Features
Sumanthiran punches with both fists in June 8 parliamentary speech
The country is looking to the parliament today for answers to an unprecedented economic crisis that the country is facing. Each time this parliament meets people have expectations that there would be some change, some forward movement to resolve this crisis.
And the people are disappointed because this was a parliament when it was constituted, or soon thereafter. Where there was two third ‘s support for the government. With that 2/3rd support that they gathered, they brought an amendment to the constitution, the 20th amendment, and strengthened the hands of the President, which was by the 19th Amendment taken back to Parliament somewhat; that was reversed.
The President’s own election manifesto in 2019, the “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor” (is a document) I urge everyone in this country to read. You will die laughing before you actually die of hunger, if you read that manifesto and compare it to the state that the country is in today. In the manifesto, before I deal with other matters; the one very specific proposal that he made, at page 36 and 37 in the English version where at page 37, he very specifically says “income tax will be reduced, economic service charge and withholding tax will be scrapped. A simple value added tax of 8 % will be introduced, replacing both the current VAT of 15 % and the Nation building tax of 2 %, PAYE tax will be scrapped and personal income tax will be subject to a ceiling of 15 %, a five-year moratorium will be granted on taxes payable by agriculturist and small and medium enterprises” and so on.
Huge tax reliefs were announced in his election manifesto – it was an election promise. I want to table those two pages, titled chapter 5 “People Centric Economy” page 36 and 37. I am tabling it.
At that time itself, the finance minister of this country, Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, specifically addressed this election promise and he stated that if this proposal is implemented – he did that on October 19, 2019 at a press conference where he addressed the issue of these promises that candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa gave this country.
And what did Mangala Samaraweera say? He said, “If these are implemented Sri Lanka will become like Lebanon and Venezuela. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him, Hon. Mangala Samaraweera is not with us today, but his prediction has come true, his warning has come true. On October 30, 2019 he tweeted – it’s still there in Twitter and I am going to table Mangala Samaraweera’s tweet. This is what he said, “Gota’s tax plan wants to set Sri Lanka on an express train to bankruptcy, default and a Greek-style debt crisis. That change alone equivalent to heath, defense or pensions budgets. Certainly doesn’t need advice for PR agencies conjured business communities”.
So one cannot say that there were no warnings. The Finance Minister of the country at that time said this. The Prime minister now wants to set up a parliamentary budget office. During the last Parliament we had that draft and all of that was set up but it was never presented to Parliament. Recently he asked me for the draft and I have sent it to him, and hope that will be done.
One of the tasks of the parliamentary budget office is that when somebody makes a promise – an election promise – that office will have to immediately calculate the impact of that promise and publish a report saying this is how it will impact the economy. Unfortunately, we did not have the parliamentary budget office to say that, but nevertheless the minister of finance said it more than once. But voters were duped. They were told (they’ll have a) strong country, a strong leader. Do we have a strong leader today? The Easter Sunday attacks were also carried out earlier, and voters were duped. And these tax cuts were actually implemented in December 2019. The single (biggest) reason we are in this predicament today (are those tax cuts). I am not saying that’s the only reason, but that was the trigger, because it was only after that, beginning April 2020 that our ratings started falling.
When the rating started falling, the Central Bank under the Monetary Law gave confidential reports and I believe they cautioned the government that we will not be able to borrow anymore. By July/August 2020, we were shut out of international financial markets. And that’s it! That’s what happened. So the person who alone is responsible for this economic crisis is still the head of government. He is still president. Some people are saying, “No. no. don’t look at this politics – let that be – deal with the economic crisis”… yes of cause, to deal with the economic crisis the wrongdoer must be removed. You can’t keep the wrongdoer, the one who is mostly responsible, in that chair and deal with the crisis.
How can he (remain in that chair)? Why did the prime minister resign? Why did the entire cabinet resign? Why did the governor of the central bank resign? Why did the secretary to the treasury resign? Why did all of that happen? Why did, suddenly, 40 or 42 members who were seated in the government benches declare themselves to be independent? Now this is the new fashion. This Parliament no longer consist of a government side and an opposition side, this Parliament now consist of independent MPs – Independent MPs – a new fashion. Each one stands up says I am independent, as if that is some big thing; some virtuous thing. You need to be independent anyway, that’s another matter, but our system is that of a government and opposition.
That is why we have an aisle in the centre (or this chamber) – that is why our Standing Orders say that we can’t cross that aisle unless we are crossing over – we are changing sides. It doesn’t even say that. It merely says you can’t cross that aisle. This Parliamentary system is one where you have two sides. This Parliamentary system is not one where you have independent MPs. This Parliament has failed if it says everybody sitting here is an independent MP. That is not our system.
So therefore the President must definitely step down; there might be some interim relief that he has got by Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe taking the position of prime minister. Where in the parliamentary democracy do you have this kind of prime minister? He’s a single MP from his party only – one person, (appointed) to give relief to the government that’s at sixes and sevens. The President has lost his mandate, the President is the wrongdoer who caused this huge economic calamity, so he must move, he must step down. Or he must be removed.
The Parliament also has lost its mandate. You had two thirds; what do you have now? Groups within the government, so and so’s group, the other person’s group, another person’s group all calling themselves independent MPs. Parliament has lost its legitimacy, its mandate. There must be an overhaul of this system. But before that, Parliament also needs to be dissolved, it is anyway dissolved into independents. It has been dissolved, I mean in actual fact it is dissolved. So at least formally you must dissolve it now.
So I say to those out there who think that this is merely playing politics: No! it is not. Until you set this right you are not going to even begin to address the economic issue. Every institution has told this country “you know there must be political stability.” How do you have political stability with this parliament of independent MPs? You have no stability at all. We must understand that we are part of a problem now; we are unable to give solutions. People are looking to us for solutions. We are not finding them. We are only crying about our houses being burnt, we are only crying about this, that and the other. We are not giving any solutions. And we can’t give solutions so long as this kind of political instability continues in this country.
Every day of delay in establishing stability costs the country several million dollars. So it must be fixed fast We are part of a problem and we must say “Yes, we’ll dissolve ourselves”, pass a resolution and request the President to dissolve Parliament. One of the biggest promises given by the President himself in his last address to the Nation, he said so, and by the Prime Minister very categorically are that they will do two things, that they will bring back the 19th amendment (to replace) the 20th amendment you brought with such fanfare. The former minister of justice is here, he moved that bill and suddenly he said “no, no, 20th is bad, now we will change it, we will abandon it, we’ll repeal it, we’ll bring back the 19th and then we’ll start the process of abolishing the executive presidency itself.”
Both the President and the prime minister within the last two weeks have given the country that assurance. But where are you now? You can’t even bring back the 19th amendment. Some draft was produced, discussed with us, members of the opposition, the party leaders, with all kinds of dilution. We said alright, still do it, do it! What happened on Monday at the Cabinet meeting? Nothing has come out, you are unable to even give effect to that promise.
A highly watered down version of bringing back the – you call it the 21st, 21st is what Hon. Ranjith Madduma Bandara (SJB) has presented to Parliament. That is a substantial one. Then at least support that to be passed if you are serious about your promises. If you are unable to finalize the draft, if you have no unanimity in the cabinet to do that (then the) cabinet has failed. This Parliament is unable to do anything because there is no one side that can support any reform.
This relief budget will be most welcomed but we will have to look at it to see what there is in it. We are waiting to see what your draft amendment to the constitution is. We will have to wait for it. But the longer we wait, the more serious the economic crisis becomes and those who are affected by that are most ordinary citizens and the poorest of this country. And we don’t seem to think about them or care about them.
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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