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Nittawela Gunaya [1906-1986]: the greatest of them all
Excerpted from Sarath Amunugama’s Kohomba Kanakariya
We end this essay (on some of the country’s finest Kandyan dancers), fittingly I think, with Nittawela Gunaya whom De Zoete called “One of the greatest Kandyan dancers and teachers.”
His grandfather Siriya had two sons Kiri Ukkuwa and Suramba. Kiri Ukkuwa was Gunaya’s father, but he was a better farmer than a dancer. So Gunaya studied dancing under his father’s brother Suramba, who was a great Kandyan dancer in keeping with his father’s heritage.
At the age of 18-years Gunaya underwent the “Ves Bandima” ceremony and, together with his cousin Nittawela Ukkuwa, earned a reputation as promising young dancers. They were recruited by Hagenbeck in 1927 together with 14 others to participate in shows in his Tiergarten zoo in Hamburg. Gunaya and Ukkuwa may have been presented among the “Wild Men from Ceylon” who were exhibited in many towns of Weimar Germany. Gunaya, however, returned and was in great demand for the rest of his life for performances abroad.
He was perhaps the most acclaimed Kandyan dancer in the capitals of the western world. It must be stated here that Gunaya’s early exposure to western audiences may have improved his commitment to the dance as a performance with his sense of drama and stage presence. But he had a sense of restraint and occasion which Sanskrit critics called “Auchitya” or appropriateness. This was in contrast to Ukkuwa, who also was a technically proficient dancer but did not have either the build or the restraint of Gunaya. As De Zoete correctly stated Ukkuwa had learnt some bad elements of western “show business” which detracted from his obvious talent and technical correctness.
Gunaya was a regular dancer at the annual Kandy Perehera and was given a prominent role in dancing alongside the sacred elephant carrying the relic chamber on its back. He also farmed his small plot of paddy land in Nittawela. However, it says much about his self confidence that he was not a Kankariya dancer, probably because he was in great demand as a Ves dancer both locally and abroad. While he did not refuse to dance in a group, his forte was solo dancing which enabled critics and general audiences to focus on his outstanding skills and personality.
To him goes the credit for making the dancing of Vannamas a major aspect of his performance. They suited his virtuoso style because he could improvise in the dancing of Vannamas. One could not take liberties with the Kankariya dances in that way. Beryl de Zoete describes Gunayas superlative dancing of Vannamas as, “The Horse and Hawk have only one version. It was Gunaya who made the new versions since being in Colombo, and for stage purposes. The frog was copied from a real frog. The mimicry and acrobatics to which it gives rise is remarkable, and it would be pedantic to quarrel with such masterly interpretations even if one might prefer the old, stylized form. The horse is sufficiently representative, even in the old version, and needs no reform” [1957;182].
At this stage we must focus our attention on the Vannamas and its significance for modern Kandyan dancing. According to legend, Vannamas [Descriptions or Varnanavas] were created in the time of the last Kings of Kandy, particularly Narendrasinghe and Kirti Sri Rajasinghe. Narendrasinghe was called “Sellam Nirindu” which has been interpreted in several ways. Obeyesekere who has recently drawn attention to this King says, “As Charles Godakumbure notes, there are a huge number of praise poems or panegyrics on this king … current research shows that there is considerable overlap between the erotic verses praising Rajasinghe and those associated with Narendrasinghe. If indeed Rajasinghe has many heroic poems associated with him, Narendrasinghe also has many verses in the erotic texts praising the king’s greatness and prowess but not in the grand style of War poetry” [2020;138].
However, in the case of Vannams we have a clear reference to him in the “Vadankusa Ratanamalaya” the writing of which is attributed to a Buddhist monk from Malwatte. The Ratanamalaya says that Narendrasinghe whose Royal pleasure [Raj asabhayangatha Vinodharyawu] was in the “five musical instruments” [Pancha Talayan] directed his Poets Hall [Kavya Sabha] to study the [Indian?] Vannama style and create 18 [new] vannamas. The poets did so taking the Kings immediate posessions like the royal elephant, royal conch, royal horse etc as their models. As instructed, they did so before his consecration ceremony [Rajabhisheka] Narendrasinghe was delighted and showered those members with many gifts [Kulatilleke;1993;4].
It is clear that Narendrasinghe was a patron of the arts and had supported the “Kavi Maduwa” or chamber of Minstrels. These poets had to please the king through “Prasasti” or singing of his great attributes. It is possible that the Queens and ladies of the harem were also musicians and singers in light of the fact that it was an attribute of Nayakkar ladies in Madurai who were familiar with erotic Vaishnava songs of Krishna and the Gopis. There is no doubt that there were female singers and musicians because we know that there were such singers called “Alatti Ammas” who participated in the rituals of the Dalada Maligawa. [I am in possession of a copy of a painting by a Thai court artist who accompanied King Chulalongkorn in 1897 to the Maligawa, which clearly portrays women singers before the chamber housing the Tooth Relic].
Even today Kandyan dancers sing and dance the “Narendrasinghe Varnanawa” particularly as a tribute to the “Sellan King” in the presence of a Nilame or a Chief during a procession.
As mentioned earlier the Kavikara Maduwa were the originators of the Sinhala Vannams. They took as a model the Vannams of an Indian poet named Ganithasara and were assisted by Buddhist monks from Malwatte who interacted closely with the king. There are many legends and folk poems about this period when Kings, Queens and Monks had close literary and other relationships with each other which indicate the presence of a literati in Kandy who were familiar with the rules of prosody in the creation of kavi or poems. As highlighted in the Ganithasara connection, the Vannams of this period were no doubt influenced by the culture of the Nayakkars who were Saivaites and Vishnuvites.
Kandy had the biggest Vishnu Devale after the sacking of Devinuwara, the seat of Vishnu. Today we have 18 traditional Vannamas [Daha Ata Vannam] of which the most popular are Gajaga [Elephant], Thuranga [Horse], Savula [Cockbird], Naiyadi [Cobra], Kirala [Lapwing], Sinharaja [Lion], Mayura [Peacock], Ukussa [Eagle], Hanuma [Monkey], Mussaladi [hare], Gahaka [Conch], and Eeradi [Arrow]. These all refer to well known animals or objects. Another class of vannam are dedicated to the Buddha [Asadrusa], Sakra [Surapathi], Ganapathi [Ganesh], and Udara [the pomp of the King].
It is most interesting that in the preliminary stage of the Kohomba Kankariya there is an episode called Naiyandi which is the Vannama of the Cobra. This is danced by the Mul Yaddessa before the core ritual that starts with the Avanduma begins. The Vannamas were not a part of the Kankariya and was danced by Goigama caste dancers. However, later it came to be a favorite item of the more innovative Kankariya dancers and became a bridge in their transition to being performers on stage and secular ceremonies.
Gunaya was the best exponent of the Vannamas. It suited his temperament and style because he preferred to dance solo so that he could interpret it in the light of his outstanding intelligence and training. Thanks to Gunaya, who was by now idolized by the Colombo middle class, new vannamas were composed by poets such as Sri Chandraratne Manavasinghe. They collaborated on the Mahabo vannama which became very popular. Gunaya also danced the Samanala [Butterfly] Vannama. In the light of later miming of the features of animals by lesser dancers, Gunaya stands out an artist who through “Abhinaya” suggested but did not imitate the subjects of the vannamas.
To get a feel of Gunaya’s influence let us turn to De Zoete’s description of the Maestro at the initiation ceremony of his protege Sevranga. “They chant while dancing, very slowly advancing and retreating with forceful steps, facing each direction in turn. The teachers and some of Gunaya’s group of dancers join in the chant. Again, the drums burst out, and the dancers leap into the air. Wide crossed steps alternate with high springs in an orgy of movement. Finally, it settles down and chanting begins again. The long streamers wave wildly from the point of the headdress. The initiated boy always take the lead. He is certainly a magnificent dancer. His springy step and beautiful hand movements, as it were marking time, his syncopations sideways and forwards, his sudden leaps without preparation into a spin are quite intoxicating” [1957;100].
The high point of Gunaya’s national stature was reached when he was chosen to dance the Thuranga [Horse] Vannama at the celebrations of Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948. At that time, he was in his prime as a dancer. Thuranga was a wise choice because in addition to its fidelity to the traditional Vannam as recognized by De Zoete, it was a dance pregnant with meaning for a Buddhist society since it depicted Prince Siddharta’s ride on his favourite horse Kanthaka away from royal pleasures to seek his enlightenment.
Let me paraphrase the vocal rendition which accompanies the dancing of the Thuranga Vannama:
“The prince Siduhath who was loved by all was attracted to the reclusive life,
He ordered Channa to bring his horse Kanthaka and mounted it,
To the soft sounds of the horse’s hooves the three advanced, Going hither and thither till they reached the riverbank, Then carrying the handsome young prince Siduhath, all three jumped across [the river Neranjara] thanks to the strength and courage of his Thuranga [Horse]’
Gunaya danced before the Royal Guest- the Duke of Gloucester, younger brother of Edward, D. H. Lawrence’s “Pale little wisp of a Prince” who in 1922 saw the Perehera and Kandyan dancers from the Octagon of the Maligawa. There were three stages at three levels in the hall and Gunaya danced to the throb of drums at two levels and in the finale, with a magnificent leap ended with an “adawwa” on the lowest stage to the acclamation of the distinguished audience.
Fortunately, we have a word picture of that event penned by a leading journalist of the time D. B. Dhanapala who was an eyewitness, “A lone Kandyan dancer clad in the usual costume that changes a normal peasant into a glorious, resplendent prince came on the vast open stage and strutted across it in such majesty of step and dignity that a hush fell on the assembly. Then slowly the dance began to the rhythm of a lone drum echoing through the vastness.
“The dancer has slowly assumed the gait of a somewhat showy horse. He displayed his flanks, strutted, and pranced, showing the creatures noble proportions; head light and moving in majestic rhythm as he confined himself to the topmost part of the three-tiered stage. Then we became aware as the dancer proceeded, that the horse had turned to be the rider, proud of his seat on the stallion, controlling the beast and urging it on as and when he pleased completely enchanted with the joy of movement and the power he held over the beast … it was as though we were seeing a Centaur of the fabulous age in flesh and blood dancing before us as a split personality of a dancer. And when the dance had run to its climax there was a sudden pause. In a split second the Centaur dancer leaped from the top to the lower stage. It was a dramatic moment” [2012;116].
Even today that is recognized as a magnificent fusion of the man and the moment and a recognition of the pure dance quality of Ves as the preeminent national aesthetic manifestation of the Ceylonese nation.
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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