Features
Mrs. B was meeting Dudley Seers mission when news of 1971 insurrection broke
by Leelananda de Silva
(continued from last week)
The Export Promotion Secretariat was brought under the Ministry as it was argued that being a coordinating board, it should not be under a sectoral ministry like trade. Its chairman was Dr. Seevali Ratwatte, the Prime Minister’s brother. In its early stages, it was managed by Victor Santiapillai, a Sri Lankan released from the UN International Trade Centre in Geneva. I had to prepare the cabinet paper for the establishment of the Secretariat. There was some tension with the Ministry of Trade on this subject as they wanted the Board to be located within that ministry. Seevali was adamant that it should be under the Ministry of Planning, as its tasks would range beyond trade and would have to address many issues on the supply side. I had a close working relationship with Seevali and Victor.
One of the things I was involved with was in negotiating a line of technical assistance from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency to consolidate and expand the work of the Secretariat.A delicate administrative task which fell to me in early 1971 was to handle the visit of the ILO- sponsored mission headed by Dudley Seers. The Seers mission was to report on the prospects of economic and social development, specially with a view to creating greater employment opportunities.
It was a large mission consisting of about 20 experts. It was located in the Planning Ministry. One of the first tasks was to select a secretary to the mission, and Devanesan Nesiah, from the administrative service was appointed. He handled the substantive and managerial tasks relating to the mission with great competence. It was a pleasure to have worked with him. I had the task of managing relations between the mission and the Planning Ministry, which did not always go according to plan. The Seers mission had been requested by Gamani Corea, and H.A.de.S was not too happy with it. His view was that local economists and other social scientists knew what should be done and there was no necessity for foreign experts who knew very little of the country to come and advice us.
I clearly remember the evening of April 5, 1971, Dudley Seers and his mission met the Prime Minister and others including planning ministry officials at “Temple Trees”. While the meeting was on, the news of the insurgency came through, and that police stations in the deep South had been attacked. The Prime Minister had to abandon the meeting, and later on that night an emergency and curfew were declared. The Seers mission remained locked up in their hotel rooms for much of their time in Ceylon.
When the Seers mission had completed their report, there was a meeting in Geneva in March 1972 to discuss the report along with reports of other similar ILO sponsored missions to Kenya and Colombia. I attended that meeting in Geneva as the government representative, along with Godfrey Gunatilake, who by that time had left the Planning Ministry. Gamani Corea who was in Brussels as Sri Lankan Ambassador chaired the meeting, at the invitation of ILO. This was the first time that I worked with Gamani Corea, although I had met him before. This was the start of a long friendship.
As for the Seers mission, this was not the end. The Central Bank followed up with a request to the ILO World Employment Programme research group in Geneva, to send a team to develop a new statistical framework which includes employment aspects of development, and Graham Pyatt, Professor of Economics at Warwick led a team which included Professor Alan Brown and Alan Roe, a young lecturer from Warwick, to undertake this task. I had a marginal connection with this mission and this was the first time I met Alan Roe and his wife Susan. Alan went on to achieve higher things including the Professorship of Economics at Warwick and Director of the Warwick Research Institute, and he is now a Fellow of the UN University. Alan and Susan have remained our friends and we saw them regularly when we were in the UK.
Once the decision was made to host the non aligned summit in Colombo in 1973, there were new demands on my time. The diplomatic missions in Colombo, specially the Western ones, constantly called for meetings to brief them on non aligned affairs. When it was economic issues they were interested in, the foreign office passed them on to me. Most of the time, it was routine briefings of what happened on the non aligned circuit.
In this context, there was one relationship which became more personal than others. I got to know Edward (Ed) P. Brynn, who was a junior diplomat at the US mission. He was an accomplished historian, having obtained a PhD from Trintity College, Dublin and his academic interest had been the British empire. Ed and his wife Jane, who was a lovely person, became close friends of our family and this friendship continued after they left Colombo. Ed was later ambassador to Ghana and deputy assistant secretary at the State Department in Washington. He was appointed chief historian of the project to write the history of the State Department in 35 volumes. Ed and Jane visited us in Switzerland and in England, and we visited them at Jane’s parents’ house in Long Island, New York. It was sad that Jane passed away a few years ago of a virulent form of cancer.
Another enjoyable task which fell to me in 1975 was to assist in the organization of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Colombo Plan. This was done in association with the ColomboPlan Secretariat located in Colombo. The anniversary celebrations were in the nature of a large meeting held at the BMICH. I organized a special supplement in the Ceylon Daily News and I contributed an article on technical cooperation for it, which obtained a wide circulation as it was republished in their journal by the Society for International Development in Rome.
What I suggested was adding some new dimensions to the type of technical assistance that the UN and other bilateral donors were delivering at the time. I suggested more flexibility and offering technical assistance on a short term basis at times of critical need for individual countries. In other words what I wanted was the injection of technical assistance into sectors and institutions when there was a real demand for it.
There was a problem in organizing the newspaper supplement. J.R. Jayewardene, the leader of the opposition at the time was one of the founding fathers of the Colombo Plan, when he was Minister of Finance in 1950, along with the then Australian Foreign Minister, Percy Spender. We were getting a message from the Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike. It was only right that we obtain one from JRJ. I got a message from JRJ first and then informed the Prime Minister and she had no objection to it. Mrs. Bandaranaike was always very proper on this type of occasion. I remember meeting JRJ, who was with the British High Commissioner, outside the BMICH waiting for their cars, on the day of the commemorative meeting. JRJ said that he had read my article and liked it very much. I had commended his contribution in creating the Colombo Plan.
At the start of this chapter, I bad mentioned that a rag bag of tasks came to me from the now defunct private sector division and from elsewhere. One of the tasks was to serve as secretary of the India-Sri Lanka economic cooperation standing committee which met from time to time in Colombo and Delhi. It was jointly chaired by H.A.de.S and by the Indian Secretary of Commerce, at that time T.K. Sanyal. These were very cordial occasions.
The work entailed among other things, negotiating credit lines for bilateral trade. With the oil crisis and the urgent need to intensify contacts with the Middle East, the Prime Minister established a cabinet committee on Middle East economic cooperation, which met a few times and I was secretary of this committee. Sri Lanka was a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agreement (part of the World Bank) and its administration fell on my division. There was not much work to do here. It was also my responsibility, to manage the overall relations of the Ministry with the private sector. This involved organizing meetings from time to time with private sector bodies like the Chamber of Commerce. Most of the substantive work for these meetings were done by other divisions. Anyway, this responsibility of mine brought me into continuing contacts with Mallory Wijesinghe who was then chairman of the Chamber and other bodies, and N.G.P Panditaratne, of Ford Rhodes.
One interesting task that devolved on me from the former private sector affairs division was to manage the affairs in Sri Lanka relating to the Asian Productivity Organization (APO). The APO is an inter governmental body based in Tokyo and Sri Lanka was a member making an annual contribution to its general fund. The APO was conceived by Japan, and it funded most of the APO technical assistance programmes. The function of the APO was primarily to enable Asian countries to obtain direct knowledge of Japanese techniques in industrial management.
With this aim, the APO offered a number of scholarships to each Asian member country every year for periods lasting a week to three months. In Sri Lanka, these scholarships were reserved for the private sector. It was the task of my division to work with private sector bodies and select eligible persons to be sent on scholarships to Japan. The APO Director for Sri Lanka was Herbert Tennakoon, the Governor of the Central Bank. How this came about was that Mr. Tennakoon had been Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Tokyo and he had been on the governing board of the APO. When he relinquished his job in Tokyo and came to Sri Lanka, he was interested in keeping his APO role and the new ambassador, Arthur Basnayake had no objection.
So, Herbert Tennakoon continued to be the Director, and I was nominated to be the Alternate Director. I worked with Mr. Tennakoon and saw him once a month or so on APO issues. There was a gentleman by the name of Savudranayagam, a Sri Lankan, who was at the APO, and he was in charge of the Sri Lanka desk. We worked closely together. My experience was that APO was a useful organization.
There was at that time a committee set up by the Central Bank on tea factory modernization. A large loan had been obtained from the Asian Development Bank to modernize tea factories which were in the private sector and the committee, which was chaired by P.V.M. Fernando, deputy governor of the Central Bank, had representatives from several other ministries and departments. I was a member of this committee. The work of the committee was actually done by its secretary, V.K. Wickramasinghe who did a fine job in disbursing the funds on the basis of established priorities.
There were many other occasions where I had to sit on various committees, as H.A.de.S normally avoided them. There was always a demand from other ministries to have a Ministry of Planning representative on their working groups and committees, and these I avoided, delegating such tasks to the other members of my staff. One thing I always avoided were requests to sit on tender boards and interview boards.
Most of the Planning Ministry was physically located on the seventh and eighth floors of the Central Bank building. This was an arrangement which was agreed at the time of Dr. Gamani Corea, a Central Bank official himself. These were very comfortable offices. In the 1970s the Central Bank wanted the space back for its own use. H.A.de.S was not anxious to leave his cosy office.
The Central Bank went to the extent of purchasing from Forbes and Walker, the brokering firm, their building on Prince Street, Fort and offered it to the Planning Ministry. I was involved in the negotiations for the purchase of this building, and its internal restructuring to suit our needs. We took the building and some of us moved there, but not H.A.de.S. We did not give up the seventh and eighth floors of the Central Bank building either. So there was tension on this issue. I had very cordial relations with the Governor of the Central Bank, Herbert Tennekoon, and he used to remind me about this matter from time to time.
There was little that was routine in my day to day work at the Planning Ministry. Tasks cropped up at short notice, depending on the demands made on the Prime Minister or the Permanent Secretary. There could be a meeting with some UN delegation, or the Prime Minister might want some matter attended to urgently. I shall give three or four illustrations out of must be hundreds during these seven years.
Sometime in 1971, the Salaries Commission came to meet the Prime Minister. H.A.de.S. and I had to be there. I remember the Prime Minister telling them, on our advice, that they can make any changes within their terms of reference, but that the total salary bill of the government should not increase. Another occasion was when the British Cabinet Minister, Geoffrey Ripon, came to see the Prime Minister, and this must be about 1972. He was a member of the Heath Cabinet.
He was in Sri Lanka to inform Sri Lanka about the implications of Britain joining the European Union. It was a fascinating meeting. (Now over 40 years later, Britain is leaving the European Union) Once I remember that Prime Minister Bhutto from Pakistan was visiting Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister suggested to him that he addresses a small round table gathering of foreign office officials and wa fe others from outside, on Asian foreign policy issues. I attended this meeting and Bhutto gave a brilliant exposition on international affairs.
On another occasion, at very short notice, Gunnar Myrdal, the Nobel Laureate in Economics, visited the Planing Ministry and met with H.A.de.S and a few officials. He gave us 200 copies of the abridged version of his three volume Asian Drama. These illustrations could offer something of the flavour of a working day in the Ministry. Many times, the Prime Minister used to ring from the cabinet room to be advised on something or the other. Most of the time, I could not plan my day.
(Excerpted from the Long Littleness of Life an autobiography. The writer had an 18-year public service career serving as Senior Assistant Secretary and Director of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affair in the 1970s working closely with Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike. He thereafter had an international career as Resident Representative of the Third World Forum in Geneva from 1980-2013 and thereafter serving as a senior international consultant for many UN and non-UN agencies.)
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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