Features
MY PRINCESS OF HOSPITALITY
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
Today, instead of chronologically narrating another episode from my career, I will write something different. It is something close to my heart. At this difficult time, I am happy to share this story with the readers of my column. It is a story of how my curiosity about a young lady turned into an unconditional love that lasted over 25 years. On November 6, 1995, I was introduced to Miss Mélaine Patrice le Mercier DuQuesnay. Since then, until July 27, 2021, she was my Princess of Hospitality…
November, 1995 – A Sales Call in Jamaica
Soon after organizing a series of Halloween special events, I left my position as the General Manager of the main hotel in Guyana – Forte Crest Pegasus – and an eco-resort in the Amazon – Timberhead. I landed in Jamaica the next day, on November 1, 1995, at noon to start my orientation as the new General Manager of the largest business hotel in the island as well as the best hotel in the capital of Jamaica – Kingston. Forte Grand Jamaica Pegasus had 360 rooms and over 400 full-time staff including a large sales team.
As my predecessor, a Swedish hotelier, had two more weeks in Jamaica, I decided to dedicate half of my time during those two weeks to do 30 sales calls with ten different members of the sales team. My aim was to meet the main customers of the hotel and observe the effectiveness of the sales team. On November 6, the Director of Sales took me to one of the two largest printing companies on the island – Lithographic Printers Limited. While waiting to meet with the Chairman of the company, we chatted with his daughter. This young lady in her late twenties was the Director of Operations and Sales of the printing company.
She was also a chatterbox. She quicky said, “I am Mélaine. Welcome to Lithographic Printers. I handle all printing for Jamaica Pegasus.” I was intrigued by her beautiful smile and her mesmerising greenish blue eyes. I told her that, “You may have to impress the new General Manager to continue to handle all printing for the hotel.” Her eyes sparkled, while she smiled again. I felt that she liked a challenge.
A week later, Mélaine came to see me for a meeting over a cup of coffee at my office. I was surprised to learn that she had earned a Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree from one of the best comprehensive universities in Canada, University of Guelph, with Hotel and Food Administration as her major. Mélaine then told me that as a teenage girl growing up in Canada, she was fascinated with the mid-1980s TV soap opera, Arthur Hailey’s ‘Hotel’, and decided to become a hotelier. She said that she loved the bearded hotel general manager, the main character in the series, acted by James Brolin. She then said, “You look like him, but with curly hair.” I returned a compliment, “You look like Julia Roberts, but with green eyes.” She corrected me, “They are blue, but the colour changes a little depending on the colour of my dress!”
November, 1996 – A Fighting Friendship in Jamaica
Later, I learnt that Mélaine had done her university co-ops/internships at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Tourist Information Centre in Canada and the Forte Grand Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. That explained her popularity among hotel employees in the front office and food & beverage operations. I continued to give her printing contracts and her company gave us some room business.
In addition to Forte Grand, Melaine handled a few other prestigious key printing accounts in the hospitality and tourism industry in Jamaica. Her corporate clients included Ramada Renaissance, Sandals and SuperClubs hotel brands. She also handled Air Jamaica and Jamaica Tourist Board accounts. Her university education in hospitality management had become useful in serving these organisations as a supplier, since 1990.
A year later, I became very busy with an unprecedented calendar of entertainment shows, art exhibitions, food festivals and holiday programs including a record-breaking 100 holiday events over a period of 38 days. We printed a monthly newsletter using Lithographic Printers. Some of my tough price negotiations led to a few disagreements between Mélaine and I. Once or twice, she left my office in tears. One day, I heard that her father had been annoyed with our ongoing love-hate relationship. He had told Mélaine, “Don’t mix business with relationships. Whatever you do with the Coolie Man, don’t lose the Pegasus account!” I was offended by that outdated racist term, but soon realized that it is a common ‘friendly’ term in Jamaica for anyone who looks Indian.
November, 1997 – An Affair in Jamaica
In 1997, my employer, Forte PLC in the UK, purchased Le Meridien from Air France. Jamaica Pegasus was one of the five-star Forte Grand hotels from around the world chosen for rebranding as Le Meridien. I was entrusted with a major upgrading project prior to the rebranding. All stationary, menus, etc., had to be reprinted in keeping with Le Meridien standards. This meant that I had frequent weekly meetings with my favourite printer in Jamaica.
Two years after I first met her outside of her father’s office, Mélaine and I went on our first date. It was a grand ball organised by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce at the Pegasus. We were at the head table. Our friendship soon blossomed into a romance. I was occasionally invited to her father’s house for dinner parties. On some Sundays, we went on her father’s boat to the Lime Cay and Maiden Cay located just off the coast of the famous pirate town, Port Royal. Frequent dinner dates, movie nights and short breaks to resorts became common. On Mélaine’s invitation I delivered a training session to her team. We became a couple for festive events and Christmas. After that I called her ‘Mélaine’ only when she annoyed me. All other times, I affectionately called her, ‘Boo’. She was my ‘Boo’, forever…
November, 1998 – In Love in Jamaica
Towards the end of my three-year contract, I was considered for the opportunity to open a new Le Meridien in Kathmandu, Nepal. I invited Mélaine to leave her family business and travel with me to Asia. However, she was a bit nervous about taking our relationship to such as an adventurous new level. This led me to instead accept an offer by the University of West Indies (UWI) as a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Tourism Management. With that, I was able to remain in Kingston – Mélaine’s birth place. We were now lovers and I moved to her house in an affluent area in Kingston. Having lived in the hotels where I worked for nearly 20 years, I was good at running hotels but clueless about running a house. Mélaine soon became my trainer, coach, mentor and boss! I was a bad trainee and that annoyed Mélaine for some time.
May, 1999 – Getting Married
One day, when I was at work at UWI, I received an urgent call from Mélaine. She was so thrilled; the message was not clear to me. I asked, “Boo, for heaven’s sake, calm down and tell me what happened.” She happily screamed, “I am pregnant!” After returning home that day early and giving my Boo a big hug, I sat on our back patio looking at pouring rain on large bamboo trees. I served myself a large Appleton Rum and Coke to build up my courage. When Mélaine joined me, I went on my knees and proposed to her, “Boo, would you marry me?” “YES!”, she screamed.
We married on May 1, 1999, and ended up on a six-week long honeymoon in nine countries (Canada, England, Italy, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, Greece and Sri Lanka). In between, we had a memorable homecoming wedding at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, Sri Lanka. In later years, we travelled to 30 countries together, including a tour of Africa for nearly a month performing my duties as the President of the Hotel & Catering International Management Association, UK (HCIMA, now the Institute of Hospitality, UK).
July 2001 – Moving to Canada
After a decade in Jamaica, Mélaine wanted to move back to Canada with our little daughter, Danika. I was very happy in Jamaica, and I was not keen about moving to Canada, to experience those freezing ‘brass monkey’ weathers. Finally, we compromised and agreed to give it a try for a year. I was fortunate to arrange a faculty exchange Professor post at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. Mélaine worked for a couple of years in guest service at the 4-diamond hotel Queens Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
When our son Ché Rana was born in 2003, Mélaine took a 10-year break from work to dedicate her full-time focus to raise our two kids and support my career. To me, that was the most noble job a parent could do. Mélaine was simply a Princess of Hospitality. She did everything at home including maintaining our backyard swimming pool which was a popular meeting and partying place for our neighbours. She entertained many of our friends and family with her cooking, infectious laughter and story-telling. In between, we found time to do a few quality assurance consulting assignments as a husband-wife mystery guest team at Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel in Canada, SuperClubs Resort in the Bahamas and Le Meridien Dubai in UAE.
Mélaine’s Return to the Hotel Industry
In 2013, she re-entered the hotel industry as a Guest Service Agent at Holiday Inn & Suites in St. Catharines, Canada. After training with the InterContinential Hotel Group (IHG), she was entrusted with the role of IHG Loyalty Champion (Platinum Level).
After five years in that post, she accepted an offer as the Front Office Team Leader of the hotel opening team for Hampton Inn by Hilton in St. Catharines. In this position, she received world-class training with the Hilton Hotel Corporation. Soon after the hotel opening, she was promoted to Front Office Manager.
Impressed with Mélaine’s dedication, professionalism, and her desire to ensure customer satisfaction, I nicknamed her the “Princess of Hospitality.” Every day when she came home after work, our children and I enjoyed hearing various interesting stories about her day. I was re-living my hotel management days through Mélaine. Occasionally she sought my advice, but I quickly realised that she did not require any advice. She was a natural hotelier. Everything was perfect.
Shocking End
On January 30th, 2020, while the world was struggling to comprehend the danger of COVID-19, I returned to Canada after a one-month trip to Sri Lanka and the UK. That day, we celebrated Mélaine’s 53rd birthday. A few weeks later, when I came home after some work in Niagara-on-the-Lake, my son told me that, “Mommy is not well. She looked yellow at work and we took her to the emergency room!” I was surprised. Mélaine had never been sick in her life. I rushed to the hospital to be with her. A few hours later we heard the results of the CT scan. The doctor who came to Mélaine’s hospital room knelt down before giving us the shockingly bad news. Mélaine had pancreatic cancer.
Having lost both of her parents within the last three years due to different types of cancer, Mélaine was well-informed and educated about this deadly disease. When the kneeling doctor described the stage of her cancer, Mélaine calmly asked, “this means that I have maximum eighteen months to live?” After a pause, the doctor looked down and reluctantly said, “yes.” I hugged my Boo and cried, uncontrollably. Mélaine ordered me, “’stop crying, Chandi. Let’s fight this thing, while we enjoy the short time left for us to be together.” We did exactly that for seventeen months in the midst of pandemic-related restrictions, hospitalizations, surgeries, procedures and twenty-three bouts of chemotherapy.
During the last one and half years, I realised that my new role as the key caregiver is the most noble job I have ever done. I was optimistic till last week, when the hospital stopped treatment and transferred Mélaine to a palliative care unit. While our two children and I stayed with Mélaine by her bedside day and night for a week, I wrote my final poem during my wife’s lifetime.
HOLDING…
Smiling blue eyes full of love
Fun and laughter until now
I cry, head down and bow
When to stop and how?
Days come and go
We are holding on
Right beside your bedside
Hoping for a miracle
The darkness of night, slowly
Hoping for another slight smile
Before sleeping peacefully
Comfortably as possible
Payers and wishes from all, in unity
Loved ones hugging, in uncertainty
Closer to meeting with divinity
Our love is destined for eternity
On July 27, 2021, at around 5:00 AM, the night nurse woke me and said, “your wife is ready to go…” While I was holding Mélaine’s hands and kissing her forehead, Mélaine passed away quietly and peacefully. My daughter’s favourite teddy bear was with Mélaine. My last poem was placed closed to her heart when Mélaine was cremated, the very next day.
Mélaine’s final wishes included no funeral, no flowers and no tomb stone. She wanted us to sprinkle her ashes over moving water. I will do so wishing to see her again, one day, somewhere else… She requested that instead of flowers, donations be made to Hospice Niagara where she spent her final week. For those who wish to watch a video tribute to Mélaine or comment about her extraordinarily happy but short life and how she touched many, please do so on www.butlerniagara.ca
Now Mélaine has ceased to be my Princess of Hospitality, but she will live in my heart as my angel, until it is my turn to join her. GOOD NIGHT MY ANGEL PRINCESS…
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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