Features
Scandinavian aid and World View International Foundation
Excerpted from volume ii of the Sarath Amunugama autobiography
Norway which was a poor country at the beginning of the 20th century quickly became very rich after the discovery of North Sea oil. These offshore oil deposits in the cold seas between Norway and Scotland changed the fortunes of Scandinavian countries which earlier depended on fishing for their national income. Another factor was that Norway was a Protestant Christian country which believed, as much as feasible, in social equality and charity. All Norwegian churches collect a tithe which is reserved for charity.
Much of their missionary work was in East Africa, particularly Tanzania, where the local people were not subject to extreme cruelty as in the Belgian Congo or South Africa. Norwegian missionary activity was benign because they had no imperial ambitions. For instance Julius Nyrere, the Tanzanian leader was a Christian, schooled in a Nordic missionary institution. It was much later that Norway was interested in Asia – Sri Lanka in particular. Like other Scandinavian countries which had got rich and also had a history of brutal subjugation by Nazi rulers in the thirties and forties.
Norway set up a foreign funding agency called NORAD. NORAD began to fund small projects in South -Asia- At this juncture most western donor agencies began to select ‘target countries’ where they could invest with the hope of obtaining good results. With JRJ’s policies which were perceived as ‘rolling back socialism’ and being more liberal in associating with foreign donors, Sri Lanka became the number one target country for donors like NORAD, SIDA [Sweden], FINNIDA [Finland], DANIDA [Denmark] and CIDA [Canada].
Our Finance Ministry was in a good position to negotiate with these donor agencies on the basis of viable project proposals. We had excellent bureaucrats like David Loos, Nihal Kappagoda, Wickreme Weerasooria, Sivagnanam and Akiel Mohamed who could interact with these agencies easily and efficiently. Foreign aid flowed freely to Sri Lanka before the communal riots of 1983.
The World View Foundation was born in this milieu. Two young cyclists from Jaffna had reached Oslo. Radio Norway sent one of its talented reporters named Arne Fjortoft to cover this story. Arne and his wife Ragnar were well known TV and radio journalists and they not only featured the story of the cyclists and found jobs for them in Norway but also wanted to help the people of the North by setting up a factory to make and repair fishing boats. This was a Norad funded project which was approved by the Sri Lankan government and was named the CEY-NOR which even today is managed by our Ministry of Fisheries.
But this was a very bad time for building and repairing boats because very soon the Tamil insurgents [many of whom were later to establish the LTTE] acquired some of these boats. The sea was their lifeline for survival as they could retreat to a ‘base area’ in southern India whenever they were on retreat from the SL army. CEY-NOR was sponsored by the GA Jaffna Wimal Amarasekere but by accident or design it became a project of great interest to the terrorists.
Arne handed over CEY-NOR to the GA and came down to Colombo. Here going back to his familiar trade he entered the field of Information and Communication and set up the World View Foundation with partial support from NORAD. His first contact was with our Ministry but Anandatissa was lukewarm about sponsoring a foreign NGO. At that time Hameed, the Foreign minister, had established links with Scandinavian countries and was soliciting funding for projects in his electorate. He had obtained funds from FINNIDA for a water project in Harispattuwa which was so irregular that it led to an inquiry in the Finnish Parliament and the sacking of the Head of FINNIDA after the media highlighted his culpability.
Hameed’s unorthodox behavior of soliciting funds bypassing the Finance Ministry was referred to President JRJ and a circular was issued by the Treasury prohibiting Ministers from soliciting funds for their own projects outside the procedures laid out by the Department of External Resources. Despite the Harispattuwa scandal Hameed persisted in soliciting funds from foreign countries. A donation from a Korean businessman was not accounted for and a police investigation was launched. An indictment was ready in the Attorney General’s office during President CBK’s tenure when Hameed died suddenly of a heart attack.
While Anandatissa hesitated Hameed jumped into the fray. He accepted the post of Chairman of the Board of WIF. Arne had established WIF with a powerful Board of distinguished personalities which included Bondevick who became the Prime Minister of Norway. At a later time Arne himself contested for a seat in the Norwegian Parliament as a party leader and was expected to be the Minister of Development Assistance but his party fared disastrously and he could not make it. I had visited his electorate Stavvanger with him and was surprised when he was defeated.
WIF contributed to our TV training which was badly needed m view of our foray into Television. I visited Nepal, Thailand and Bangladesh where WIF ran important projects. The ‘power ‘, behind the Nepali throne’, Royal Councillor Chiran Thapa was on the WIF Board as was Police General Chavalit of Thailand. In Bangladesh Mohammed Yunus was a leading member of WIF.
I will refer here to two imaginative projects undertaken by WIF. In Nepal where there was incredible poverty in the highlands WIF pioneered the ‘TV letter to the King’. Our young cameramen went to the poorest villages and recorded the complaints of the villagers which we screened for the King as arranged by Chiran Thapa. This disclosure, we were told, had distressed the King who initiated action on land reform in our target village. The Director of the ‘TV letter’ project, a young US returned Nepali Subhadra Belbase, later became well-known in Kathmandu as a social activist.
After WIF Subhadra joined the UN to work among Nepali farmers. The Bangladeshi project attempted to tackle river blindness which was caused by malnutrition. We were told that the simple remedy for this disease which was caused by the lack of a vitamin was readily found in a variety of Banana recommended by WHO and found in plenty in the delta. With the help of the ‘Thana’ or divisional administration WIF undertook a publicity programme followed by the distribution of banana shoots for the poor who could not even afford that. This was a successful project which was later adopted by the Bangladesh government with good results.
WIF was the first international organization to popularize the Yunus concept of setting up groups of credit worthy village women entrepreneurs which was later picked up and recommended by the World Bank. Perhaps the promotion of Yunus in the Norwegian media helped in his selection for the Nobel Prize which is a Scandinavian initiative. There were many such projects including the introduction of media studies to the University of Chiang Mai in Thailand, which earned a niche in practical development strategies for WIF unlike the discussion oriented AMIC. Unlike AMIC many UN development agencies worked closely with WIF. However they ran into problems after expanding faster than they could cope with.
UNESCO
The global debate on the New Information Order took a greater urgency due to the rapid escalation of the Cold War. With the ascent to power of Ronald Reagan as President of the US, the laid back approach of Jimmy Carter was replaced by a greater competitive spirit. While special attention was paid to the arms race because only the US economy was strong enough to produce `both guns and butter’, the USSR economy had to choose one or the other. Reagan’s challenge by unleashing his ‘Star Wars’ weapons programme, undercut the Soviet boast that they were on a par with the West.
At the same time resurgent China, having overcome the disastrous Cultural Revolution, was also gaining ground and the rapprochement of Nixon and Mao was perceived as a potential threat to Soviet hegemony. With the Vietnam War concluded, the US could now focus on its economic strength. All these cross currents were at play in the international arena. The UN system in particular was under scrutiny by the US which kept on proclaiming that it was the UN’s major financial contributor.
Reagan took a personal interest in the Information debate. He rightly perceived that it was a veiled attack on American dominance all the way from his favourite Hollywood film industry to the new communications frontier technology which was a byproduct of their space research programmes. They were now spoiling for a fight. The President revamped the USIS or Information Service [which was rebranded as USIA – the Information Agency] and placed it under a crony who had been a band leader in Hollywood.
As Secretary of the Ministry of Information I was invited to tour the USA and view its communications facilities. This tour which was sponsored by the US Education Foundation took me from the East coast to Hollywood in the West coast and onto Hawaii and back to Colombo through Japan. It was an amazingly well-organized tour which had been arranged with the cooperation of our embassy in Washington. The Ambassador at that time was Professor W.S. Karunaratne whom I knew from my Peradeniya days. He had arranged a dinner at his residence with eminent Washingtonians who knew me.
Among them were Howard Simon of the Washington Post who had played a major role in exposing President Nixon over the Watergate scandal. Howard was a keen ornithologist who had visited Sri Lanka the previous year to study birds in our hill country. One day he burst into my office to complain that he could not get a hotel room near Kandy. I immediately telephoned Hunnas Falls Hotel which was supervised by the Hotels Corporation in my Ministry, and arranged for a deluxe apartment. His bird watching was a success and he wrote from Washington to thank me.
He gladly accepted our Ambassador’s invitation for dinner. We also had Dillon Ripley from the Smithsonian Institute. My Ministry had supported the survey of wild life in our country, particularly the elephant population, and their chief local contact was Lyn de Alwis, the head of the Zoological Gardens and a legend in our times. Lyn was a difficult person and I had to intervene several times on his behalf because I knew of his dedication.
The Pinnawela. Elephant Orphanage and later the Singapore Zoo were his creations. Another dinner invitee was Alan Whicker who brought his TV unit to Sri Lanka for a coverage for his popular TV series. Indra de Silva who was my friend from USIS Colombo had taken early retirement and had been granted US citizenship. He was living in Washington and had contacted several American diplomats who had served in Sri Lanka. They too were present, making the evening a very pleasant and productive one for our Embassy.
In this tour the first stop was Washington where I visited the Congress on the Hill and spoke to some Congressmen who were interested in the communications debate. Then I spent time in the Aeronautical and Space Exhibition Centre which was a novel attraction in Washington with its displays of original spacecraft and details of the moon landing. I was permitted to touch the moonrock that had been brought back to earth by the Astronauts. The Curator of the Exhibition was a close friend of Arthur Clarke whose name opened many doors for me in the space research world.
Then I flew to Los Angeles and was lodged in the famous Wiltshire Hilton which was patronized by Hollywood film stars. From there I took a cab to Burbank which was being transformed from a Hollywood movie lot to shooting floors for several upcoming Television series. TV was fast taking over from the classic film studios of the past like Paramount, MGM and Twentieth Century Fox. Movie production was being passed over to the ‘Independents’ or movie makers who made their own films and came to the ‘movie giants’ only for distributing their films.
Since I was from Asia I was taken to a film distribution Office in Wiltshire Boulevard. I was surprised to find that their whole Asian film distribution system was computerized and required only a few secretaries and accountants to manage the operation. This contrasted with our Film Corporation which was full of political appointees who were running the distribution operation with a mountain of files.
Leaving Los Angeles I flew to Honolulu to renew my contacts in the University where my friend Professor Juergensmayer was the Head of the Department of Religious Studies. I also met Mary Bitterman who served as the head of Voice of America under President Carter and Wimal Dissanayake attached to the East-West Centre. It was also an oppornunity to meet ‘Babu’ Wickremeratne and his family again and join in a cook out on Waikiki Beach.
My impressions of the US approach to the New Order debate and reading of the literature about it was useful for the Asian in UNESCO. It was clear that because of his Hollywood ground and links with the communications equipment manufacturers, Reagan would take a personal interest in this debate unlike in the past when State Department officials called the shots. He was also committed to the notion of a ‘free press’ partly because it was related to the First Amendment of the US Constiution and partly because it was a vital ingredient in his commitment to confront Communism. But he was open to the argument that the US would be a beneficiary in the investment communications technology and therefore should engage positively with the ongoing debate.
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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