Features
Starting my nursing training in beautiful Birmingham
Excerpted from Memories that linger….
by Padmani Mendis
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
(Continued from last week)
There are some who knew Birmingham in the 1950s who would be amused to hear me say that Birmingham was beautiful. It was in physical appearance faded, dull and uninteresting. It was as devoid of culture as it was of green public spaces. It was the second largest city in the UK but it had not been bombed during World War II. As a result, no urgent rebuilding and accompanying redesigning had been called for.
The city stood as it had stood for decades before, spewing smoke from its many factories as the industrial heartland of England. That smoke, spreading out to rest on the many buildings in this congested location, and on the few trees that lay in its path, gave Birmingham a “forever grey” look. After I left Birmingham more than five years later, that look would go. Smoke-free fuel and modern design and architecture would invade. Birmingham would change with my departure and be truly beautiful to the eye.
My use of the adjective “beautiful” describes the city for the full and fulfilling life that it gave me during those five years and four months. The adjective “beautiful” I use to describe the inner heart of the city, deep within its deceptive exterior. It describes the people, their warmth, their friendliness and their unlimited kindness and the resulting impact those had on me. I do believe that much of these experiences lay with the fact that I was one of the first dark faces to be seen in the city.
Later, as with its appearance, so did these beautiful qualities of friendliness and kindness go into reverse gear. After I left, as well as architectural change, racial and ethnic tensions emerged. The Asian and Caribbean invasion had begun. Had I stayed much longer I would not have been able to describe Birmingham as being “beautiful”.
The journey to Birmingham is hazy in my mind. My brother Shatir had spent the night with Emdee in Holland Park. He had come to his bed-sit where I was by taxi and taken me to Paddington in time to catch the Dawn Express. But before we left the room he lifted his mattress and took out a hidden five-pound note which he would use to take me to Birmingham.
A Novice in a Hospital
The rest of the day, 64 years ago I recall as if it were yesterday. Here we were, Shatir and I, standing in the Matron’s office at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, or ROH, Northfield, in South Birmingham. Matron Galbraith was a buxom woman and one that looked formidable, sitting at her desk in her deep blue uniform and white flowing cap. This is the first I had seen of a hospital matron. I learned later that the Matron is the boss of the whole hospital. She ran the hospital and all its staff were answerable to her. The doctors looked after their medical responsibilities. They dared not venture beyond that. The hospital was the Matron’s business.
Without even knowing all that, I could not help but see that in her demeanour as she got up from her seat to come forward and welcome us. “Oh”, she said to Shatir, “You must be this young lady’s brother.” My mother had informed her before that he would bring me to the hospital, how and when. She was expecting us. “Well you can go back to London now. We will look after your sister.” I noticed she dare not say my name. Later she would ask me to pronounce it to her many times and learned to say “Wijeyesekera” quite well.
That desolate feeling I had in the pit of my stomach I neither felt before nor since. I was to be all alone in this strange place with these strange, unfriendly looking people. That I was petrified is too mild a word to use. My brother looked at me and turned to leave the room. Wanting to do that without delay I guess before either of us got too emotional.
As he left the room I ran after him and asked him for his pen. In the middle of all this I remembered that I had forgotten to bring a pen. What would I register my name with if I had to?
Matron was a professional through and through. No time wasted on smiles and trivialities. She called her secretary and asked her to take me to “Miss Burr” in the Nursing School. So the lady did, chatting as we went, feeling for my discomfort and trying to make me feel at home. Miss Burr was the Principal of the Nursing School of the ROH. As we were introduced she smiled in greeting, asked about my journey and whether, “my brother was on his way back to London”. It seemed that they had all been informed of the arrangements.
Miss Burr appeared to be much more pleasant than Matron, I thought. But later, after I had been in her awesome presence more than a couple of times, I found that Matron was an extremely kind and concerned sort of person. I think she had developed this exterior to go with her job.
How it Was in the School of Nursing
Before I knew it, I was standing in a classroom meeting a group of young women dressed in nurses’ uniforms – caps and all. I was in my saree selected specially for this day. The thought came to me that soon I would be just like one of them. The Nursing Course had really started on 20 October. I was a day late to join these young women who would soon be my colleagues and many of them later my friends. Some of us would be together for two years, while some of us would be together for another three. And a few of us still remain friends. Miss Burr then called out to “Nurse Turner” and “Nurse Smith”. A blonde and a brunette with shiny faces, both rather pretty, stood up.
She continued, “Could the two of you take Nurse Wijeyesekera to Mrs. McIntyre in the sewing room now? She is waiting for you and she will fit Nurse Wijeyesekera with her uniform, apron and cap. Then in the afternoon would you take her in to the city and show her where she could purchase her shoes and stockings and any other things that she may like? Don’t forget her tie-pins.” These would be required to hold my apron onto my uniform. The uniform was a pin-stripe in blue and white. Subdued as a nurse’s dress should be.
Off we went to the sewing room. Everybody called her Mrs. Mac it seemed, except the formal Miss Burr. She took all the measurements she required and then said to me, “Come in an hour dear and we will have all these ready for you.”
My response was the typical Ceylonese one – a shaking of the head from side to side to say yes. But in that part of the world this movement is taken as a no. So she said, “Oh she can’t understand English. Isn’t she lovlay?” That is how she said the word lovely in her “Brummie” for Birmingham, accent, At which Val and Jane took cover to hide their giggles. I was probably the first brown face that Mrs. Mac had seen. Also, the first saree for that matter. And it surely would have been so with many of my colleagues at the school and others around the hospital.
While we were being introduced in the classroom Miss Burr took care to point out to me that Lyda and Mahin both came from Persia and Barbara from Jamaica. I noticed that the two Persians were light skinned. So was Barbara because, she told me later, her father had Scottish ancestry and she had his skin colour. So I was the only one with a dark skin.
But then in Birmingham it mattered not at all. Except when, as I will share later, the dark skin was admired and liked and I was the beneficiary of special attention and kindness tinged with a distinct touch of favouritism.
Miss Burr had told us that it was the first time the hospital had accepted young ladies from foreign countries as student nurses. She said that both she and the hospital were happy to have us. She hoped we would be happy at “Woodlands”, as the ROH was referred to fondly.
Making Friends
It was Val Turner and Jane Smith of course who would show me the ways of being a student nurse at Woodlands. We would remain close friends for the rest of our training. What amazes me to this day, however, is that the four of us who had come from lands far away bonded with no delay. Before long the four of us would be inseparable. Lyda has now passed on. Mahin and Barbara and I still communicate frequently. More frequently now. Because earlier it had to be “Skype”. Now “WhatsApp” makes it so much easier. That is not to say that we do not communicate with the British friends we made during those early days in Birmingham. We do. But that special bond the three of us made in Birmingham, not forgetting Lyda, still holds firm. I will come back to them again when I share with you my journey in Jamaica thirty years or so later.
The difficulty of saying my name was too much. So my colleagues soon asked if they could shorten it to – guess what – Padi, just as I was called back home. From my first day at Woodlands as a student I was officially “Nurse’ and soon “Nurse Padi” to all who had to use my name, including the staff and patients at the ROH.
I was a Nurse. I had made a temporary stopover on my way to becoming a physiotherapist. More than that, I had entered the World of Disability. I had started on my life’s journey.
On being a Nurse
The next two years as a student nurse was the most intensive learning period of my life. Real life lessons to teach me to be the human being I wanted to be. Being a nurse in a hospital for disabled people as I was, taught me soon enough that my life’s learning until now was largely background. That background learning was the preliminary which pushed me forward. Pushed me into the practice of acquiring learning and that would take me to the core of knowing what I wanted to be and how to be that person.
Being a nurse to others would teach me to reach the depths of my humanity so that I could reach the depths of another’s distress. To learn the value of the life of each human being as she or he saw it; and the value of working with others at all times so that the person who was in need of care always had of the best. And I gobbled all this learning and put it into practice with a constant hunger for more. This is partly from whence came my enjoyment of being a nurse. And of being with disabled people.
Experiences of a Ward Nurse
After the preliminary two months in the school-learning the basic theory and practice of nursing, we went to work in the wards. I was to start in ward twelve, a long-stay ward for females. I can’t help thinking that Matron would have had me placed here. She would quite likely have thought that starting with old ladies was better for me than starting off with the men.
Sister Taylor, the ward sister, was young and active and brought to the ward the brightness and energy that it needed, as the ladies on long-stay were elderly or old. Most had fractured or arthritic hips that kept them in bed sometimes for six months or more, or even for the rest of their lives. Some had surgery to enable them to get out of bed sooner than others. Others had joint conditions about which nothing could be done. A few had had strokes as a result of which they could neither speak nor walk. Many of these patients would be bedridden forever. Many slept for the greater part of the day.
Mrs. Miller was one of these. She was 96 years old, had a broken hip about which nothing could be done, hardly communicated and spent most of the day sleeping. In keeping with her situation, she had a room to herself. She would not, or could not, cooperate with the nurses. This made nursing care very difficult. Yet she needed total care. She was reputed to be, “the most difficult patient in the ward”.
Sister Taylor soon found out how best she could use me. It was customary that, as soon as the lunch trolley was brought from the kitchen, Sister, with all the nurses walking alongside, would push the trolley along, she herself serving each patient’s portion on to a plate. A nurse would take that meal to a patient. When her trolley came to Mrs. Miller’s room she would call out, “Nurse Padi.” At this call I would have to emerge. With not another word she would hand the plate to me.
Feeding Mrs. Miller was no easy task. “Mrs. Miller, here is a spoonful. Open your mouth… Mrs. Miller, open your mouth,” I would repeat over and over again. Mrs. Miller would at last decide that she would. She would take in a few mouthfuls. And then, just as I said to myself, “Thank goodness she is cooperating today,” with no warning, Mrs. Miller would spit all the food she had accumulated in her mouth out at me.For a 96-year-old her aim was pretty good. My friends back home called me “a born optimist” and I was one now. Each day I thought I had learned to duck the volley. But then Mrs. Miller would cotton on to that and make sure to take better aim the next time. It became a game between us. Or rather, a competition.
Fernao Godhino
During my three months on Ward Six I made a special friend. His name was Fernao Godhino. He was 16 years old and had come all the way from Lisbon, Portugal to have his legs lengthened. Fernao was very short and he wanted to be closer to the height of other young boys of his age. We had an Orthopaedic Surgeon at the ROH who was world renowned for his success at doing this. I never saw Fernao standing up because he was confined to bed both when I arrived in the ward and three months later when I left it. Bill Scrase, the surgeon had already operated on Fernao.
The surgeon had cut across the tibia and fibula which are bones in the calf region of each leg. A machine was placed on the bed alongside Fernao’s legs. Each leg had fixed to it at the broken ends of the bones, two pins, each with a screw. The pins were connected to the machine in a way that a turn of a screw would move the ends of the bones on that leg apart. Sister had the task of turning the screws on each leg on alternate days. She was very fond of Fernao and carried out this task as gently as she could. But as you can imagine, every turn of the screw was sheer agony to Fernao. He would scream in pain. His screams touched all of us. His determination earned our respect and our love, staff and patients alike.
In me it seemed as though Fernao had found a soul-mate. Me away from home as he was. Much of the little free time I had was spent at his bed-side. We would talk about his home and mine. We would even sing softly together common songs that we both knew. But as this closeness grew so did a problem arise. Fernao started to tease me. It was like my brothers back home. He would tease me about me missing my home and family, about me never going back to see them and so on.
One day this was more than I could take. When he started to tease me, I asked him to stop. When he did not, my tears just flowed over. I just wept buckets. Perhaps I was weeping for both of us. What were the two of us doing here? Sister heard the rumpus. She came out of her office to put her arm around me and admonish Fernao. He was in the dog-house for the rest of the day. But the next day Fernao and I were friends. Fernao never teased me again.
Fernao, who to me seemed to be a youth like any other youth and no shorter than any other, has remained in my memory since then. Just like those others from my past who live in my memory. About two years ago I thought that it would be so good if I could speak with Fernao again. So I went to my computer and Googled “Godhino” in Lisbon.
There were a few popping up. I picked one who had made available his contact e-mail. I wrote to him about the Fernao Godhino I knew in Birmingham. “Do you by any chance know of him?” I asked. I got no response. I could not find Fernao again.
(To be continued)
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 . )
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
