Features
Grand daughter remembers the Maha Mudaliyar
by Chantal Hiranthi Obeyesekere de Saram
My grandfather, Sir James Peter Obeyesekere, was a benevolent man who believed in giving to the society/community in which he lived. He was a linguist and a scholar who made great attempts to facilitate education throughout the Island. He had no interest in politics and was more focused on carrying out social activities to develop education, religion and society as a whole. He was a member of the colonial government service and was appointed to the post of Chief Mudaliyar. He was regarded as one of the most powerful personalities in British Colonial rule.
Family Background and Parents
His mother was Mrs. Cornelia Henrietta Dias Bandaranaike Obeyesekere. She was possibly one of Ceylon’s largest landowners and a leading philanthropist. She was married to Hon. James Peter Obeyesekere, a member of the Legislative Council. Her husband met with a tragic accident, leaving her a pregnant young widow of 26 years, with three very small children, Hilda, James and Donald. At the same time she lost her beloved mother. A devout Christian lady, she relied on her Saviour to overcome the tragedies in her life.
Cornelia Obeyesekere managed her estates of tea, rubber, coconut and rice very well. From Kankesanturai, Jaffna to Kataluwa, Galle, she owned more than 20,000 acres. She introduced rambuttan from Malaysia to Ceylon and planted rambuttan on her estates at Malwana. She gifted 1,000 acres of her Muthurajawela land to the Government to conserve the wetlands. She loved her children and grandchildren.
Her three sons James, Donald and Stanley attended Cambridge University. She accompanied them to England. Queen Victoria sent a special train to London to bring her to Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria was very impressed with her ability to speak good English and her style of dress. They enjoyed a close friendship.
St. Mary’s Veyangoda Church, St. Mary’s Veyangoda School, Wathupitiwela Hospital are all gifts made to the country by this noble lady. She built many schools, clinics to combat malaria and helped the temples of Attanagalle, Warana and the Saman Devale in Ratnapura. The Hirdramani family, a business family of repute, owe their beginnings to Mrs. Obeyesekere. She gave them the money to start their shop in Chatham Street. A large population of people in Siyane Korale live on lands gifted to them by Mrs. Obeyesekere and her son.
After her death in 1935, her assets passed on to her daughter Lady Hilda Obeyesekere and her sons, James, Donald and Stanley.
My grandfather was born in Mutwal in 1879. He had three siblings. His eldest sister Lady Hilda Obeyesekere was a well-educated lady. She helped the arts develop in this country. “The Lady Hilda Obeyesekere Hall” in Peradeniya was gifted by her to the University of Peradeniya. Her son Justin Deraniyagala, an old boy of S. Thomas’ College, was an artist of repute. Her grandchildren, Druvi and Rohan de Saram are world famous musicians.
Donald Obeyesekere was my grandfather’s younger brother. He was educated at Royal College. He was a historian and an authority on ayurvedic medicine. His sons boxed for Cambridge University and Ceylon.
My grandfather’s youngest brother, Stanley Obeyesekere, was also educated at Royal College. Stanley Obeyesekere was the country’s first Ceylonese Solicitor General. His grandson Dijen de Saram played cricket for S. Thomas’ College. His great grandson Julian Bolling was a Sri Lankan Olympic swimmer.
My grandfather studied at S. Thomas’ College Mutwal. He was a good scholar and excelled in athletics. He was involved in the Scout Movement and was a Cadet. He was a good horse rider and played Polo. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge University in the UK as did his two brothers. His father Hon. J.P. Obeyesekere also attended Trinity College, Cambridge. After graduating from Cambridge, he and his brothers who all studied Law were called to the Bar. He was an Advocate of the Supreme Court, Justice of the Peace. M.R.A.S., C.B. District Commissioner, Henaratgoda Boy Scouts Association. He went on to become President of the Boy Scouts Association.
He also showed a keen interest in Geology. His mother had owned plumbago mines. He and his brothers after graduation from Cambridge University studied agriculture at the Royal Agriculture University in Cirencseter Gloucestershire, UK.
Contributions Made Towards Nation Building
My grandfather was not fond of politics. He was the last Chief of all Chieftains of Ceylon or Maha Mudaliyar, in which capacity he also served as the Chief Interpreter and Extra A.D.C. to his Excellency the Governor. He served under Sir Andrew Caldecott and Sir Henry Monk-Mason Moore. King George VI was the British Sovereign at that time. He was the conduit that bounded the local citizenry and the British. He had a very difficult diplomatic role to play.
After graduating from Cambridge, he and his brothers who all studied Law, were called to the Bar. He became an advocate to the Supreme Court on his return to Sri Lanka. He initially joined the Colonial Government service as a district commissioner and was later appointed ‘Maha Mudaliyar’ or Head Mudaliyar in the year 1928. This post was an important one in the British Government of Ceylon. Having served as a Governor’s Chief Interpreter, native representative, adviser and aide-de-camp he came to be known as one of the most powerful personalities in British Colonial Ceylon. It is significant that he was the last to hold the position under the British.
He served in the Colonial government in such a capacity because he had no desire to enter the political arena in Ceylon. He was not power hungry and on the contrary played the role of a mediator between the British Government and the citizenry. He mediated through diplomacy and although this was not an easy task he was able to gain the trust of both the British Government and the Ceylonese people.
My grandfather was a social worker, a suitable role for a benevolent man. He believed that the down trodden and dis-empowered should be empowered and given a voice. He laid the foundation to this through his generosity. He extended a hand as well by listening to the grievances of the villagers in the Attanagalle area and taking steps to solve them. There was even a place in his home separated just for the purpose of meeting villagers to redress their grievances. At our home in Nittambuwa, there were people from all walks of life coming to meet him. He enjoyed the company of those who were interested in science.
Furthermore he witnessed the historic moment when Ceylon gained independence in 1948 with satisfaction, as he had played a role in ensuring Ceylon gained her independence.
Later on in his career he was appointed a Justice of Peace by the Governor and also a Knights Bachelor for public service in Ceylon in the 1936 New Year Honours by King George V.
His Contribution To Education
My grandfather owned land in Mt. Lavinia which extended from the Galle Road to de Saram Road. His sister Lady Hilda Obeyesekere owned the land which extended from de Saram Road to the sea. Sir J.P. Obeyesekere donated the land which extended from Galle Road to Hotel Road to S. Thomas’ College. He served on the Board of Governors for many years and helped set up a lot of the buildings of the school. He provided good jak timber taken from his estates and also provided labour necessary to build these buildings. All the school furniture was donated by him.
There were many schools in Alawala, Walpola, Bauddha Vidyalaya, Anura Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Kamburugalle Maha Vidyalaya, Udammitta Indrasara Vidyalaya in Attanagalle that were gifted by him. He donated buildings, desks, chairs, books, cupboards to these schools. He also provided scholarships to needy children.
He also contributed to the development of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the Nittambuwa Buddhist Pirivana, the Muttune Buddhist Pirivana, the Attanagalle Raja Maha Viharaya and the Warana Raja Maha Viharaya all benefited from his generosity.
He was a linguist and scholar. He was well versed in English, French, Sinhalese, Pali and Sanskrit. He studied Astronomy. He had a very powerful telescope with which he would study the night sky. He was always a student, reading voraciously. He was interested in new scientific discoveries. He would constantly impart this knowledge to the less privileged.
In all these gifts, the family followed the principal of “the left hand not knowing what the right hand give.” My father Deshamanya Senator J.P. Obeyesekere a Royalist and Cambridge graduate gave to S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia 250 perches and made a further donation of eight perches to the school. I made available to S. Thomas’ College 50 perches and a purpose built Montessori and Day Care Centre. This building cost 40,000,000/- as it was a purpose built for pre scholars, thus enabling S. Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia to now extend their facilities to early learning. It is interesting to note that most of the school buildings, land holding worth over a billion rupees belonging to my family now belongs to the school. This is possibly the largest gift any family has made to this particular School. All his employees children’s text books and school books were gifted to them every year.
Health
He gifted five acres to the Mrs. J.P. Obeyesekere Wathupitiwela Hospital. He built many wards in this Hospital and gifted the necessary equipment. Many clinics in Gampaha were constructed by him. A total of 20 acres and buildings have been gifted by him, his mother and his son to this hospital.
Contribution to the Anglican Church
A deeply committed Christian he maintained St. Mary’s Church Veyangoda and St. Peter’s Church Mirigama. He contributed generously to All Saints Church, Hultsdrop, the family church. Each day like his mother, he would start the day in prayer in a little chapel in his home, Batadola Walauwa in Nittambuwa. He also administered the “C.H. Obeyesekere Trust” in the Diocese of Colombo.
Social Services
He gifted eight acres and helped build the Siyane Korale East Social Service Home for the Elders’ and Children. This was on a request made by daughter-in-law, my mother Deshamanya Mrs. Siva Obeyesekere.
Scout Movement
He was very involved in the Scout Movement. His wife Lady Amy Estelle Obeyesekere was the first Ceylonese President of the Girl Guides.
Gifts to the Nation
His gifts of land and houses were legendary. The present Pradeshiya Sabhawa is located on 2.5 acres gifted by him.
Growing up with my grandfather was a magical experience. He was a very disciplined person. He kept fit by riding twice daily his favourite horse, a very feisty animal, a polo pony. At a very early age he taught me to ride. I was three years old when I received my first pony. It was selected by his friend who was the V.C. Chairman of Delft Island. Patiently and slowly I was taught to ride. Then we would get up early morning and ride through his estates to Mahibulkande. He had gifted his lands to the villagers there. We were given two stools to sit on and they would welcome us with kurumba water. It was lovely listening to folk songs and stories, My grandfather loved entertaining my friends. We were very young but he knew how to amuse us. He was so witty.
In the night he would show us the night sky through his powerful telescope. Our home was always vibrant with people of different walks of life sharing their knowledge with us. In particular he was interested in natural history and geology. I would spend hours in his company and never tire of listening to his stories. He would read children’s books to me. I would go for long walks with him. I was very privilege to share my childhood with him.
Death
At the age of 89 he passed away at Batadola Walauwa, Nittmabuwa. My father and I were by his bedside. He was given a grand funeral complete with Lascarine guards and was laid to rest at the Borella Kanatte Cemetery Anglican section in September 1968. He lived by the noble saying “it is not what you have but what you give that brings you happiness.”
(This article follows last week’s excerpt from DIG Edward Gunawardane’s memoirs of his meetings, as a young ASP, with the Maha Mudaliyar)
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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