Features
Man-eater crocodile in Mankulam
by Junglewallah
(Continued from last week)
Before leaving Mankulam area, I had an experience worth relating on one of my visits to Karupaddaimurippu . It was in July or August, the time of the drought. In a little hamlet called Olumadu, situated about a mile from Karupaddaimurippu, there was a tiny village tank that had dried down to about half its normal size. Visiting this village I was shown a villager who about a week earlier had been seized around his head by a small crocodile, approximately four feet long, whilst bathing. The wounds around his head had still not healed completely. The villager told Master and me that whilst ducking his head under the water, in the customary village style of bathing, he suddenly found himself gripped round his head.
Since the crocodile was small and he was close to the shore, he had struggled ashore with the crocodile still grimly gripping him by the head. The villagers who were close by had killed the animal. Its skin was shown to me, thus confirming both the story and the miniature size of the man-eater. One can only imagine that it was the absolute drought and scarcity of food that had made the crocodile attack a prey so much larger that itself. Since Olumadu is an isolated village tank, some 20 miles from the sea-coast and away from any estuarine river, the animal was almost certainly a marsh or tank crocodile (Crocodilus palustris) or geta kimbula. The skin shown to me was badly removed and too poorly preserved to make any definite identification possible, but for the reasons earlier stated it was in all probability a marsh or tank crocodile.
What was interesting is that the tank crocodile, unlike the estuarine one, is not reputed to be a man-eater but primarily a fish eater. It would appear, however, that hunger would make any animal forget its normal behavioral pattern and attempt to secure any kind of food that it thinks is edible.
Fishing in east coast
I had the good fortune, before the beautifully scenic east coast of our Island became a troubled area, to camp out and engage in fishing at practically all river and lagoon estuaries of the area. Starting from the north at Mullaitivu as far as I could recollect, they were Nayaru, Kokillai, Yan Oya, Puduvaikattumalai, Irakkakandy (Nilaweli), Salapai Aru (Kuchaveli), Kinniya, Kiliveddi, Genge (the main mouth of the Mahaveli), Ilangatturai (the mouth of the Ullakelle lagoon), Verugal, Vakarai, Batticaloa lagoon mouth, Oluvil (where the old Gal Oya flowed out to sea), Sinnamuttuvaram (where there was an idyllic little rest house, now alas no more), Komari lagoon, Kottakal,Arugam Bay lagoon, Heda Oya (or Naval Aru); Wila Oya (at Panama) Panakala, Kunukala, Andarakala, Itigala, Girikula, Yakala, Helawa and Kumana (where the Kumbukkan Oya flows out to sea). The other two estuaries on the east coast that I have visited but was unable to fish at, were Pottana in the Strict Natural Reserve (a lagoon mouth) and Pilinnawa, where the Menik Ganga flows out to sea. Both these estuaries lie within protected areas.
With regard to my experience as an angler, my mentor from schoolboy days and close friend in later years, from whom I learned virtually everything as an angler, was the late Lionel Gooneratne of the Excise Department. This Department had spawned a breed of outstanding anglers in addition to Lionel, such as Willie Obeysekera and Ronnie Grenier, but the one whom I knew most closely was Lionel. I have been his companion on trips to practically all the east coast estuaries named in the list, with the exception of Panakala, Kunukala, Andarakala, Itikala, Girikula, Yakala and Helawa, where my guide and mentor was the legendary Menika, de facto headman of the purana village of Kumana and jungle man par excellence. Menika had been presented with a fibreglass rod and a Penn 209 multiplier reel by one of his other jungle friends, Dr. Douglas de Zilwa (formerly Police Surgeon). When I came to know Menika, he was quite an adept at casting with that rod and reel. I learnt a great deal from him. Another close friend andngling companion from whom I gathered a lot about fishing was the late Frank Kelly of Trincomalee, who was employed in the Irrigation Department.
Yet another close friend from whom I learnt a great deal about trolling for fish in the Eastern seas, ranging from the Great and Little Basses up to the mouth of the Mahaweli, was Cedric Martenstyn. Cedric’s knowledge of fish and their habits gained through years of diving and fishing, could not be surpassed.
I was also fortunate in associating very closely and camping with two professional fishermen, Manuel Silva alias Vedamahatmaya of Nayaru, whose home at Negombo was in Pitipana, and William Nanayakkara of Kallarawa Yan Oya, whose west coast home was at Bopitiya, Pamunugama.
Another close fishing and shooting companion on the east coast was M. Rajavorathiam, the sub-postmaster of Komari and known throughout the area as “Raju”. I learnt a great deal from him of wild boar shooting in the east coast areas, and fishing at Komari Kalapu. Last but not the least of my mentors was Peter Jayawardena, who retired as Game Ranger at Lahugala in the Eastern Province, whose knowledge of the east coast estuaries, particularly from Sinnamuttuvaram down to Kumana, was unparalleled. Peter was also a close friend of Lionel Gooneratne, and what I learned from these giants, both by discussions and by the camping trips we made together, could not have been gathered anywhere else.
At the outset, it must be explained that at any estuary mouth, the fishing is best within the first hour or so of the change of the tide, and at the time of slack water (mandiya) just before the change of the tide. At some estuaries fishing is most productive on the incoming tide and at others on the outgoing, and it is difficult to say which is the case until one tries a particular estuary. Generally however, both changes of tide at the early stage produce fish, and the fishing is much better during the evening tide change towards dusk. It must also be mentioned that fishing is best about three or four days before the full moon, when the tidal flows governed by the waxing moon are strong. Additionally, ,the moonlight in the water eliminates the luminous effects of the sea plankton (called kabba in Sinhala), which otherwise has a tendency to scare off any predatory fish that is tempted to attack the artificial bait that is cast and retrieved by the angler. The kabba makes the retrieved artificial bait look like a miniature comet and no fish would go near it.
A tide change takes place approximately every five hours 55 minutes each day with about a 10 minute period of slack water between tidal changes. The outgoing tide, where the river or lagoon water flows strongly out to sea (ba dhiya) is followed by an approximately 10 to 15 minute spell of slack water (mandiya) where it is neither flowing out nor flowing in. Then follows the five hour 55 minutes of incoming tide when the sea water flows into the river or lagoon (vada dhiya). Each day the tide changes about one hour later than the previous day, governed by the rising of the moon, which takes place an hour later each day. My most extensive east coast fishing and shooting experiences were at Nayaru, south of Mullaitivu where I camped for a continuous spell of about three months from around March 1961. I was looked after like a member of his family by Manuel Silva (Vedamahataya), who built a small wadiya for me to live in. I used to visit Nayaru subsequently as well, at regular intervals.
My next most intimate knowledge of east coast estuaries was of Yan Oya. I have camped there every year in March or April from about 1965 till the 1980s, when conditions in the east became unsettled; and at Kumana and Komari again, where I camped regularly till the 1980s. The incidents recounted hereafter relate to both fishing and shooting, and also contain bits of local history gleaned from my outdoor friends.
Nayaru
Dealing with Nayaru first, in the early days I used not only to fish at the estuary mouth, but frequently joined Manuel Silva and his two stalwart sons, Philip and Joseph when they went out to sea in their big sea-going outrigger sailing canoe, a ruwal oruwa to do their daily fishing (rakshava, as they termed it) by hand-lining. Manuel’s family were purist hook-and-hand-line fishermen. They moored their boat out at sea, sometimes as far as five to 10 miles from the shore, over submerged rocks, mud flats and old wrecks, catching fish by hand-lines on baited hooks. They never used nets, saying they caught water- logged and decomposing fish.
When shoals of seer moved in, they ran with trolling lines cast out either with dead baits or the few artificial baits they had, which I had given them. It may be mentioned that artificial baits were virtually unknown to the professional fisherman at Nayaru in the early 1960s.
We had interesting encounters with denizens of the deep on these trips. On a run south of Nayaru towards Kokillai, we passed through a large colony of what must have been close to a hundred sea snakes, banded with yellow and black rings round their bodies and with vertically compressed tails. I subsequently heard that sea snakes gather in swarms during the breeding season.
On other occasions I have seen giant manta rays pass quite close to the ruwal oruwa. Since it had no engine noise, it probably did not scare off these fish. On another occasion, some distance from the boat, one of these giant rays leapt into the air, as apparently they sometimes do, and landed with a tremendous splash. There are conflicting views as to whether this is a manifestation of high spirits or an endeavour to get rid of irritating parasites.
Whales were also sometimes seen breaching the water, and the professional fishermen took them for granted. It was only much later, in the 1970s, that a foreign marine research vessel from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute of the USA. along with our own famed marine zoologist, Rodney Jonklaas found that the area round Trincomalee was a gathering ground for whales, particularly humpback and blue whales.
According to Manuel Silva, his family from Pitipana, Negombo, at least from the time of his grandfather, belonged to that hardy breed of migrant fishermen. These fisherfolk migrate to the east coast in March each year, when the south-west monsoon sets in and makes the west coast seas rough. The east coast is then calm and there is a strong shore breeze, which is called goda sulang by the Sinhala fishermen, solaham by the east coast Tamil fishermen and kachchan by Wanni jungle villagers. At this time the fish are prolific in the eastern seas, affording good catches.
These migrant Sinhala fishing families were quite fluent in Tamil and used to live in complete harmony with their Tamil and Muslim brethren belonging to both fishing and farming communities. If at all they returned to their homes in the west coast, it was only for a short time during Christmas (they are mostly Roman Catholics). When the migrant fishermen returned for Christmas they sometimes stayed on until February and did fishing on the west coast when the seas were calm at this time. The north-east monsoon makes the east coast seas rough between November or December to February.
I found, however, that with the fishermen off the west coast becoming more numerous, an increasing number of migrant fishing families preferred to stay on in Nayaru and the other east coast encampments over Christmas and engage in lagoon fishing during this period (kalapu rakshava). Lagoon waters, being sheltered, remain calm and unaffected by the north-east monsoon that prevails at this time.
Among the anecdotes related to me by Manuel Silva of Nayaru during my camping days was an interesting account related to him by his grandfather.
During the days his grandfather was a pioneer among the fishermen in Nayaru, the area was desolate and thickly forested. The small group of fisherfolk used to walk from Nayaru to Kokkutudavai about four miles to the south, where there was a fresh water lake where they used to bathe and wash their clothes. The road ran through a deep cutting in a hilly area with brick-red soil (which still exists today); and the story goes that on top of the cutting in the forested cover there lived a leopard that used to periodically prey on the unwary fisherfolk who walked along the path. The leopard used to leap from the top of the cutting, seize its selected victim and take off into the opposite bank where the cutting was less steep. The fisherfolk had no defence except to go in numbers, shouting and beating drums. The leopard after taking a regular toll of victims, apparently vanished one day, possibly killed in some way by the resident Tamil villagers of Kokkutudavai, but how no one knew.
I counter checked this story with another old fishing family at Nayaru, and their account tallied. So, it seems that there were lesser-known man-eating leopards in our Island before those of Punani and Kataragama.
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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