Features
President at last! Not President forever!!
by Rajan Philips
Ranil Wickremesinghe is the third Sri Lankan President older than seventy years to assume office. He is seventy four, JR Jayewardene was seventy one, and DB Wijetunga seventy seven. All three of them assumed office without direct election by the people. JRJ was Prime Minister in 1977 and became President in 1978 through a constitutional amendment. He would go on to serve a second term after winning the first presidential election in 1982. DB Wijetunga was unanimously elected by parliament to fill the vacancy created by the assassination of President R. Premadasa in May 1993. He served the remainder of his predecessor’s term till November 1994, and was not a candidate in the 1994 election. Twenty eight years and four presidents (Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena and Gotabaya Rajapaksa) later, Ranil Wickremesinghe has become the first person to be elected President by a vote of parliament to fill the vacancy created by the country’s first presidential resignation.
Tortuous Journey
Mr. Wickremesinghe has had a tortuous journey to the summit of power that he has long coveted. He was a defeated candidate in the presidential elections in 1999 and 2005, and sat out the two succeeding elections for proxy candidates in 2010 and 2015. He wanted to be the UNP candidate in 2019 but was pressured by the Party to give way to Sajith Premadasa. The latter lost the 2019 presidential election and later broke up the UNP to create the now larger Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). The SJB won 54 seats in the 2020 parliamentary election and Sajith Premadasa became the Leader of the Opposition. The UNP rump was decimated with Ranil Wickremesinghe himself losing his seat for the first time after entering parliament in 1977. After initially resisting Ranil Wickremesinghe went back to parliament as the sole UNP MP through the National List. That is where Ranil Wickremesinghe was when political events came to a head on May 9.
It is not necessary here to trace the parallel disintegration of Sri Lanka’s other main political party, the SLFP, which ultimately led to the events of May 9. Suffice it to say that if the SLFP became the family party of the Bandaranaikes after the death of its founder SWRD Bandaranaike, the SLFP splinter – the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was created in 2016 for the sole purpose of being the electoral vehicle for the upstart Rajapaksa political family. The SLPP has had plenty of outside enablers, legions of beneficiaries and civilizational fellow travelers, but Rajapaksa family interest was always at the core of the Party. As Basil Rajapaksa would ruefully admit later, they were good at winning elections but not at running a government.
The SLPP electoral vehicle took off spectacularly with sweeping wins in quick succession – the local government elections in February 2018, presidential election in November 2019 and the parliamentary election in August 2020. Hidden away behind electoral success, however, was the family’s collective incompetence and crass corruption. Both exploded with devastating consequences for the country (and the family) with the arrival of COVID-19 and the world’s worst “man-made” economic crisis. The upshot was the eruption of people’s protests now immortalized under the rubric of Aragalaya. The protesters by and large voicing the anger and frustration of all Sri Lankans demanded the resignation of the Rajapaksas from their multiple perches in the structure of state power. Every one of them did, rather was forced to do, except President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The beleaguered President went looking for an alternative Prime Minister and an all-party government to avoid leaving office as a failed president halfway through his term. Few were asked, but only one agreed and that was Ranil Wickremesinghe. He said he accepted the offer to be Gota’s PM for the sake of the country, but to everyone else in the country he was also saving Gota’s bacon. Yet, there was a palpable mood shift in the country as Ranil Wickremesinghe showed signs of restoring order, after months of Cabraal-chaos and clueless-presidency, in the management of the economy and in dealings with the IMF and international creditors.
Then stories began to come out that Mr. Wickremesinghe was up to his old (yahapalana) ways of running a parallel administration with outside sidekicks without involving cabinet ministers, government officials and the President himself. There were even rumours that he was going to nominate one of his sidekick experts as Governor of the Central Bank for a new full term. The country did not need another dubious outsider after the fiascos of Arjuna Mahendran and Nivard Cabraal. Public pressure had to be brought on the Prime Minister for him to relent into recommending to the President that the tenure of Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe be extended to a new full term. Further, the Prime Minister earned the people’s wrath by his neglect or failure over two months to mobilize government resources to provide for an orderly distribution of scarce essentials, especially fuel and cooking gas.
The fuel crisis triggered the second wave of protests on June 9, demanding the resignation of both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe. Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country after appointing Ranil Wickremesinghe to be Acting President. The President sent in his resignation papers from Singapore thereby creating the vacancy which has now been filled by the election of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President. President Wickremesinghe can serve out the remainder of the current presidential term ending in November 2024, and parliament can continue for its full term ending in August 2025, unless it is dissolved sooner by the President after March 2023. That is the constitutional position, but the political reality is different.
Political Reality and Risks
The demand for the ‘new’ President’s resignation was reignited at the Galle Face Green within hours of his election by parliament. Protesters, at least considerable sections of them, have rejected the election of Wickremesinghe by parliament as “a decision against the will of the people,” and have promised to continue the struggle for his removal. People have tasted the power of peaceful protest and the power to force a Prime Minister to resign without the bother of a No Confidence Motion in parliament, and to have a President run and resign without the laborious exercise of impeachment. The backdrop to these new ways of removal is of course the economic crisis, without the severity of which no protest movement would have come this far, or could go any further.
So, when protesters say that they will keep going with their campaign against Mr. Wickremesinghe, his government and even the whole ‘225’ lot of them, it must be seen as being predicated on their hardship experiences this year, the fear that their troubles are not going to be over soon, and the frustration that those who brought about the whole mess in the first place are still moving the levers of power without being penalized for the havoc they created.
The people are not asking for a violent overthrow of the government, but a general election to elect a new parliament. Over 70% of them in a representative sample have expressed the opinion that the presidential system must be abolished. People understand that elections cannot be called overnight, but they will not countenance those in power extending their stay in power without fundamental changes. There is no fascism here and there is no need to call on the military to do “whatever is necessary,” whatever it means.
Mr. Wickremesinghe caused a stir when he dropped the ‘f’ word (fascist) within hours of becoming the Acting President. He has since recanted and has adopted a softer refrain that he is all for peaceful protests but that he will brook no violence or the takeover or destruction of properties. Others blame Aragalaya for creating the political space that apparently enabled Ranil Wickremesinghe to become Prime Minister, Acting President, and finally President. Blaming Aragalaya for Ranil’s assent is misplaced accusation. Aragalaya did not bring Ranil to power, Gotabaya Rajapaksa did. So, blame Gota, or look into the mirror and blame yourself for enabling Gota in the first place.
Rajapaksas are now water under the bridge in spite of all the speculations that they are still in control and are pulling the puppet strings on Ranil Wickremesinghe. Mr. Wickremesinghe may yet try to deflect potential legal lassos that the Rajapaksas might come under. That is the old school culture of mutual back-scratching. Not anymore. The President will have to do anything old school at his own peril while hugely risking his last shot to leave a worthwhile legacy. The Rajapaksas should be the least of President Wickremesinghe’s worries. Any help from him to them will only inflame janatha aragalaya for a new round of protests and a renewed demand for his resignation.
The Irony of History
Whether or not Ranil Wickremesinghe will succeed fully, partially or not at all as President, there is some irony of history in his having to deal with issues and challenges that can arguably be traced back to the 1978 Constitution and open economy created by JR Jayewardene, the current President’s elder kinsman and political patron. While the constitutional legacies have earned their due notoriety, there are also consequences from JRJ’s open economic policies which have a bearing on today’s calamitous context. For all the policy shortcomings and inefficient amassing of resources for the accelerated Mahaweli development program, the JRJ government did achieve impressive strides in food production with periodical self-sufficiency in rice. It took a real pygmy to destroy the country’s whole agricultural system by his insane organic fertilizer policy.
But in the other no less crucial areas of energy and fuel supply, today’s predicaments can be rippled back to the introduction of the open economy and its uneven application across different sectors. The champions of open economy and privatization targeted easy pickings (private buses, private schools, reprivatizing estates, privatizing state industrial corporations etc.) with great gusto, but did not dare tackle the vital sectors of electricity and petroleum in strategically decisive ways. They were left in state hands with targeted privatization around the fringes to benefit government cronies, who kept multiplying later under Rajapaksa patronage. These were also two areas where demand skyrocketed due to the unbridled expansion of consumption that became the main feature and driver of the open economy. Demand and import requirements kept increasing while capacity stagnated and even shrank.
The saga of the petroleum industry from pre-nationalization to nationalization, selective privatization thereafter, and the shift from CPC monopoly to CPC-LIOC duopoly, would be a crucial case-study backdrop to the current fuel crisis. That President Ranil Wickremesinghe now has to deal with the fuel crisis intelligently and urgently to survive as President might be seen not merely as an irony of history, but also as poetic justice. In any event, he can only deal with the surface problems of supply and distribution, which alone would be quite a challenge to his administration.
Anything deeper or major restructuring of the electricity and petroleum industries will be beyond the capacity of the Wickremesinghe administration. False optimisms are totally inappropriate in crisis times. The same caution should apply to the IMF negotiations and their intended outcomes. IMF talks take time and sustained effort as anyone following the IMF-Pakistan talks that have been going on from 2019 will know.
The President’s biggest worry and number one priority should be to effectively organize the supply and distribution of essentials in an orderly manner. The IMF talks and funding facilities are obviously important as well, but their technical details and results have no resonance for the streets. At the political level, the overarching insistence is about systemic change involving constitutional reform and including the abolishing of the system of elected executive presidency. The new President would do well to pick his priorities and deliver solidly on even a few of them rather than chasing everything fanciful and delivering nothing. He should desist from creating impressions that everything is going to be fixed because he is President at last.
(Next Week: The Vote in Parliament and the People at Large)
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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