Features
People I met and places I have seen
(Excerpted from Selected Journalism by HAJ Hulugalle)
Just as I had concluded a memorable six weeks’ tour of the United Kingdom and north-western Europe, and was looking forward to a brief space of unregulated life, I received a summons from my lively colleague, the Editor of the “Ceylon Observer”, to send him some impressions.
These could easily fill a book, but I had not thought that an unconsidered narrative, of persons met and places seen, would interest a sophisticated public brought up on the “Observer’s” famous Sunday morning essays.
I have discovered that it always pays to answer an editorial summons. One of the leading Press lords of Fleet Street, whom I met recently, asked me to do twelve hundred words of my impressions of our first fortnight in London for a provincial newspaper. I sent the article in and left for the Continent. On my return I found a fat cheque which will enable me to return to Paris at the end of the month to attend the Peace Conference. On the present occasion, however, I have no mercenary intentions at all.
Of course, it was not my fault, or my merit, which put me among famous men and enabled me to visit historic places during the past few weeks. I just happened to be the delegate from Ceylon to the Sixth Imperial Press Conference, and it seems to me that the Press is respected, and rightly so, in all civilized countries.
If I were chronicling events merely with an eye to publicity, I should enlarge on the two hours the delegates spent at Buckingham Palace with the King and Queen and Princess Margaret Rose; lunch with Mr. Churchill at Hever Castle in Kent; a talk with Mrs. Attlee at the British Government’s reception; travels with the Chairman of “The Times” by train, coach and aeroplane; talks with German Communist leaders in Berlin; a walk round the room in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, in which the Big Four had met an hour earlier (one of the party even sat in Molotov’s chair, and another left a note for “Ernie” Bevan); civic receptions at half a dozen provincial capitals and a dinner at the Mansion House; and several private dinner parties to meet important and interesting people.
Of especial interest to a seasoned journalist was the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the most eminent men in the profession. I had the good fortune to meet Viscount Kemsley, owner of about twenty national and provincial papers. Both he and Lady Kemsley are keenly interested in helping the Empire countries.
Lord Beaverbrook told me that he would very much like to spend a holiday in Ceylon. I sought the views of Sir Walter Layton, Chairman of the News Chronicle and a leading economist, of the coming depression in the United States. Mr. Barrington-Ward, the Editor of The Times, gave us in conversation, his views on the Labour Government. He is a most attractive personality.
They have a fine team on “The Times.” I met Mr. Alan Pitt Robbins, the burly News Editor of “The Times” nearly every day during the month of June. Mr. Dermot Morrah works for The Times and the “Round Table” and was often present at the Conference. Two other charming personalities I came across were Mr. Ward Price and Mr. H.V. Hodson. Mr. Ward Price, a famous journalist for over 25 years and now a Director of the Daily Mail group, retains his youth remarkably. Mr. Hodson is the complete intellectual, but he has a big say in the production of the Sunday Times and the “Round Table.” There was also Sir Roderick Jones, a former Chairman of Reuters, both at the Conference and on our special train. The list can be continued, but it would interest only the journalist.
Among the delegates, whether from the United Kingdom or the overseas countries, there was a spirit of fellowship which will lead to many enduring friendships. One of the pleasantest incidents of the tour happened on the scene of the famous battle of Marston Moor. We were returning from the North and our train was drawn to a siding at this village not far from Leeds for the night.
After dinner, on a long summer’s evening, several of the party alighted from the train and walked across the meadow, looking either for the battlefield or the local public house. After two miles of walking the “pub” was discovered – a 100 yards from the train! In it we spent one of our merriest evenings. An excellent pianist was found among the New Zealand delegates, and all the old songs and many new ones were sung. The “pub” was kept by an ex-soldier and his young wife, and many of the local inhabitants joined the party. The beer was good and plentiful, and Marston Moor has now a new association for most of us.
Taking out my diary to refresh my memory of crowded experiences, I note that our first official function was a dinner given by Colonel the Hon. J. J. Astor, President of the Empire Press Union, and Lady Violet Astor at their house in Carlton Terrace. Colonel Astor is the proprietor of “The Times” but he has even greater claim to distinction. He is a man of fine character and great charm. Whenever he made a speech he said the right thing infallibly, though with an engaging modesty. His son, Captain Gavin Astor, has a high sense of public duty like his parents. I recall a pleasant walk with Lady Violet Astor through the meadows of Hever Castle after a visit to the dairy farm with its fine herd of Guernseys.
Our last official function was a Lucullan dinner in Paris. In between these two feasts, we saw much of England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany – our planes and motor coaches in Europe carried the label “from Normandy to the Baltic.” The charms of these countries are not identical.
In England, Hever Castle, Colonel Astor’s country house, in which Henry the Eighth courted Anne Boleyn, and Stratford-on-Avon stand out in our experience; in Scotland, Edinburgh and Alloway, the birth-place of Robert Burns. Germany, despite the unspeakable devastation of the war, was surprisingly beautiful. It is hard to understand why the Germans possessing such a lovely country, should have coveted the territory of their neighbours and brought a curse on themselves.
My impressions of France are fresh. It was only yesterday that I looked out of my hotel window and saw the gilded dome over Napoleon’s tomb and the Eiffel Tower. I was visiting Paris after an interval of 16 years. It has hardly changed. The old Trocadero has been replaced by an attractive structure which enhances the vista down to the Eiffel Tower and the “Hotel des Invalides.”
The French Government gave the delegates a mixture of business and pleasure. The three days we spent in Paris were each followed by three nights; at the ballet, the Folies Bergiere and a dinner at the Moulin Galette on Montmarte. The dinner was perfectly Parisian, the champagne superb; the speech of our host, the Minister of Information, charming; the women beautifully dressed; the cabaret good bodyline bowling. We could see a large part of Paris below us as we dined. It was July 14, the National Day of France, and there was dancing in the streets throughout the night.
But to go back. After a month in England and Scotland the delegates left for the Normandy beaches in the company of some of the men who directed operations on D-Day. We had one of the most brilliant men in the British Army, Brigadier Belchen, chief of Montgomery’s brains-trust, to explain the operations with the help of large-scale maps.
Berlin is of course one vast ruin. Eighty per cent of this once great city is utterly destroyed. One can walk miles of its wide streets, passing nothing but rubble and twisted iron. Sometimes an undamaged clock stands in a shattered building with the hands registering the time at which the bomb was dropped and put its machinery out of action. The macabre scene is indescribable. Trams rumble noisily through empty and desolate streets. Families live in the cellars of their destroyed houses or six in a room where the houses still stand. There are hardly any young men to be seen in Germany. We saw them, prisoners of war, in every other country we visited, digging up mines or repairing damage. The elderly folk are dejected and obviously undernourished.
Many girls seem to be seeking a living in the streets. There are no motor-cars except those used by the occupation authorities. There is nothing in the shop windows, except heirlooms, often of considerable value, and postage stamps. Every adult carries a bag in his or her hand to pick up any food that could be had. At weekends, Berliners would travel 50 miles to get a few pounds of potatoes in the country.
All cigarette stubs thrown on the streets by visitors or Allied troops are greedily pounced upon by the Germans. Dried leaves and twigs are sold for tea, and coffee is still ersatz. Beer is flat and insipid. One enterprising Canadian bought the best pair of binoculars I have handled (made by Carl Zeiss) for one hundred cigarettes, two cakes of soap and two sticks of chocolate.
German opera is still first rate. We saw a fine performance of Von Floutow’s “Martha.” One of the staff of the Opera House walked with me to the hotel. I could not take him in, and we went into a cafe where we drank some insipid beer. He is a young lawyer about to start a practice. He said, “God! What wouldn’t I give for a piece of cake!”
Yes, the German’s are paying for their misdeeds. To clear the rubble of a city like Berlin would take years. To rebuild it would not be a practical task. The same goes for many other cities and towns. The work of hundreds of years has been destroyed in as many hours. In Cologne only the Cathedral remains among the public buildings, superficially intact. Part of Hamburg is still extraordinarily beautiful but the other part is a shambles. The people of North Germany are handsome and manage to look clean and cheerful on very little.
The countryside is gracious. The harvest is promising. The oxen are of enormous size. The fruit trees were laden with apples, pears, plums and peaches not quite ready for picking. We drove about 200 miles by road from Strasbourg to Baden-Baden and on to Freiburg where there is an ancient University. The old houses with their barns and medieval roofs were a delight.
The British Control in Germany is enlightened, humane and efficient. Marshal of the Air, Sir Sholto Douglas, the Commander-in – Chief, spoke to us of his problems in an “off the record” talk. British policy aims at helping Germany to organize herself as a democratic country, deprived of the means of aggressive action but not denied the opportunity of developing as a peaceful nation. The Occupying Powers do not always agree on this, but a great work is being done by the British who spend 80 million pounds sterling a year to keep the Germans from starvation.
No one would venture to say how long the occupation will go on but the lowest estimate is 10 years. A tremendous responsibility is placed on Major-General Bishop who supervises the Press, education and amusements of the German people. There is no Press censorship in the British Zone. One of the snags of the British control is the helplessness of the Germans when they have to decide something. If someone else decides for them, the Germans carry out the decision without a murmur. That is their weakness and their strength, and accounts for Hitler and for German resiliency.
Yes, I can’t leave Hitler out of this story. We went through the battered Chancellory as the Russians were stripping the walls of the marble panelling. The delegates helped themselves to sizeable bits for souvenirs. At the end of the garden is the famous underground shelter in which Hitler lived and worked during the heavy bombing of Berlin. There is a mound near the door where his body was brought up from below and soaked in petrol before it was burned. The bodies of Eva Braun, his wife, and Goebbels where burned near by.
The underground shelter has about a dozen rooms including Hitler’s study, bed-room and sitting-room. Eva Braun’s bed-room, Goebbels’ room, kitchen, bath-rooms and dining room and one or two other rooms. The furniture has not been removed although it is in bad condition. I got a bit of Hitler’s (or was it Goebbels?) wireless set when the Russian guard was not looking. Perhaps he would not have cared. A Canadian delegate made a deal with one of the Russian guards for three of Hitler’s invitation cards printed sumptuously in gold. The fact of Hitler’s suicide is not doubted by the British officers who were earliest on the scene.
An abiding memory of our trip is the very high level of culture and intelligence among the officers responsible for the British Control in Germany. One was always meeting people who had served in Ceylon or passed through the Island. They invariably retained the pleasantest memories of Ceylon, and wished her well. Admiral Pennant who was responsible for the first landings in Normandy told me at dinner that he served in Kandy for some time with SEAC and was delighted with the place.
At Hamburg I had the good fortune to sit at dinner between the heads of the land and naval forces, respectively, in the Hamburg area. They had both been in Ceylon and loved the country. Air Commodore Desoer, who accompanied us throughout the European tour said the same thing. At the Berlin Hotel I stayed in, I met a young officer who had been stationed at Kurunegala, my hometown. Ceylon has a good name and many friends among those who have visited it during the war.
(First published in 1946)
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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