Features
NEW DOORS OPENED IN LONDON – Part 41
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
Trust House Forte
I arrived in London during the summer of 1979 to undergo a special Management Observer/Trainee program with the largest hotel chain in the United Kingdom – Trust House Forte (THF). I had worked at their hotel in Sri Lanka, the Pegasus Reef Hotel, during my first year at the Ceylon Hotel School seven years before as a part-time bus boy. What I did not know about THF was that by 1979 it had emerged as the largest and the most profitable hotel and catering company in the world.
As required, I went to the THF Personnel Division on my first Monday in London. “I am Geoffrey Pye, the Director of Personnel for THF hotels in London. I will personally conduct your orientation to THF”, a well-dressed and kind gentleman informed me. “Meet Miss Linda Woodhouse, the new Training Officer of the Cumberland Hotel.” He introduced a young and friendly lady who was assigned to coordinate my management observation/training program.
Linda informed me that by staying at the Regent Palace Hotel I would be a guest observer there. My main assignment was at the Cumberland, a 900-room hotel located above the Marble Arch underground station. “Chandi, you are lucky to be able to understudy Mr. Bejaramo, our famous Catering Manager”, Linda told me. It was my first orientation program.
As a British-owned group, THF’s presence in the United Kingdom was clearly visible with massive contract catering operations, large restaurant chains and some of the most iconic hotels. In London, THF owned and managed some of the greatest hotels in the Commonwealth, such the Grosvenor House, Hyde Park Hotel, the Cumberland, the Strand Palace, the Browns, the Russell, and the Waldorf. THF also owned and managed the famous banquet venue – Café Royal situated very close to the Regent Palace Hotel and Piccadilly Circus.
Linda provided me with many interesting facts about THF’s history and current operations. Sir Charles Forte had become the CEO of THF in 1971. He was an Italian-born British caterer and hotelier who founded the leisure and hotel conglomerate that ultimately became known as the Forte Group in later years. When he was four years of age, Charles had migrated from Italy to Scotland with his family. After working in milk bars operated by his father in Scotland, at age 26 Charles moved to the capital city with £2,000 borrowed from his father to set up his own first milk bar in London in 1935. Having expanded his business into catering and hotel businesses, in 1970 he orchestrated a clever merger of the Forte Holdings with an older hotel and catering group, Trust Houses Ltd. That merger resulted in the formation of Trust House Forte or THF.
In Britain, THF continued its hotel expansion with various ambitious acquisitions including the 1976 purchase of the Lyons Hotel Group, a substantial assortment of first-class hotels including the Cumberland and the Regent Palace. For decades, Sir Charles attempted to take control of, arguably, the most famous hotel in the United Kingdom since 1889 – Savoy Hotel. The vision, hard work and business acumen of Sir Charles resulted in THF managing over 900 hotels in 44 countries by the year 1979.
Sir Charles’s only son, Rocco Forte, an Oxford‐educated linguist and a chartered accountant, was expected to eventually succeed his father to lead the THF empire. A subsequent acquisition of Le Meridien from Air France was a prestigious addition to the group. For decades the Forte family was successful in keeping hostile takeover bidders at bay, until 1996. I never had the opportunity of meeting Sir Charles, but in later years, as the general manager of two Forte hotels in South America, I had the opportunity of welcoming and hosting Sir Rocco Forte (he was knighted in 1995). Sir Rocco established his own company – Rocco Forte Hotels in the year 1996.
Building an International Career
In professional life, opportunities gained, contacts made and relationships nurtured can significantly and positively impact career progression. After 1979, I kept in touch with Linda Woodhouse, who helped me by arranging two more useful management observer assignments in London with THF. These were during the mid-1980s at the Grosvenor House Hotel and the Hyde Park Hotel. That exposure opened another door for me to secure a position as an internationally mobile expatriate hotel general manager of THF/Forte PLC in 1994, with special help from Mr. Bodhipala Wijesinghe, who worked at the TFH head office in London.
In that capacity I managed three of their hotels – Forte Crest/Guyana Pegasus Hotel, Timberhead Eco Resort in the Amazon Rainforest and Forte Grand/ Le Meridien/Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. In 1994, out of nearly 1,000 hotel general managers in the group, only four came from developing countries, and I was one of them. Sri Lankan accountant and hotelier, Ranjan Nadarajah (Nada) who passed away last week in UAE was another. In the year 1998, the two hotels managed by Nada and I became the first hotels to be awarded ISO 9002 certifications in our two regions (The Middle East and North America). Nada was a very nice colleague, and I did a short mystery shopper assignment for him at Le Meridien Dubai in the year 2000.
I also did the General Manager’s Foundation study program at the Forte Academy in the UK. I shadowed some of my peers, general managers of sister Forte Hotels in the UK, Barbados, the Bahamas, Bermuda, USA and Canada. In 1998, the group kindly arranged for me to have a two-year sabbatical leave in order to complete my doctoral studies in the UK. “This is a very unusual request! You are one of our best GMs, so why do you need a PhD?” a confused Human Resource Vice President of the corporate office of Forte PLC asked me, prior to approving my request for the sabbatical leave.
After successfully defending my doctoral thesis in London, in the early 2000s, I declined three lucrative offers from Forte PLC/Rocco Forte Hotels to work in Egypt, India and Russia. That was due to my family commitments in Canada and my new desire to pursue a second career in post-secondary education and management consulting. In 2002, I did a long mystery shopper assignment with my wife, at Le Royal Meridien King Edward Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Altogether I gained some type of work experience at 14 Forte hotels located in ten countries between 1971 and 2002. In the years 2003 and 2004, I also did a leadership development consulting assignment for Rocco Forte Hotels in England and Scotland. Thank you for all these amazing opportunities, THF/Forte PLC/Rocco Forte hotels!
A Guest at the Largest Hotel in the UK
In 1979, being the manager of the small 52-room Hotel Swanee in Sri Lanka, staying at THF as well as UK’s largest hotel (1,068 rooms), the Regent Palace was overwhelming for me. The hotel looked after me very well by providing full board accommodation on a complimentary basis for two months. Like most of the major hotels of THF chain at that time, the Regent Palace offered a carvery buffet every day. I was a frequent diner at that sumptuous carvery whenever I did not have my meals at the Cumberland Hotel where I worked.
Although it was the largest hotel in Europe when it was opened in 1915 by J. Lyons & Company, most of the rooms at the Regent Palace were very small, similar to hotels opened before or during World War I. I was surprised that some rooms did not have attached bathrooms, only wash basins. In spite of some shortcomings, I was very happy staying right in the heart of London. It was the most convenient location for me.
The Regent Palace was within close proximity to the Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, West End theatres, Leicester Square movie theatres, Regent Street shops as well as to many museums and art galleries. I was very happy to be there and walked all over London. If it was not raining, I walked to the Marble Arch to work. On rainy days I took the subway or a bus.
Some weekends I had many invitations from Sri Lankan friends, members of my family, a few former guests of Hotel Swanee, and the Swedish and Sri Lankan couple who worked at the Tjaereborg Tour Company’s office in London – Kurt Hansen and Bobby Jordan, who were my friends from Ceysands days. I had a busy social calendar during the evenings and free weekends. I also visited a few of my younger Sri Lankan friends who worked at Wimpy Bars in the West End.
Ranjith Dharmaratnam (Assistant Manager of the Village, Habarana), who travelled to London with me, was trained at the accounts department of another THF hotel – Grosvenor House. As he had family in London, he did not stay at the Regent Palace. One day I unexpectedly met a former work colleague of mine from Bentota Beach Hotel who had moved to the Pegasus Reef Hotel to be the Front Office Manager. Having noticed his potential, THF had sent Srilal Mendis (Menda) for training in London. A few years after his training Menda also became an international hotelier. Menda and I explored most of the tourist attractions in London and surrounding areas during weekends. I also travelled to Windsor, Winchester, Portsmouth and South Hampton.
The late 1970s were not always a peaceful era in the UK. I was shocked to see on TV, that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) claimed responsibility for the August 27, 1979 murder of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten. As the supreme allied commander for Southeast Asia, he had commanded the British troops from his base in Ceylon during the latter part of World War II. For a few days I was glued to the TV in my hotel room, watching news about that shocking assassination.
A Management Trainee of a 900-room Hotel
My work at the Cumberland Hotel was mainly in the Food and Beverage department. It was much grander than the Regent Palace and had a very busy catering and banqueting operation. The public rooms, restaurants, banquet hall and grill room were located centrally. I also spent some time observing and working in the catering department as well as the kitchens, purchasing, receiving, stores, payroll and accounts departments.
I was a regular at management meetings, simply to observe. The most useful meeting I attended was a top-level meeting among managers of 20 THF hotels in London, to coordinate their Christmas and New Year’s Eve events. This was one best practice I implemented soon after returning to Hotel Swanee. I loved to talk with all levels of employees and gathered interesting, historical information of this grand hotel.
Stemming from that interest, five years later in 1984, I wrote a 100,000-word (353 pages) master’s dissertation at the University of Surrey about British five-star hotels. I did my field research at all 16 five-star London hotels. Most parts of my master’s dissertation were later published as a text book for British universities, with my supervisor, Professor Richard Kotas of the University of Surrey, as the co-author. In the early 1990’s I succeeded him as the Director of the Hotel School at Schiller International University’s London Campus.
The island site bounded by Oxford Street, Old Quebec Street, Bryanston Street and Great Cumberland Place, had been acquired around 1925, by Lyons for building the Cumberland Hotel. It eventually opened in 1933. The hotel was a pioneer by including many luxurious features at that time, such as sound-proof, double glazed windows, air conditioning and 900 bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms.
The Cumberland had been acquired by THF, two years before I did my management training there. I found that some of the old-timers from Lyons had doubts about the changes implemented by THF. During some good weather days, I spent my lunch breaks seated at the nearby Hyde Park observing birds, playful pet dogs and at times listening to speakers on soap boxes attempting to attract larger audiences. I found every corner of this great city interesting.
With my invaluable experiences of luxury hotel operations at the Cumberland Hotel, I began dreaming of one day becoming the General Manager of a large international five-star hotel. As I looked around, I was disappointed that none of the General Managers, at that time, looked like me or came from developing countries. Most of those General Managers in the London five-star hotels had the British professional qualification – Member of the Hotel & Catering International Management Association (MHCIMA). As the HCIMA head office was in London, I decided to visit them to check on my chances of becoming an MHCIMA.
Door Closed at HCIMA
HCIMA had an impressive total of 23,000 members (21,000 British) professional members. It usually took four years of undergraduate degree level studies plus five more years of post-qualification management experience to obtain the professional title of MHCIMA. Then it was the highest qualification in the United Kingdom for hospitality managers. One day, a little bit nervously I visited the HCIMA head office in South London to check my chances of becoming an MHCIMA.
The HCIMA officer who interviewed me, rejected my application, as she did not recognize my three-year diploma from the Ceylon Hotel School, as compatible to a British HND or OND. She insisted that I complete four years of studies with HCIMA, before being considered for MHCIMA qualification. To me a rejection is always a great motivator, which inspires me to do better and at times, find practical short cuts. After that meeting, I decided that I will eventually earn this qualification, to lay a stronger foundation to become the General Manager of a five-star international hotel.
After a few years of further studies and numerous communications with HCIMA, finally I managed to become an MHCIMA in 1984, and a Fellow (FHCIMA) in 1992. In 2004, after serving HCIMA Board as an elected International Zone Representative for three years, I was elected as the worldwide President of HCIMA (now the Institute of Hospitality, UK), and appointed Chairman of HCIMA Ltd, UK, the commercial enterprise of the professional association.
In those two roles, I was fortunate to get a unique opportunity to lead the world’s largest professional body for hospitality managers in 104 countries with 25 international groups and 26 British chapters. For 84 years since the inception of this professional body in 1938, all Presidents were Europeans, except when a Sri Lankan was elected in 2004.
It was exactly 25 years after arriving in the UK as a first-time visitor and a nervous management trainee in 1979, that I was elected by my British hospitality management peers, as their President. The lesson here, for aspiring young hospitality managers, is that: “Treat the sky as the limit. As long as you have a vision for the future combined with hard work and passion, you can make things seem impossible to eventually happen”. At times the light may not be visible at the end of the tunnel, but that should not be an excuse not to dream big and work hard to achieve unprecedented goals. Go, open new doors!
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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