Features
`No Kunu’ – how Sumi Moonesinghe galvanized a clean-up movement
by Shehara de Silva
(Continued from last week)
There are so many times I have seen Sumi in a boardroom or at work, where she is like a force of nature. She is like a battering ram who insists on having her way and on getting things done. She is relentless. It was thus amazing to see her sensitive, understated and soft side, as she mellowed in age, towards her less-advantaged school friends, relatives and a plethora of causes she championed. It was in this phase of her life that our lives interfaced again decades later.
In 2018, 1 received a call out of the blue. Sumi had come a full circle and was on a roll again. By now, in her 70s, she still had that incredible tenacity and drive. She called me from one of her famous power walks near Independence Square where she walked regularly and met a motley array of the high and mighty, commanders, politicians and chairmen of companies and State institutions. The good, the bad and the ugly had all come under her ring of influence.
In one of those famous epiphanies she was wont to have, she had decided on cleaning up the banks of the Beira Lake and then the canals and roads around Colombo. Unable or unwilling to get home and start the process, she called me from Independence Square and asked me to create a brand and a concept!
In the next few days, she had moved mountains. I got calls around three or four times a day and a dozen WhatsApp texts in-between with ideas, instructions and additional companies that were joining in, even before the concept was crystallized. This was the birth of the ‘No Kunu’ movement she founded. She raised her clarion call for action in the ‘No Kunu’ pledge, in which each person and company that comes on board becomes the guardian of the city, forest or beach they pledge to protect. The vision that I helped her draft was to build a system of civic engagement that would help Sri Lanka become the cleanest country in Asia.
Within a week she had roped in big guns. Kumar Sangakkara gave a video message that went viral. Ven. Galboda Gnanissara, or Podi Hamuduruwo as he is better known, of Gangaramaya Temple had a large power base that was mobilised. Rosy Senanayake, her former face of Anchor and now Mayor of Colombo, pledged teams of planners, engineers and street cleaners. The Navy added boats, rigs and suction devices. Her A Team of former sales and marketing personnel were her work horses, and soon Sumi’s home was a war room of experts and benefactors.
Municipal engineers, corporate CSR and HR heads – big and small, Sumi collected them all! JKH, DIMO, Aitken Spence, Virtusa, NTB, NDB, Worldlink, Coca-Cola and Shangri-La were a part of some 30-plus leading corporates in her fold. She added some national and international schools as well as the Rotary Clubs to boot. The media joined in with Daily FT, Derana, Rupavahini and Roar publishing regular features to educate the public.
A concept of stewardship and continuous education was put in place. “Don’t just clean up and forget about a space; be a guardian!”
One Galle Face was an early pledger, taking over Galled Face Green and promising to ensure an ongoing cleaning system, after the Colombo society ladies and their offspring, after some arm twisting by Sumi, were made to come in and do an initial clean-up. Two thousand five hundred slums were cleaned, dwellers educated and trained on waste disposal, while plastic buckets for collection and cloth bags for shopping were donated. Canals were dredged.
On May 19, 2018, the first programme was launched from Layards Broadway in Grandpas and the second from Leslie Ranagala Mawatha in Wanathamulla, Boreal. The third was at Kew Road in Slave Island, and then later Muttiah Park. In July 2018, the Rotaract Club of the University of Moratuwa together with the Interact Club of D.S. Senanayake College and Rotary Club of Colombo West volunteered, and a whole spate of corporates that were spread around the lake were mobilized to clean the three-kilometre Beira Lake Walkway on D R Wijewardena Mawatha. The project continued downstream on the Wellawatte Canal, right down to Horton Place and on and on.
Taking inspiration from the 2018 Football World Cup and the Japanese, who despite defeat cleaned up their locker rooms to zero trash, Sumi commandeered the 140-year-old Royal Thomian Cricket Match, a bastion of male entitlement of “doing it their way” to “do it her way”! I recall trudging around talking to the organising committee, setting in place a vendor guideline and a system for the junior school to follow a zero trash policy on ground. Sumi had managed to get the organizers to rope in the primary school young ones in a ‘catch them young’ strategy to build a future generation of waste-conscious leaders. However, we realized the old Mustangs were possibly beyond the pale of reform and their inebriation would not allow for rational civic behaviour!
Sumi said it best in a newspaper interview in the Daily FT: “Eventually one city at a time, we will move from city to village, to beach, to forest and farm, from house to house, shop to shop and company to company. We will teach everyone how to separate their garbage. We will mobilize company workforces to help clean our country. We will co-opt 1,500 business leaders to pledge to be guardians of our cities and mobilize their resources and workforces to help demonstrate, clean-up, reiterate, resource and monitor a programme to keep Colombo Clean first. Then every city, river, beach and forest and wherever possible to convert ‘kunu’ into a valuable resource.”
Sumi’s energy and attempts to muster her power and wealth to help the country and the less privileged is worth a record as a study in moral leadership and the evolution of a corporate leader to one of a philanthropist. ‘No Kunu,’ while gaining traction and momentum, took a back seat as the Easter bombings and later the pandemic put the brakes on mobilizing civil society for common good. However, Sumi has soldiered on relentlessly with other social impacts.
Her Atoka foundation began feeding the poor in the plantations. Hatton station was a kick-off point partly because her driver Kumar, her factotum and Chief of Staff, was from a Hatton plantation. She had enabled, trusted and empowered Kumar, who, over time, turned out to be a multi-talented and incredible implementer and organizer, fit to sit on any crisis team or 100-day task force. The moulding of Kumar and unleashing his potential is in itself a study of how trust and gratitude coupled with empowerment, can bring out hidden potential in the most unexpected persons.
Meanwhile, the Atoka charity looked at building interfaith and inter community harmony and environment healing. Mainly using her personal funds, Sumi looked at how systemic change could be brought to the plantation worker. In tandem, she began another ambitious programme – to plant 25 million trees all over the country. Talk about thinking big!
For symbolic reasons, the ‘No Kunu’ and Aloka citizens’ initiatives were launched at the Gangarama Temple by Ven. Assaji on July 1, 2019. Barely three weeks on, the first major event was conceived and rolled out, planting jak trees from Hatton to Nallathanni along the Maskeliya-Mousakelle Road beginning at Hatton Railway Station. Maskeliya Plantations took the lead, while the Station Master and staff of Hatton CGR, head priests of the Buddhist temples, mosque, kovil and the church were all present.
In hindsight, it is such a pity for Sri Lanka that Sumi did not go into active politics, bar the support she gave her husband Susil in his ambitions as a politician.
As I reminisce about Sumi and see her from the spectrum of my association, first as an employee, later as a friend, a mentor and a co-conspirator of civic engagement, I have seen a mother, wife, stepmother, political animal, social activist and a true friend. I have seen a hard nosed and self-made business woman who took the knocks of life, rode the crest of success and moved with the richest of the rich moguls of commerce, yet never forgot her beginnings or who she met on her way. Yet, above all, she learned to forget and forgive the pain of the past, over which she had no control.
Sumi has taught me much. Mostly that no matter how heavy the challenges we face in life, we must act with tenacity and courage; that we must never lose hope. She understood that we are all accountable and MUST give back to each other.
If one believes in `samsara’ – the journey of life – as I know Sumi does, we live in but a glitch in time. The good we do always outlives us, it plays to the rhythm of a timeless, selfless love. This is Sumi’s heartbeat. The love of a citizen for her nation and her community.
Shehara de Silva is a Non-Executive Director of Keells Food and the former Marketing Director at New Zealand Milk Products (Sri Lanka).
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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