Features
Writing the Soulbury Constitution
Excerpted from A Cabinet Secretary’s Memoirs by BP Peiris
It was war time. Villavarayan was Legal Draftsman, H. N. G Fernando second in command and I next. Constitutional reforms were in the air and D.S. Senanayake and Governor Caldecott were in correspondence with the Colonial Office in London regarding the grant of Independence to Ceylon. The Colonial Office would not hear of drafting constitutions while they were in the midst of a war and told D.S. bluntly that they had no draftsmen to spare.
D.S. had told them that he had draftsmen in Ceylon and would have the draft Order in Council prepared. And so it was agreed with peace on both sides. It is not necessary here to refer to the correspondence between the Governor and the Secretary of State for the Colonies which has already been published in the Sessional Papers of Government.
Villavarayan was expecting, as was his right, to be asked at any time, to begin the drafting of the Constitution. He had given up reading his Greek and Latin and was looking into treaties on constitutional Law and Cabinet Government. D.S. in the meantime, having told the Colonial Office that he would produce the goods, was putting the Criminal Investigation Department behind every draftsman to enable him to decide which man should be entrusted with the drafting and could be trusted to keep the drafting a top secret.
I heard this later from Sir Charles Collins who was, at that time Adviser to the Government on Administrative Changes. The Police dossier, I am told, ran something like this:
Villavarayan – Classics man from Oxford.
Fernando – Oxford and Orient Club
Peiris – No Clubs
Abeysundera – One-time Private Secretary to D.S.
Namasivayam – Oxford, Grandson of Arunachalam
De Silva – Son of Geo De Silva, Member, State Council
Mahadeva – Grandson of Ramanthan
I was also told that D.S. was reluctant to entrust the drafting to a clubman or a Tamil.One day, Legal Secretary Nihill summoned me and said that he had been instructed by the Colonial Office to draft the Constitution. He could not do it personally as he was not a draftsman. He asked me whether I was willing to undertake the task. I agreed provided I was relieved of all other work, in which case, I suggested he should speak to Villavarayan.
As he was about to take up the telephone, I got up to leave and he beckoned me to be seated. “It will be easier and less embarrassing”, he said. Villavarayan was reluctant to release me in view of the work I had in hand, and Nihill told him that this was a decision by D.S. and that this work was far more important and far more urgent than any major Bill. Villavarayan was forced to agree to my immediate release and I was gazetted as an Assistant to the Legal Secretary.
D.S. had asked that I be warned that if one line of what I was drafting leaked out, I would be “hanged by the neck.” Nihill asked me to lock up even my blotting paper whenever I left my room and gave me the key of his safe. I started drafting – Clifford Pereira’s (lawyer/astrologer consulted by Peiris) fifth correct forecast!
My instructions were quite clear. I was to keep strictly within the “documents in the case”. These were the documents usually known as the Ministers’ Draft, the Report of the Soulbury Commission, and the White Paper embodying the decisions of His Majesty’s Government as an officer on special duty in the Legal Secretary’s Department. I had nothing to do with the other matters that department normally dealt with.
In these circumstances, and in view of other distractions like the telephone, I asked Nihill whether it was necessary that the drafting should be done in the office. He said he didn’t care where I did the drafting. He wanted the draft as quickly as possible. My study at home now became my office and, about once in every two weeks, I came from Panadura to Hultsdorp to look up necessary references in the library. The fact that I was drafting the Constitution was kept secret by my colleagues.
I had undertaken responsible work and I had to be careful. Many were the times I drafted a clause and tore it up. In the face of D.S.’s threat to hang me, I was unable to consult any of my colleagues when I was in a drafting difficulty. I had to rely on myself. There was no one I could take into my confidence. I struggled alone, sometimes tearing sheet after sheet of foolscap.
Many small but difficult points arose for consideration. The Ministers’ Draft, which had been prepared by Sir Ivor Jennings, was in a most confusing form as a draft and, although it contained all the essential points, had to be entirely redrafted. It had to be divided into Parts, each Part coming into operation on a different day.
For example, one Part come into operation on the date on which the Order in Council was published in the Gazette, another, on a date to be appointed by the Governor being a date not earlier than nine months from the date of publication of the Order, another on an appointed date not later than the date on which the names of members elected to the first House of Representatives were published in the Gazette, and another on the date of the first meeting of the House.
The Royal Power of Veto with regard to Bills had not been exercised in the United Kingdom since the days of Queen Anne, but the Power, though not exercised, was in every Dominion Constitution. Should I go outside my instructions and include it? I decided to do so, but at the final revision, D.S. with his horse sense said “Why should we include a Power which has not been exercised” and deleted it.
And now, after months of dreary but interesting work, the draft was coming to an end. When it was completed, I borrowed a typewriter and typed three copies of it. I am no typist and all the work was done with one finger of each hand. This was a slow and painful business which took me a very long time as the draft went into 52 pages of foolscap. The spacing was sometimes wrong; the alignment of the paragraphs was not always correct; there was much miss-typing, but the typing at last came to an end and I was happy.
Apart from the difficulties of drafting, I had to contend with other difficulties. I was drafting at Panadura in wartime and my petrol ration for an Austin Eight was two gallons a month. Telegrams were still going between Nihill and the Colonial Office over the drafting and, one night, I was asked to come at once to the Galle Face Hotel where Nihill was staying, as an urgent telegram had come from the Secretary of State.
I told him I was unable to come as I had no petrol in my tank and there was no train which I could use. When I met him the next day., he thought it preposterous that I should be given only two gallons of petrol a month and wrote, with his own hand, a letter to the Petrol Controller saying that I was engaged on matters of high state which could not be disclosed and asking that I be given all the petrol I needed.
This was too precious a letter for me to part with and I held on to it for the duration of the war. Armed with a copy, I went to see the Controller. I have spoken earlier about courtesy in high places, for example, among the Supreme Court Judges. Now, to my surprise, I came across a small man in boots that were too big for him. On the way to the general office, I passed three notices which said prominently in red “No interviews today” and entered a working room presided over by the person I thought was the Office Assistant.
I saw a man walking among the clerks’ desks smoking a cigarette but he took no notice of me. I kept standing at a table until, at last, he came to me and said rudely “No interviews”. I asked him whether he was the Office Assistant and he repeated what he had said earlier. I repeated my question a little louder and he answered “Yes” in a very superior voice.
Speaking staccato, I said “If you are, read this. Here’s a copy for your file. I want the original. Send me twenty-five gallons’ coupons to the Legal Secretary’s Office” and left. Why cannot public servants be courteous when courtesy costs nothing? I have noticed that it is always the small man, promoted, who tries to throw his weight about. The big men are there because they are big and they know the rules.
I informed Nihill and Drayton that I had completed the draft. They were both happy and requested me to come to Nuwara Eliya in a few day’s time with five copies of the draft. I was asked not to stay at any hotel as I was carrying secret papers. I told Nihill that I had only three copies of the draft, that I had typed them myself and that it was impossible, within the time allowed, to type the two extra copies required.
Drayton was surprised when he heard that I had typed the draft myself. He said that typing was not my job and asked the Civil Defence Commissioner, Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, to give me immediately a confidential stenographer-typist who could be entrusted with a most secret job. O.E.G., ever ready to help, sent me his own man, Basil A. R. Candappa and, with Candappa at my house typing till four in the morning, we produced the required number of copies in time. The two extra copies were intended for D.S. and Jennings who were in the background.
When I had the five copies, I sent the following note to Drayton as Nihill had suddenly gone to England for a couple of days for consultations:
C. S.
On Mr Nihill’s instructions five copies of the draft Order-in Council have been typed. Mr Nihill left with me the annexed note re distribution of copies and asked me to hand all the copies to you.
Drayton minuted back: My dear Peiris,
Thank you. I have distributed accordingly. A good piece of work I think and now for the Elections O in C:
Yours sincerely
Robert Drayton
On Nihill’s return, I reported at Nuwara Eliya. Drayton and Nihill were at the Lodge. I was at Lakshmi Mahal, the residence of Mr Walter Salgado of Panadura, a fully furnished luxurious place with grand piano, which he was kind enough to place at my disposal.
My hours of work at the Lodge were from 9 a.m. till 7 p.m. with a break of one hour for lunch before which gin was served. At about 6 p.m. the whisky came round. My one regret was that when at last our labours had come to an end and I invited Drayton and Nihill over to my place for a drink, Drayton very politely refused saying that they should not put me to any trouble. Drayton scrutinized my draft with a magnifying glass and found few faults. Nihill, not having been a draftsman, was more or less silent unless a matter of law was being discussed.
After the whisky, with my papers in my bag, I used to drive to the Public Service Club as I was mentally tired and wished to have a game of billiards. When I reached the Club, I gave my bag to the Bar keeper to be locked up. My name was then put on the billiards board as a player waiting for a game. All the members of the Club knew that I was engaged in some official work – what the nature of the work was they did not know.
And, although my game was about midnight, each game being of half an hour’s duration, the members were kind enough to accommodate me. As soon as the first after my arrival was over, one of them who was down to play the next game would invite me to take his place, and this happened night after night, with the result that I was able to get back home for an early dinner and bed and be fresh for the next day’s drafting.
There was only one unfortunate incident – the club sponger. The membership consisted mainly of clerks but there was one ‘Staff Officer’ who played bridge and not billiards, and the bridge section was on the other side of the Bar. He had the knack and the habit of coming into the billiards section with an empty glass in his hand just at the moment when a round of drinks was about to be ordered. How he timed his visit was never found out and the poor, foolish clerks, in ordering the next round of drinks, which they could afford with difficulty, would include the staff officer.
The high-up would then collect his glass and return to the bridge room; and this process was repeated three or four times a day. I noticed this technique about my third day at the club and asked the clerks whether the old boy ever stood them a drink, His salary was five or six times theirs, and they said “Never”. I said “Watch it, chaps, next round” and held a pow-wow with the bar keeper. It happened as I expected; he came and stood, empty glass in hand.
From the high bench I raised my hand and the bar keeper brought a tray of drinks for everyone in the room, less one. Someone asked whose round of drinks this was and was told “Mr Peiris”. The tray was taken round and, when it came to serving the Staff Officer, the Bar Keeper skipped him. He went back to the bridge room and was not seen in the billiards section thereafter. I received the grateful thanks of the others for helping them to get rid of a pest.
The draft as finally approved by Drayton and Nihill had now to be submitted to D.S. who was being advised by Jennings. These secret meetings were held at Temple Trees which was not then what it is now. Jennings has related this part of the story elsewhere. We were all seated round a small oval dining room table and D.S., with Jennings to assist him went through the entire Order in Council clause by clause.
At times, D.S. was so suspicious about some phraseology that I had used that Drayton, Nihill and I felt that we were suspected of ‘cooking up’ the draft to give effect to some secret instructions received by Nihill from the Secretary of State. The fact was that the three of us were, strictly, agents for His Majesty’s Government while Jennings was agent for D.S. Whenever there was a slight difference of opinion among the lawyers on a question of legal interpretation, was it not natural for the layman D.S. to feel that his agent’s interpretation was the correct one?
There was no love lost between the two European officials, on the one hand, and the Vice-Chancellor, on the other. The native officials appeared to be there, like an air-cushion, to soften the blows. When after thrust and counter-thrust, complete agreement was reached by both parties, Candappa again typed the final wax sheets. This was necessary because, I believe, the Colonial Office required 15 copies.
The 52 wax sheets had to be carefully checked before they could be rolled off the machine, and that was a task I couldn’t handle single-handed.
Some outsider had to be taken into my confidence (there had been no leak and my neck was still intact) and that outsider had to be a person who was very good in his English, who was unlikely to go to a club and blab, and who, above all, had not the slightest interest in anything political. There was only one such I could think of – my friend Alexis Roberts who figures prominently in these Memoirs.
He lived at Auburnside at Dehiwala by the sea. On a full-moon night I took my wax sheets and went to him with a bottle of whisky. Stretched out on the lawn on a tarpaulin and cushions, the sea breeze keeping us cool and the whisky keeping us warm, he read the fifty-two pages of manuscript slowly with the aid of a reading lamp on a very long lead, while I kept my eyes glued on the wax sheets. The reading went on till four in the morning, with frequent intermissions, when we felt we had to wet the whistle if we were to survive.
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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