Features
May Day: Further splits surface, combined attack on JVP while MR issues warning
UNP delays official announcement on RW’s candidature as Namal presses for an opportunity
By Shamindra Ferdinando
In spite of determined UNP’s efforts, the party couldn’t convince SJB MPs to switch their allegiance to President Ranil Wickremesinghe in time for this year’s May Day rally chaired by the green leader at Maligawatte, the main Opposition party said.
Gampaha District SJB parliamentarian Kavinda Jayawardena told The Sunday Island that regardless of the UNP’s repeated invitations, the party was sure none in its parliamentary group would join President Wickremesinghe in the run-up to the presidential poll.
UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara, on several occasions, invited the SJB which broke awa from the UNP before the last election to extend their support to Wickremesinghe, thereby strengthening his party ahead of crucial national elections.
SJB MP Nalin Bandara thumbed his nose at the UNP General Secretary over their failure to win over members of the main Opposition party. Addressing the SJB May Day rally at Chatham Street, the former UNP State Minister asked the UNP General Secretary what went wrong with their plans.
The UNP had to be happy with just Moneragala District SLPP MP Gayeshan Nawanandana who switched his allegiance to their side. Interestingly, Nawanandana, a first-time entrant to parliament contested the last general election with veteran politician Vasudeva Nanayakkara’s blessings.
The UNP’s decision not to officially announce Ranil Wickremesinghe candidature at the forthcoming presidential election at its Maligawatte May Day rally raised many eyebrows. The Opposition is going to drum-up this issue in the coming days. However, Minister Harin Fernando and former Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam referred to the forthcoming presidential election with the latter acknowledging the continuing disagreement between the UNP and the SLPP regarding Wickremesinghe’s candidature.
Kariyawasam, who with all his fellow UNP MPs failed to retain his Kurunegala district seat at the last election proudly declared that disgraced Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwelle being behind bars was a Wickremesinghe achievement.
Both the UNP and SJB held rallies on streets, packing participants into long narrow spaces, thereby constraining participation while the SLPP gathered at Campbell Park where former President Mahinda Rajapakasa declared that the outcome of the presidential election depended on SLPP support for the winner. The twice president and ousted premier warned that no one could win unless he/she reached a consensus with the pohottuwa. On stage with MR were Premier Dinesh Gunawardena, Basil Rajapaksa and new National Organizer Namal Rajapaksa widely believed to be the choice of an influential section of the SLPP to contest the presidential poll unless an agreement could be reach with Wickremesinghe to call early parliamentary polls.
Hence MP Namal Rajapaksa’s questioning at the May Day rally what he called “short-term decisions” should be examined in the context of his presidential ambitions. Interestingly, among those on the front row of the SLPP rally was businessman Dhammika Perera, MP, in his trademark blue suit and red tie in contrast to other informally clad participants. Perera has been repeatedly mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in case ongoing talks between Wickremesinghe and Basil Rajapaksa fail.
The SJB secured 54 seats, including seven National List slots, the second largest group elected at the last parliamentary polls in August 2020, whereas the parent UNP was able to scrape just one National List seat.
MP Jayawardena said that as the UNP hadn’t been so far able to propose a tangible plan of action to overcome the continuing economic/political/social crisis, it couldn’t expect political parties to extend their support to the UNP leader.
Two SJB MPs, Manusha Nanayakkara and Harin Fernando, during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure as premier, joined the government in May 2022. But since he became president in July 2023, no SJB MP switched his or her allegiance to RW. However, the absence of Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and Thalatha Atukorale, both ex-ministers was noted while SJB Chairman Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, MP, who has been in loggerheads with Sajith Premadasa left the venue before the conclusion of the day’s proceedings. Reportedly Fonseka had not been given a speech.
On Wednesday morning, the president joined the Ceylon Workers Congress, widely regarded as the strongest trade union/political party among plantation workers, at its May Day rally at the Kotagala public grounds. The single largest political force representing the upcountry Tamils, the CWC now supports Wickremesinghe after quitting the ruling SLPP on whose ticket it ran at the last parliamentary election. Jeevan Thondaman represents the CWC in Wickremesinghe’s cabinet while Senthil Thondaman is the governor or the Eastern Province.
The Sunday Island learns that the CWC had been negotiating with the SJB but decided to go along with Wickremesinghe on the basis of the agreement on a Rs 1,700 minimum daily wage for plantation workers announced on their May Day platform on Wednesday.
Clearly, Wickremesinghe and Thondaman wrong-footed Premadasa, whose party in collaboration with Palani Digambaram, MP, organized a May Day rally at Talawakelle. Although former national cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga’s appearance caught public attention, the declaration of Rs. 1,700 daily wage hogged the limelight.
The EPDP, represented in Cabinet by Jaffna District MP Douglas Devananda, joined the ruling SLPP’s rally at the Campbell Park. His spokesperson Nelson Edirisinghe told us that the party would support Wickremesinghe at the forthcoming presidential poll. He clarified that the EPDP contested the last parliamentary election on its own and won two seats in Jaffna and Vanni.
The ruling SLPP held its rally, minus some of its members, as well as key constituents of the original coalition. The SLPP that had won 145 parliamentary seats, including 17 National List places have lost nearly 30 MPs since the last general election. Of them, six led by former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris joined the SJB’s Colombo rally. Other members of Prof. Peiris’s group were Dilan Perera, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, Wasantha Yapa Bandara, K.P.S. Kumarasiri and Dr. Upul Galappaththy.
Other original members of that group, including Matara District MP Dullas Alahapperuma who ran for president against Wickremesinghe in a parliamentary vote after Gotabaya’s resignation, hadn’t been able to reach a consensus regarding their future course of action, sources said. Therefore, they refrained from either joining any other political party or organizing an event of their own to mark May Day. That group included MPs Alahapperuma, Prof. Channa Jayasumana, Charitha Herath, Ratnapala Ratnasekera, Lalith Ellawela and Thilak Rajapaksha.
Patali Champika Ranawaka, who entered Parliament on the SJB ticket, didn’t organize a May Day event. A senior spokesman said that they were preparing for the convention of their party due shortly. Former Minister Ranawaka leads the Eksath Janaraja Peramuna that received the Election Commission’s recognition last year. Another elected member of the SJB to skip May Day was Kumara Welgama, leader of New Lanka Freedom Party.
The Wimal Weerawansa-led Uththara Lanka Sabhagaya (ULS), which is another active SLPP rebel group, held its rally at the Lalith Athulathmudali playground, Kirulapone. National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa chaired the meeting, in his capacity as the Chairman of the alliance comprising the Communist Party (represented by Dr. G. Weerasinghe and Weerasemana Weerasinhe, MP), Pivithuru Hela Urumaya of MP Udaya Gammanpila, Our Power of People Party of Ven. Atureliye Rathana, MP, in his capacity as the leader of Dharani Jathika Sabhawa. and civil society group Yuthukama (Gevindu Cumaratunga) joined the rally.
This party declared in unison at its May Day rally that it was the only grouping genuinely opposed to President Wickremesinghe’s agenda inimical to national interests. Addressing quite a significant crowd, former minister Gammanpila found fault with ousted President Gotabaya Rajapakasa for ruining the mandate received by him as a result of caving into US interventions. The outspoken lawmaker named US Ambassador Julie Chung and dual citizen Basil Rajapaksa as the two advisors who caused the President’s downfall.
Gampaha District MP Nimal Lanza’s ‘New Alliance,’ consisting of SLPP MPs, too, kept away from Campbell Park. That group has pledged its support to President Wickremesinghe but decided not to join the UNP rally until the official declaration of Wickremesinghe candidature. It was quite agitated by the UNP’s decision to further delay the official announcement.
State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna said that the majority of the SLFPers, who had been elected on the SLPP ticket, decided to keep away from May Day rallies. They included the majority of the 14-member SLFP group sitting in Parliament now.
MP Alagiyawanna said that a May Day meeting that had been organized in Gampaha by Maithripala Sirisena faction of the party was meant to boost the image of Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, whose appointment as Acting Chairman of the SLFP was restrained by a court order. Obviously, at the time MP Alagiyawanna talked to us he wasn’t aware of former President and SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena’s declaration that Rajapakshe would be their (SLFP) presidential candidate. Sirisena too has been retrained from leading the SLFP by a court order.
Sirisena who left the SLFP’s Gampaha May Day rally to attend the commemoration ceremony of the late T.B. Ilangaratne in Colombo acknowledged that 11 of his MPs now served Wickremesinghe’s interests but he was able to win over a key member of the UNP leader’s cabinet.
The SLFP rally attended by only two MPs – Maithripala Sirisena and Dushmantha Mithrapala -attracted just a fraction of the crowds the party once attracted over the years. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, another key member of the group opposed to Sirisena’s leadership, was out of the country. Minister Rajapakashe declared his readiness to take up the challenge to run for president and his right to do so at the Gampaha rally.
MP Dayasiri Jayasekera, once SLFP Secretary, said that he didn’t organize any event as a member of the SLFP but addressed a gathering organized by Prabha Ganeshan, a member of a political grouping recently set up by the SLFPer.
Both Wickremesinghe and Premadasa reiterated their commitment to the IMF package at their May Day rallies though Sajith vowed to renegotiate it. Wickremesinghe again sought SJB and JVP/NPP backing for the IMF program that had been repeatedly attacked by the Opposition.
But whatever the disagreements, the UNP, SLPP and SJB agreed on the need to counter the strong challenge mounted by the JVP/NPP. Their fire was mainly focused on the JVP’s second insurgency launched in the wake of Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987 and the induction of the IPKF here to subdue the LTTE.
The JVP held four rallies, including one in Colombo, whereas two breakaway factions, the NFF and Peratugaami Pakshaya, addressed supporters separately. The NFF is a member of the ULS. JVP/NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared that his party is confident of victory whatever national election is held first. What surprised many was AKD’s attack on Wickremesinghe over the latter’s dependence on India when he too is under fire for his own Indian links.
Another development that attracted public attention was Sagala Ratnayake addressing the UNP May Day rally in his capacity as the party’s National Organizer in spite of journalist Lasantha Ruhunuge, on behalf of the ‘Annidda’ newspaper, questioning the Election Commission as to how the President’s chief-of-staff, as a public servant, engaged in politics.
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 . )