/or expenditure that has already been recovered pursuant to any other Order made under this Act. 4. If it intends to apply for pursuit costs in accordance with subsection (1) (a), the State shall, fourteen (14) days prior to a trial of the offence, serve the accused with written details of such costs”.
While Part VII addresses issues relating to scientific research and data collection by foreign organization or a State, Part XI that deals with costs incurred by Sri Lanka is totally inadequate because it is based on individual penal responsibility of violators, when the violations to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and resources are committed collectively by 2500 plus trawlers that invade Sri Lanka’s EEC. Therefore, this aspect requires serious revisions to the Draft Act. Another serious omission in the draft is the non-inclusion of any relevant provisions of UNCLOS and the need to specifically refer to UNCLOS in the preamble to the draft Act instead of the vague reference to “OBLIGATIONS UNDER REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS”.
HARD REALITIES
Prior to exploring strategies to deal with the challenges cited above, Sri Lanka has to recognise certain hard and irrefutable realities.
The first hard reality is that threats to Sri Lanka’s security, the economic wellbeing of its citizens, in particular those in the North and East of Sri Lanka and the plunder and damage of its natural resources are committed by Indian citizens against the interests of Sri Lanka and its citizens. Therefore, all issues relating to the illegal entry of fishing trawlers from the territory of India should be addressed at the bilateral level, between the governments of India and Sri Lanka and not with the state of Tamil Nadu; a serious mistake that has failed Sri Lanka for decades.
The second hard reality is that threats in whatever form come from the unlawful encroachment of thousands of fishing trawlers into Sri Lanka’s EEC in total violation of its sovereignty; a fact recognized as a right by all Coastal States.
The third hard reality is that no Acts of Parliament or security related arrangements such as Anti-Narcotic Commands, however effective, would be able to make a dent in the aggression because of the scale of the ongoing operations; a fact evident from the report that Sri Lanka’s Navy has arrested nearly 180 fishers and taken 27 trawlers into the custody this year. (The island, October 30, 2023).
The fourth hard reality is that if the livelihoods of those in the North and East of Sri Lanka associated with the fishing sector are to be restored and Sri Lanka wishes to develop its fishing sector as part of its economic development, the illegal entry of thousands of mechanised trawlers from India has to stop. If nothing is done it amounts to an international crime of annexing part of Sri Lanka’s EEC by India.
CONCLUSION
The facts presented above show the gross violations committed by the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Central Government of India is fully aware of these violations but does nothing for reasons of internal political compulsions, although this kind of aggression amounts to a complete disregard of the sovereign rights of a Coastal State embodied in the provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas. India has made a mockery of the much-touted policy of Neighbourhood First.
Therefore, if India is not to lose its credibility and make disingenuous statements about its “sincere respect for sovereignty and its commitment to the well-being and progress of nations”, it should finance the development of the fishing sector of Tamil Nadu to engage in deep sea fishing as an alternative to violating the sovereign rights of its neighbour’s EEC.
In the meantime, Sri Lanka should call for Expressions of Interest to invest in a Joint Venture in order to develop its fishing sector in the North and East of Sri Lanka which was 40% of the total production (Maheepala cited above) as a significant component towards Sri Lanka’s food security. Until then, the potential loss in revenue incurred by Sri Lanka due to the violations committed by a state of India should be factored in the settlement of financial commitments to India.
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
