Features
The Ceylon Civil Service
by Gamini Seneviratne
(continued)
And then, quite suddenly, I was posted to Nuwara Eliya.
Such sudden moves tended to become a part of my stay in the public service. In this case it had been due (truthfully) to ‘exigencies of service’: the headquarters DRO (Divisional Revenue Officer) had been transferred out, the Kachcheri was short of a land officer, the assistant food controller (AFC) had been interdicted – an extra hand was needed and readily available next door in Badulla.
My boss, Nissanka Wijewardena, decided to take me over himself en route to his weekly visit home. He introduced me to the people I should know – the District Judge cum Magistrate, the Police Superintendent (SP), the Secretary of the Tennis Club, a Miss Callender (?). And to the family he (and I) were staying with for the night, friends of his and relatives of the Prime Minister, Mrs. Bandaranaike.
It was a very pleasant place. Conversation at dinner though tended to be about ‘that’ or ‘this’ nice girl from Ladies or Kandy High School or Bishops or – well I don’t recall any mention of goday schools like Visakha. “’She’ wanted to ‘do law’ or something. ‘What’s the point, aney? – it’s not as if they are starving!” At Badulla, despite the protection I had, living with a family, there were some feelers about “that lovely girl who plays tennis – and her father, myee, the best Advocate in all of Uva and rich-when-you-say!”
The next morning, I moved into the Kachcheri – along with Amarawansa Bandara Elkaduwa, the new GA. We walked into a right nasty row between two MPs of the ruling party on how the assets of the Nuwara Eliya/Walapane Cooperative Union were to be divided when they split up. I came to know more about it when my friend at the Archives, Haris de Silva, threatened with the prospect of being ‘floored’ in his own room, found a room for me in the chummery where his senior, A Dewarajah lodged together with P B W Kinigama the ACCD (Assistant Commissioner of Cooperative Development).
I shall return to that scene later; right here I shall dispose of the ‘referees’ I was given. The Tennis Club was not my scene though my father had distinguished himself at that sport. (He defeated the All-Ceylon Champion, Koo de Saram, in an exhibition game a bare week after Koo had defeated Frank Sedgman also in an exhibition game. Sedgman was returning home to Oz after winning Wimbledon and may have been a bit bow-legged after weeks on the ship).
I had never played that game and the only acquaintance we had with each other was when friend Jothilingam, our college Captain, at a loss because his players were late, asked me to serve to him. My first serve spun past him and the second was a spinning slice that took his glasses off and there was Jothi pursuing my bicycle demanding that I come for practices. (That was in the 1950s – yes, long before Evonne Goolagong used them to win Wimbledon: tennis historians, please note).
The District Judge cum Magistrate was not at all like Badulla’s Mr. Swaris. On the second day on the bench with him, the court stenographer being absent, he began recording the proceedings himself in long hand. His mis-recording favoured the guilty party, the plantation manager, and when I suggested that I be excused from court duty he did not lift his head.
As for the SP, Superintendent of Police, I discovered that protocol required him to salute me, as being the next in line to the GA, there being no AGA. The OA, Thomas Ranasinghe, (incidentally a devotee of Black Arrack then at Rs. 5/- and of a quality unobtainable today except at Dankotuwa and Paiyagala) told me that within his district the GA, and in his absence the AGA, out-ranked the heads of the armed forces and the police.
Nissanka departed early that morning. I next met him at my wife’s maternal grandmother’s funeral in Malkaduwawa and discovered that his brother, Aravinda, was married to my wife’s junior first cousin. Aravinda proved to be an unusual entrepreneur – he produced pencils for school children and others entirely from raw material obtainable here. (When I moved to Industries I ‘put the question’ to the Ceylon Pencil Company, an entirely foreign-owned monopoly and, red with embarrassment, they managed to make pencils using local materials – the wood, the graphite, the gum from the cashew.) Nissanka died last year at 95+.
In its early years the Divisional Revenue Officers (DRO) were, in ‘the Kandyan Districts’ an off-shoot of the Sinhala system of Rate Mahattayas. Unlike the others who came in through a competitive examination, the Kandyan DROs were recruited by what might be said to be an interview. They were of or from around the areas they served, knew the MPs, monks, vidanes and others who, consciously or not, commanded such power as was needed for the conduct of affairs. The Kandyan DROs also took part in the election of the Diyawadana Nilame (DN) – and that, in itself conferred a marker of prestige on them. As will be seen below they did a good job on the whole.
To return to the lodging arrangements that followed, the headquarters DRO, George Abeygoonasekera, was in the process of moving out of that bungalow on Lady McCullum’s Drive and his successor, D Ramanayake, did not wish to move in there. I came to know George and his predecessor, T B M Ekanayake (self-styled ‘Te Bona Mudiyanselage’ – TBM) rather well over the next few months. George saw me not long before the general election of 1965 when I was at the Ministry of Finance handling establishment matters for the lower orders of the new Ceylon Administrative Service (CAS).
He looked quite ill, told me that he’d like to retire on medical grounds. I have related that interview in its particulars in these pages a decade or more ago. (I next met him when he was Chairman of COPE – I was head of a State Corporation at the time). His successor at Nuwara Eliya misread the gaetum between public servants and politicians, chose to challenge the MP of Walapane, the Division to which he had himself moved. He lost at every parliamentary election there and J R finally gave him the sinecure that the Land Reform Commission had by then become.
T B M ‘rose’ as is said, in the public service and ten years after we had left Nuwara Eliya he, as a Senior Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Defense and External Affairs, phoned to tell me that the Prime Minister (Mrs. Bandaranaike again) was looking for an energetic officer to set up a new Department for the Registration of Persons, would I come? I had been moved to the Ministry of Industries a bare month before and suggested he take up that task himself. Which he did and made a marvelous job of it.
Nuwara Eliya also boasted of another DRO who achieved distinction in another field: Wimalaratne Kumaragama, one of the great poets of the Colombo school. He presided over Kotmale from offices and a bungalow in Sankilikpalama. Those two structures need to be mentioned kind of in tandem, one on either side of the road facing each other. Kumaragama worked from home. The Chief Clerk brought up to him such files, letters, petitions as he thought the boss needed to see; he dealt with the rest himself in one way or another.
It was always good to see him – at the Kachcheri or the Public Servants Club or in Kotmale. As happened, my transfer out of Nuwara Eliya coincided with his death. To the next issue of ‘Peradeni Kavi’ / Poetry Peradeniya, I contributed ‘A Salute to Kumaragama’.
Nuwara Eliya was being served at the time by a colourful group of public servants, most of them there on a bachelor basis. Our chummery was always full, well, for the few days each week or fortnight each of them found work in the district. The interstices were occupied by ‘circuits’ to inspect on-going work/problems, usually close to the district boundary in one direction or another, on the way home to Kandy, Colombo or somewhere in between.
Among them were Kinigama, aforementioned, Neil Fernando (Lumpy) the Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services (ACAS) and Leslie Herath, Assistant Superintendent of Surveys who stayed at Bernard Goonaratnayake’s. Renowned in his schooldays as a ruggerite, Bernard was a Land Officer. Lokka Dissanaike, Vet Surgeon, lived some distance away with his young family. Sonny Kiridena, Park Superintendent, and his wife offered us pleasant hours and sumptuous meals from time to time.
In due course Sonny became an advisor to ruling Sheikhs, Leslie, whose expertise was in underground surveys, became Chairman of the CEB and also head os an environmental agency based in Bangkok and Neil became head of Public Administration and a UN functionary in Nepal.
Features
The heart-friendly health minister
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.
Features
A LOVING TRIBUTE TO JESUIT FR. ALOYSIUS PIERIS ON HIS 90th BIRTHDAY
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.
Features
A fairy tale, success or debacle
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 . )