Of that interminable terminal problem

Wednesday 10th March, 2021

The government has resorted to gobbledygook to obfuscate the issue of facilitating further foreign involvement in the Colombo Port. It is notorious for signalling left and turning right, so to speak. Its plan to partner with India’s Adani Group to operate the East Container Terminal (ECT) went pear-shaped owing to protests by the port workers. It did its darnedest to put the deal through but succumbed to trade union pressure; it obviously did not want a crippling port strike, which would have dealt a devastating blow to the economy. But it will be a mistake for those who are opposed to foreign involvement in the management of strategic state assets such as ports to think they have won; the government has offered the West Container Terminal (WTC), which is to be built, to India. Politicians know more than one way to shoe a horse. India, however says it will play no role in the proposed venture. This is an interesting development.

Before the last presidential and parliamentary elections, the SLPP had the public believe that it would not cut any deals with foreigners at the expense of the country’s strategic assets, which it undertook to protect at any cost. Aggressively marketing its brand of patriotism, it raked the yahapalana government over the coals for leasing the Hambantota Port to China. Those who voted for the SLPP must have thought their government would never strike such deals with foreigners. They must be deeply disappointed.

There is hardly any difference between the ETC and the proposed WTC where their strategic importance is concerned. So, the question is how the government can reconcile its much-publicised election pledge, which yielded many votes, and its decision to enter into a partnership with an Indian company to run the WTC. SLPP leaders must be muttering to themselves what Machiavelli said about pledges: “The promise given was a necessity of the past; the word broken is a necessity of the present.”

Why is the government so keen to strike a deal with the Adani Group, which has incurred much opprobrium both in India and Australia, where it is engaged in mining, for questionable business practices? The SLPP keeps muddying the water instead of providing a straight answer.

India would have us believe that it has not nominated anyone for the proposed WTC venture. But the Rajapaksa administration calls Adani Group India’s nominee! Its line of reasoning defies comprehension; it says India nominated the Adani Group for the ETC venture and, therefore, the same company should be considered India’s nominee for the WTC as well. What has India got to say to this? Statements the SLPP government and its Indian counterpart have made on the WTC deal remind us of the liar paradox.

Chairman of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, is known as Modi’s Rockefeller. The Modi government has come under fire for going out of its way to help the Adani Group secure contracts to operate several airports in India. Therefore, New Delhi may be wary of pressuring Colombo openly to partner with the Adani Group as regards the WTC lest it should draw more fire for cronyism. But that does not mean that the Modi government cannot bring pressure to bear on Colombo unofficially. Or, it may be that the Sri Lankan leaders are trying to humour Prime Minister Modi by selecting Adani Group for the WTC venture. It is also possible that Colombo has decided to bring in the Adani Group, of its own volition, because Sri Lankan politicians love to do business with such companies for obvious reasons. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India last year booked the Adani Group as well as several other companies in a corruption case for causing a huge loss to the state coffers.

How will those who took to the streets to scuttle the ETC deal react to the government decision to partner with the same company as regards the proposed WTC?