Features
Sports and Recreation, I get into the Police
(Excerpted from the memoirs of Rtd. Senior DIG Police Edward Gunawardena)
Until the mid fifties there were no organized sports facilities for the youth of the village. However much pleasure was gained by young people particularly males by participating in community activities such as harvesting and threshing, thatching of roofs, New Year celebrations etc.
A remarkable feature of pleasant community living was the harmony in which Christians and Buddhists enjoyed the spirit of Christmas. For about three or four nights continuously Carol Singers from St. Mathew’s Church visited homes, irrespective of religious differences. There were other ad-hoc musical groups some even in fancy dress that visited homes and provided a few minutes of entertainment.
The heavily decorated carol cart that was annually organized by the Headman Lennet Ralahamy drew large crowds on the roads. This carol cart with singers who were well trained, even went up to Moratuwa and sang carols in competition with the Moratuwa carol singers. The support that Lennet Ralahamy received to organize this from even the Buddhists was indeed noteworthy.
Ang adeema and Polgeseema were keenly contested between adult groups known as the Udupila and Yatipila. These traditional contests took place annually and the venue was the Seeniduwa. Significantly the people who participated in these games belonged to the Udupila or Yatipila by birth, a tradition with obscure beginnings.
Villagers turned up in large numbers at Seeniduwa to cheer vociferously for either of the two “pilas” or sides particularly when Ang Adeema took place. What I remember most in this contest was the co-ordinated pulling of a rope, tug-of-war ‘style by the Udupila. This rope was tied to the top of a large columnar post made out of a trunk of a tamarind tree; and with every tug this post which was called the ‘Henakanda’ rocked forward giving a booming sound.
The rivalry between the Udupila and Yatipila was apparent only during this annual contest. There were no arguments or quarrels. It was such healthy rivalry that it resulted more in the promotion of friendship and cordiality than division or animosity. Indeed, it is the curse of party politics that has led to whatever friction that exists or erupts from time to time today.
Football comes to Battaramulla.
In the late forties my brothers and I were keen participants in sports at St. Joseph’s. My eldest brother Owen was a keen sprinter who was a member of the Josephian team that won the Junior Tarbet Cup competition at the Public Schools Athletics Meet when it was introduced for the first time. My brother Irwin was a keen pole vaulter. The coconut land presently occupied by the Maha Vidyalaya which was under my father’s control had sufficient open space for us to run freely. A jumping pit filled with sand and a crude vaulting box was constructed. A 75 yards track was also measured out.
Whilst practicing several track & field items we also started kicking a foot ball about amidst the coconut trees. It was a ball that my father purchased from Diana’s on Chatham St. It was of thick leather with an inflatable tube inside. The lacing of the leather cover was also made of hide. We little realized that this kicking about of a ball was to lead Battaramulla to football fame within three to four years.
Starved of recreation, particularly without a playground in the village, one by one children as well as adults began to join us in the evenings to play football. Even a young priest from Sudassanarama Temple that is on the adjoining land joined in kicking the ball about Leading citizens of the village, Edmund Caldera, Lennet Perera, the village headman, and Edward Rupasinghe also began to take a keen interest. Although Caldera did not play, the other two became keen players. For the first time the youngsters saw the Headman and Rupasinghe dressed in shorts playing with the youth enthusiastically.
By the mid-fifties the Nugegoda District Football league had been formed. The president of the league was that devoted football enthusiast, I.D.M. Van Twest, Superintendent of Police. The Nugegoda league was affiliated to the Ceylon Football Association (CFA) and Van Twest was also a Vice President of the CFA.
There were about six or seven clubs from Maharagama, Kotte, Kalapaluwawa and Rajagiriya affiliated to the Nugegoda league. The most formidable teams were Cotta Park, Red Star and the Nugegoda Police. Red Star had that respected parliamentarian of Kotte the late Stanley Tilakaratna as the patron.
At this time the enthusiasm of the footballers at Battaramulla was very high and they were all eager to play competitive football. However, what was lacking was a formal organization. My brother Irwin was playing for the Colombo University under Peter Ranasinghe. I was playing for Peradeniya. My eldest brother Owen who was a law student enjoyed the game and my younger brother Aelian had the makings of an excellent centre-forward.
P. P. de Silva who was a young engineer at Walkers, Tillekeratne of the Inland Revenue Dept, his brother-in-law Nihal of the Prisons, Leslie Weerakkody who was an engineering student in the University, Jayasena, Munidasa and Premadasa who was the lift operator in the New Secretariat Building formed the backbone of a playing side. Lean and wiry Jayasiri and Muin, a young Malay boy, were daring forwards.
It was in this backdrop that all the football enthusiasts of Battaramulla met one Sunday morning in 1955 under the shade of a large jak tree in the land that we played on. I was on vacation. So was my brother Irwin. The purpose was to form a Football Club and formulate a constitution. With no controversial issues and the camaraderie that existed, the meeting was concluded within hours.
A proposal that the club be named ‘Winger’s Sports Club’ made by me was unanimously adopted and a constitution drafted then and there accepted by all present. Edmund Caldera, Lennet Ralahamy, Edward Rupasinghe, Oliver Almeida and Tony Blake were the architects of the constitution. With my basic knowledge of constitutional law gathered at the lectures of Prof. A.J. Wilson I was able to provide the finishing touches. Edmund Caldera, a senior officer of Ford Rhodes and a respected elder of the village, was unanimously elected The President of the Club.
With a unanimously adopted constitution embodying the basic principles necessary and with a set of office bearers who were all honourable and reputed gentlemen, before a month lapsed Wingers Sports Club was admitted to the Nugegoda Football league.
Within a short space of less than two years Wingers had become a popular outfit drawing large crowds whenever they played. In 1957 captained by my brother Aelian, Wingers went on to beat the much fancied Red Star and Cotta Park and qualify to meet the Nugegoda District Police in the league final.
If I remember right this match was played on a Sunday at the Mirihana Police Grounds. The outer fringes of the grounds were decorated with colourful bunting; and with music relayed from a public address system a carnival atmosphere prevailed. By 4 p.m. large crowds had gathered all round the grounds needing uniformed police to keep the crowd from entering the playing area. The arrival of the chief guest, Osmund de Silva, the Inspector General of Police accompanied by I D M Van Twest, Superintendent of Police, was greeted with crackers.
When the two teams lined up, Wingers in red and yellow jerseys looked smarter than the police team dressed in blue. Police with two or three national players were the favourites. When Mantas, the referee, blew the whistle for the commencement of the game there was a roar from the crowd.
In the tenth minute a sharp drive from midfield by Tillakaratne took the police goalie by surprise. Wingers led from this point onwards until the break. Police played far more aggressively in the second half and equalized through a penalty goal. With a one all draw imminent and about a minute to go P.P. de Silva started dribbling the ball solo from midfield and tapped the ball past the police goal keeper. Wingers had become the Nugegoda District Champions; and the toast of the village of Battaramulla.
The Wingers Football Club had by this time become the foremost social organization in the village. Well organized and with a highly disciplined and honourable membership ‘Wingers’ was able to provide leadership to village community activities such as the weeding and cleaning of the cemetery, organizing musical shows with the Talangama Police, and the removal of salvinia that had invaded the paddy fields. The strengthening of cordiality, goodwill and camaraderie among the youth of the village was indeed the lasting contribution of Wingers. Even today the few core members of Wingers who are living meet often to reminisce the glory days of the Club.
The tragic ending of Wingers as an active organization came about with the waning of enthusiasm of the football enthusiasts resulting from the loss of its playing field and meeting place. With the takeover of this land by the Education Department and the development of the Maha Vidyalaya it became the preserve of the school and declared out of bounds for village activities. All the efforts of Winger’s to use the grounds were of no avail. The greater tragedy is that this playing field is used only once or twice a year for a sports meet or Avurudu Celebration and even the children of the school are not seen using this land regularly for cricket, football or athletics. This ‘dog in the manger’ policy of the education authorities sounded the death knell of an admirable village organization.
Personally I have good reason to remember and cherish this wonderful organization. December 24, Christmas eve 1957, is a date deeply etched in my memory. At about 7 a.m. when I drowsily looked for the Ceylon Daily News which was delivered to our home every morning, I found it shredded to bits by a garden fowl that had settled on it. It was common to see our free run hens lay eggs at all places including chairs and even the beds.
It was indeed typical of an all male home of a motherless foursome of teenage brothers living with their father and grandfather. I had missed the good news that this paper had for me.
However, a few moments later there was a virtual invasion of our home by a large group of members of the Wingers Club led by Walter Rupasinghe, the younger brother of Edward Rupasinghe. The others in the group included Oliver and Ratna Almeida, Marshall, Jayasena, Jayasiri, W.A.C. Perera, P.P. de Silva and Victor Henry. They were all smiles and shouting ‘Congratulations’ all the way.
When my brothers and I expressed surprise, Walter asked me, ‘Did you read the good news in the Daily News? I then showed them the newspaper that was in shreds. But they had brought a copy along. In the front page one of the headlines read, ‘Three New Probationary ASP’s.’ The text read as follows:
“The Public Service Commission has announced the selection of the following three candidates to be appointed as Assistant Superintendents of Police in order of merit: Mr. S.D.E.S Gunawardena, Mr. P. Mahendran and Mr. E.S.R. David.
We all had a sumptuous breakfast of hoppers, String hoppers, sambol and plantains. All this had been brought by the crowd to celebrate the occasion. And then it was back to routine — football until the sun became too hot. Such was the wonderful camaraderie among the membership of Wingers.
I entered the Police Training School Kalutara on the 15` February 1958. Sometime before this date, the Wingers organized a formal reception for me at the residence of Mr. Edmund Caldera who was the President of the Club. Respected citizens of the village too had been invited. It was indeed an evening of music and fun. Several speeches were also made. Many of those present expressed surprise that a young man of 23 had become an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
The highest ranking officer that most of them had seen or heard of was Sub-Inspector V. T. Dickman who was the Officer-in-charge of Welikada Police Station. Battaramulla then came under the Welikada Police. The memento that was presented to me that night was a Gold Capped Parker 51 set. I still have the pen in good condition.
The guest artiste to keep the musical show alive on this occasion was Police Sergeant Wally Bastians. But this reputed baila singer did not know what the occasion was. I was to meet him later when in 1959 1 was attached to Colombo West as the understudy to R.A. Stork who was the ASP of the area. Wally Bastian then was a live wire in the Colombo Traffic Circus that conducted hilarious Street Shows to promote good road manners. It is a great pity indeed that a popular artiste of the caliber of this great exponent of baila could not live to see the cassette and DVD age.
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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