FSP decries questionable Kantale sugar factory deal

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) and the Professionals’ National Front (PNF) yesterday condemned the proposal to hand over the Kantale Sugar Factory and 21,000 hectares of land that belongs to it to a Singapore-based company.

FSP Education Secretary, Pubudu Jayagoda said that the land would be leased for 30 years and that it was likely that the Cabinet would approve a questionable proposal submitted by Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa, on 07 February 2022.

Jayagoda said that the factory had been established in 1960 with Czechoslovakian aid.

“At that time, Czechoslovakia was a socialist country. The factory was privatised in 1993, but even then, it was closed in 1999, it was producing 16,000 tons of sugar and 3.9 mil litres of alcohol.”

In 2015, the Yahapalanaya government tried to establish a company, MG Sugars Lanka Pvt. Ltd, with a Singapore-based company, SLI Developments Pte. Ltd, as a partner. The state was to hold 51% of the shares of the company.

A shareholders’ agreement was signed between MG Sugars, the Government of Sri Lanka and SLI Developments in 2016. SLI is connected to UK-based investors Mendel Gluck, Robert Salem and Moussa Salem.

“According to this agreement, the factory and nearby land were to be given to the company. Of the 21,000 hectares that belong to the factory, sugar cane was to be grown in 14,000 hectares and 7,000 were to be given to farmers. The water for the farming was to be taken from Kalu ganga, a tributary of the Mahaweli River,” Jayagoda said.

Gluck and the Salem brothers used K.P. Nagaraja, an Indian national to establish the business. There was a dispute between the investors and Nagaraja, and that resulted in a court case.

“In August 2019, August a Singaporean arbitration court said that there was a need to change the agreement. Subsequently, in July 2020, the Director Board was changed and a new agreement presented. On 09 August 2021, the Cabinet approved the new 30-year lease agreement. Earlier, on 05 August a MoU had been signed. However, this was different from the earlier agreement,” he said.

While under the previous agreement, the factory and nearby land was to be under the new company, the 2021 agreement had proposed to hand over the entire land to the company. Instead of taking water from Kalu Ganga, the water was to be taken from the Kantale tank.

“Although the government was to own 51% of the shares, Moussa Salem was to be the Chairman of MG Sugars. Gluck was to be the CEO. Thus, SLI would run all the operations. This will also mean that farmers in the area will face water shortages because Kantale Tank is an important source of water,” the FSP Education Secretary said.

The project to revive the Kanthale Factory is expected to cost USD 300 million, but SLI will only invest USD 70 million. However, according to the agreement 85% of the profits in the first 10 years will go to SLI. 75% of the profits in the second 10 years will go to SLI.

“The government will get 51% of the profits only in the third decade. Sri Lanka will make most of the investments but will make a pittance. This is a serious issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, Eng. Kapila Renuka Perera of the PNF said that this agreement would only lead to a monopoly, which will be disastrous for Sri Lankans. He added that given that all lands will be given to MG Sugars, Sri Lankan farmers will not be benefitted.

“The agreement also allows the company to import unpurified sugar, purify it here and re-export. This will be done with virtually no oversight. Previous governments too have come into agreements that lead to monopolies, like wheat, and these only had negative impacts on us. This will also have similar results. A few people will benefit at the country’s expense,” he said.