'Shouldn’t every Sinhala son of this country be ashamed?' - Sritharan calls for justice

28 June 2022

Tamil National Alliance MP S Sritharan delivered a scathing address to Sri Lanka’s parliament last week, where he denounced the army’s attack on Tamils at a petrol station in Mullaitivu and state-sponsored Buddhist colonization of the North-East in defiance of court orders, and called for justice for both.

Speaking in parliament, the lawmaker described how “fellow citizens belonging to another ethnicity of this country has been savagely attacked by the Sinhala army and Sinhala police”.

“It looked a battlefield when I went to Visvamadu Junction to see it for myself,” he said, referring to the incident in which troops fired shots and beat Tamils who had queued for fuel.

“Where is this country going?” he asked. “Whose country is this? Who has the law in their hands? Who is prepared to abide by the law and behave sincerely according to the law of the country? Can you say that this is the kind of justice and fair play that exists in this country? One exclusive law for the Sinhalese and another for the Tamils and Muslims.”   

Sritharan went on to directly address former Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, stating “the debts you incurred to wage the war and the debts you incurred for procurements of armaments as a result of the war you had waged for thirty to forty years in this country have plunged it to the bottomless ditch”.

He also condemned efforts by the Sri Lankan military and Sinhala Buddhist monks to erect a Buddha statue at Kurunthurmalai in Mullaitivu, which took place despite the presence of a Sri Lankan court order banning any construction activity.

“Five students went missing in Trincomalee,” said Sritharan, referring to the infamous Trinco 5 murder by Sri Lankan soldiers. “The court could do nothing. To this day the international community questions this injustice. But what happens in this country is just the opposite. The verdicts of the courts are insulted.  Isn’t this a shame to the country?”

“Shouldn’t every Sinhala son of this country be ashamed?  Every Sinhala leader should self-search. Isn’t this disgusting?  If a country does not respect a court order, how can you bring justice to this country? How can you create a brotherhood? How are you going to tolerate your fellow countrymen?  Think about it.”

The lawmaker added that even as such activities take place, political prisoners are still dying today, the mothers of the missing are still struggling in the streets today”.

“A particular community for its race, religion and ethnicity is being exterminated deliberately,” he concluded.  

Watch his adress in tamil and read the full text of his translated speech below.
 

_____

Honorable Deputy Speaker!

I would like to record an important incident in today's discussion. On 18th June 2022 at the Visuvamadu filling station in the administrative area of the Mullaitivu district, there was a long queue of people waiting for their turn to get the fuel. It was around 7.30 pm.  A mentally unsound man who was in the queue got involved in an argument with the people there which unfortunately resulted in a commotion. 

At that time some army personnel belonging to the 572nd battalion of Visvamadu rushed to the spot and have dragged away that mentally ill person to their camp and attacked him with clubs and bayonets causing severe bloody wounds.  When some concerned youths from the same area who observed the cruelty went near the army guard and asked for the reason for the attack on that particular person, the army soldiers then threatened the youths and evicted them. Following this a large number of soldiers armed with clubs and sharp weapons, were brought in two heavy vehicles.  They beat hundreds of civilians including women waiting in the fuel queue.  They also assaulted the elderly and the people who were not involved in the incident in any way but walking along the road for their various businesses. Thus, the following six persons, including one from Jaffna were admitted to the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu District Hospitals with serious injuries.

1. Mr. Selvarasa Srikanthan - 43 years old, from Visuvamadu West, Mullaitivu.
2. Mr. Mayilvaganam Jegatheeswaran - 37 years old, from Naganthittam, Punnainiravi, Kilinochchi. He is also the Chairman of the Naganthittama Rural Development Board.
3. Mr. Sasikumar Vidushan. -25 years old, Naganthittam, Punnainiravi from Kilinochchi.
4. Mr. Jegatish Nadarasa, 36, hailing from Udayarkaddu North, Mullaitivu.
5. Mr. Malayandi Dinokaran, 43, of Chundikulam Road, Uzhavanur who incidentally was a  former militant having lost one of his legs while the other leg is in a state of paralysis.

Four of the six victims have been admitted to the Kilinochchi District General Hospital and two at the Mullaitivu District Hospital in police custody.  They are being treated under police supervision. The cruel attacks was carried out on innocent civilians who have been waiting all day to get fuel for their occupational needs...  The barbaric attack on the innocent who were waiting in the queue to get some fuel to carry on their cultivation activities has caused great discontent and outrage among the people of the area.

Following the incident, a large number of armed troops was deployed at three places on the main road mostly frequented by the public - the Vishwamadu junction and near the camp where the incident took place.  The deployment of troops at these places threatens and affects the normal life of the people in the area. Therefore, I urge the President of this country and the relevant minister through this august assembly to take appropriate action against the inhumane attack by the military and thereby provide justice to the victims and prevent military interference at public places like filling stations.

Honorable Deputy Speaker!

In this country there is a protest going on at Galle Face Green. Here too, many of the youth in the south are leading their Sinhala Brethren in the struggle. They push up against the barricades of the Sri Lanka police. They push the military and carry on their democratic struggles. People across the country are waiting in the streets for fuel. When I left Jaffna last night and came to Colombo, the streets were full of people for three or four days.  The streets there were as busy as festival days with women, men and children waiting for fuel.

No one knows where this country is heading to. But this is how the people were waiting for fuel at the farmers' co-operative filling station in the Visvamadu area. It happens to be the only filling station there. Is it wrong and unfair for anyone to ask when a mentally unsound, innocent ignorant young man is taken away by the army and attacked? Should it not be asked?                        

I went there at ten o'clock that night on the 18th. The soldiers were holding clubs behind them. The army personnel were piled up with huge sticks… The police had come there. Yet, the three arrested youths were kept hidden inside the army guard post. When I asked the police, they said they (the army) would give them back to us whereupon we would produce them at the court and get them released. However, they were handed over to the police only the next day - after they had beat the arrestees incessantly, until their arms were broken and physically injured. After that, they were admitted to Mullaitivu Hospital with their hands tied. How many horrific incidents like this are taking place in this country? Here you are talking about fuel. The Hon'ble Minister Manusha Nanayakkara who spoke before me said people in this country are standing in line. People have a thousand odd problems. The regime has not changed however.

You say that we missed the right opportunities. But the fellow citizens belonging to another ethnicity of this country has been savagely attacked by the Sinhala army and Sinhala police. It looked a battlefield when I went to Visvamadu Junction to see it for myself.

Therefore, Hon'ble Deputy Speaker!

Where is this country going? Whose country is this? Who has the law in their hands? Who is prepared to abide by the law and behave sincerely according to the law of the country? Can you say that this is the kind of justice and fair play that exists in this country? One exclusive law for the Sinhalese and another for the Tamils and Muslims. If the fighting youths are Sinhalese, you treat them as your children or youth of the country.   

Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is also present here. Please listen to this.   The debts you incurred to wage the war and the debts you incurred for procurements of armaments as a result of the war you had waged for thirty to forty years in this country have plunged it to the bottomless ditch.

Haven't you thought about the reality of this country yet? Do you still not understand the ground situation prevailing in this country? People are standing in the queues for gas for days, standing in line for fuel and have begun to line up even for their food.  But the army is cracking down on those innocent people for no fault on the peoples’ part.  These are just a tip of the iceberg of the atrocities of the army, who remain concentrated in the North and East upon the Tamil people, who live in an open-air prison-like atmosphere.  Their lands are being confiscated, whilst they are being physically subjugated militarily. 

Particularly speaking, 70 percent of the land in Valikamam North is still in the hands of the military. Hon. Deputy Speaker.  Of course, production levels in this country should be tremendously increased. They say production would have to be carried out. The areas in the north of Valikamam are remarkably famous for betel, vegetable, and cashew plantations, but are yet to be liberated by the military.  The military is engaged in cultivation in lands belonging to the public, without releasing the plots to the owners.  

But, what is everyone talking about in this country? You can use those lands for rice and vegetable farming and thereby improve the economy of the country and the social status of the people.

In that connection, I just want to record here that you cannot establish justice in this country so long as the country is taken forwards with religious fanaticism, racist thoughts and discrimination against one race without realizing the realities in its correct perspective.

Therefore, those who have been attacked want justice. They have been beaten and their limbs have been broken making them immobile in some instances.   The army have beaten and broken the hand of the president of the Punnainiravi Rural Development Board. He is admitted now in the Kilinochchi Jegatheeswaran hospital...   In a similar way, another young man has been beaten with his arm broken. I visited both at the hospital yesterday.  

Therefore, Deputy Speaker!

The greatest anarchy in the form atrocities by the army is taking place on this soil. I would like to present through this House that the United States, India and European countries which are thinking about the current anarchical status of this country.  They should take note of the ongoing violence against the Tamil people by the military and all such acts of violence.

I want to point out a most important point here. Last week at a place known as Kurunthur Hills in the Mullaitivu district, all of a sudden and out of the blue, the military brought hundreds of innocent Sinhalese people accompanied and commanded by Buddhist monks  and paramilitary troops to place a statue of Lord Buddha at the spot of worship where Lord Shiva was worshipped by Hindu Tamil people for many many generations. 

Buddha taught   compassion, love, kindness and brotherhood.  On the contrary these people sought to erect a statue of that noble man Buddha in a bellicose manner occupying the place of another god venerated by Tamil Hindus.  Upon hearing this unjustifiable usurpation, Tamil people of Mullaitivu District and other surrounding districts got themselves congregated there and staged a protest and blocked the erection of the statue. 

Honorable Deputy Speaker!

Doesn’t this seem a bad thing? There is already a restraining order by the court. Mullaitivu court has ordered that the adherents of both religions should not do any construction work here. Can the Buddhist monks in this country with the help of the police erect a statue of a Buddha in defiance of such an explicit court order? So, on whose side the court of law is in this country? Who authorized these people  to violate  the power of the court? I think the court rulings in this country were treated in insult during your tenure. Why I say this is because a person who was given a five year imprisonment is now a minister whereas the critic of the government is serving a jail sentence. In such a dominant environment, this government has the audacity to place a statue of Lord Buddha on the territory in defiance of the judgment given by the court.  How free are the courts here?  Are the views of the court of law are listened and heeded in this country? 

Honorable Deputy Speaker!

A parliament in this country is an august assembly. Laws are passed in this highest council and referred to the courts for implementation. The court issues orders on the basis of the legal enactments. Is it not anarchic that laws or court verdicts cannot be executed or implemented on those orders in this country?

Just because they are Buddhist monks, can they violate the court order? Mullaitivu Neeraviadi Pillaiyar Kovil belonged to Hindus of Tamil origin from time immemorial.  A Buddha statue was forcibly placed there.  When the Buddhist monk who was behind the placing of the Buddha’s statue there died of cancer, they openly took the body to the place and cremated his body there.       

Honorable Deputy Speaker!

A Buddhist monk’s body was cremated there in defiance of a court order. What judgment does this court give to those Buddhist monks today? Five students went missing in Trincomalee. The court could do nothing. To this day the international community questions this injustice. But what happens in this country is just the opposite. The verdicts of the courts are insulted.  Isn’t this a shame to the country?

Shouldn’t every Sinhala son of this country be ashamed?  Every Sinhala leader should self-search. Isn’t this disgusting?  If a country does not respect a court order, how can you bring justice to this country? How can you create a brotherhood? How are you going to tolerate your fellow countrymen?  Think about it. The president pardons the murderer of the Mirusuvil massacre. Maithripala Sirisena when he was president grants amnesty to the same Buddhist monk who was sentenced to prison by the court for arson at Neeraviyadi .   

But political prisoners are still dying today. The mothers of the missing are still struggling in the streets today. A particular community for its race, religion and ethnicity is being exterminated deliberately.  But, in another sense you are committing injustice at Kurunthur hill. I have already recorded the injustice in this council. The karmic reactions will not make you live for the sins you have been doing under the guise of protecting Buddhism. It has been clearly said in Buddhism.

You go to Anuradhapura, Honorable Deputy Speaker!

Buddhism has clearly prescribed the punishments to be meted out when a sinner is sent to hell for the sins he committed.  I did not say this but Buddhism itself says. That person will be thrown into a pot of boiling oil; he will be made to climb an impaling stake; he will be made to climb a thorny tree, etc. etc. These punishments have been depicted in pictures in the Anuradhapura Temple.  Are the Sinhala leaders committing this kind of injustices, having still known these Buddhist edicts depicted in the Anuradhapura temple? Are the Buddhist monks committing this kind of injustices having still known these Buddhist edicts depicted in the Anuradhapura temple? Hence, you had better think again and again about the atrocities your leaders and monks are committing against your fellow citizens.

Therefore, I urge the House to accept at least the views of the courts and uphold justice and fairness.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize here that those who were affected at the Vishvamadu incident must be granted justice. And at the same time, plans are under way to expropriate 400 acres of land at Kurunthur Hill.  The people there also must be provided justice by the government by withdrawing the expropriation

 

Rejuvenating govt. and fuelling expectations

 

by Jehan Perera-2022/06/28

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was expected to turn around the degrading tragic economic situation wherein child malnutrition figures are making Sri Lanka the 7th worst in the world.  The country is living almost on a ‘ship-to-mouth’ basis where the delay of a ship, or the cancellation of a ship bringing fuel, can lead to enormous hardships.  More than six weeks after the new Prime Minister took over, the deadweight he has to pull is turning out to be too much. It is not possible to say that the economic situation has changed for the better. If at all, it has turned worse.  The queues outside the fuel stations that are still open, and only a few remain open, are longer than ever. Most fuel stations are closed.

The progressive shut down of the government continues with the “work from home” policy for government employees being further extended, along with school closures.  The reason being given is to save on fuel stocks.  There are fewer and fewer vehicles on the road due to the inability to find fuel to pump into vehicles.  Schools have been closed for a further two weeks.  It appears that the government is paving the way for the younger generation to be both mentally and physically stunted by lack of adequate nutrition and learning opportunities. Nearly all universities are conducting their classes “online” though the university teachers feel this is an ineffective mode of education.

When Prime Minister Wickremesinghe took over office there was much criticism that he had no moral right to become Prime Minister of a government that was no longer wanted by the people. However, there was a positive expectation that he would make a positive difference with his vast experience of politics, encyclopedic knowledge and international reputation.  There was no other justification, certainly not one that could come from democracy, as his party had been routed at the last general elections in 2020, being reduced overnight from 105 seats to one.  The main justification for him, with his single seat in parliament, to become Prime Minister was to rescue the failing economy.

 

SAYING SORRY

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe joined a government that was tottering due to the mass anger that had erupted on May 9.  On that fateful day there were scenes of uncontrolled violence that gave a grim foreboding of what the future can become.  It was widely believed that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would be the next to step down after his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to step down as Prime Minister following the violence which his party members had instigated.  The President pledged to cobble together an all-party government of not more than 15 members and indicated his readiness to call for fresh general elections and a referendum on abolishing the presidency.

There is today much disappointment and anger that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe joining up with the government gave the President the excuse not to take this path.  There is today a visible consolidation of the government and its past bad practices, including large size and allegations of gross mismanagement.  The size of the Cabinet is presently 20 and there are more to be appointed including controversial persons associated with scams.  There is a further complement of around 20 State and Deputy Ministers.  Latest reports are that there will be district ministers also appointed which would make the grand total exceed 60 at a minimum.

Members of this government are quick to say they are “sorry’ for the mistakes they make.  President Rajapaksa said he is sorry for his mistakes but has said he will stay on for his full term.  The Minister of Power and Energy has emulated the President in saying he is sorry for having given false expectations about a fuel tanker docking last week in the port and easing the fuel shortage.  But now that ship is no longer coming and there is no assurance of when the next shipment will come.  In the meantime, government offices, schools and universities have been ordered to close or restrict their operations.

Apart from an acknowledgment of the wrong committed, an apology also implies two other things—a sincere request for forgiveness and evidence of a change in behaviour.  Alas, these last two elements of being truly sorry are not manifested by Sri Lanka’s political leaders.  They say sorry but continue as before.  The latest manifestation of this characteristic is the landmark 21st Amendment which is ending up to be very different from what it was originally meant to be.  It was hoped to be part of the “system change” that the youth–led Aragalaya protest movement, and larger civil society, have been seeking.  It was to have removed the excessive powers of the presidency and transfer them to parliament.

ELECTIONS SOONER

Unfortunately, the indications are that the 21st Amendment will be doing much less.  It will leave the President as powerful as ever, able to appoint the Prime Minister, ministers and secretaries to ministries and remove them at will.  Armed with this power, the President will be able to determine the course of the government and make decisions as he once did, such as to ban chemical fertilisers and pesticides overnight.  How long Prime Minister Wickremesinghe will be able to continue and retain the President’s confidence in this environment in which he, with his party’s single seat in Parliament, is a big question. He will have to contend with 60-odd ministers in the government and 224 other MPs in Parliament who are not from his party who belong to the old order and will want to keep it that way.

Last week a dialogue between civil society and parliamentarians on the 21st Amendment took place.  The civil society members of the “Collective for Reform ” had labored long and hard to analyse all the civil society proposals with regard to the 21st Amendment and come up with a common minimum set of proposals to present to the parliamentarians.  The proposals they studied included those presented by a plethora of organisations—the Bar Association of Sri Lanka,  March 12 Movement, National Movement for Social Justice, University Teachers’ Association, PAFFREL, Direction Sri Lanka, Second Generation, ebuildSriLanka2022, People’s Constitution through a Participation Mechanism, People’s Struggle Cooperation Movement, Government Physicians Association, Way forward for Young Leaders, Transparency International Sri Lanka, Socialist Student Union, Inter-University Student Federation, Movement for Consumer’s Rights Protection, National Collective Manifesto, Sri Lanka Administrative Services Association, Public Council, Association of Health Professionals, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and Association of Internal Audit Professionals in Sri Lanka.

The parliamentarians who attended the “dialogue” made speeches in which they either claimed the civil society submissions were included in their own submissions, or they spoke on an entirely different track or justified their own conduct in the past and present.  They made their speeches early and left early with only a few of them staying on till the end to listen to the conclusions of civil society. Among those who attended were those who had voted successively for the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Amendments, one contradictory to the other, and now presumably will vote for the watered-down 21st Amendment. The younger generations represented by the Aragalaya protestors have seen through this lack of integrity and policy.  Sri Lanka needs not only a “system change” but also a “politician change” which will best come through elections held sooner rather than later.

 

Sri Lanka HRC has appointed a Special Rapporteur to report on violations of the Rule of Law on 9th and 10th May 2022

Image: Back cover of SL Briefing Note 26-Violent Assault on Peaceful Protest Site “GotaGoGama” &Accountability of Ruling Rajapaksa Family.

By Sri Lanka Brief-28/06/2022

Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission has  appointed a Special Rapporteur to investigate and report to the HRCSL as to whether the law enforcement authorities provided adequate protection to the people, the damaged houses and in an extension of the efforts taken to uphold the rule of law on 9^th and 10^th of May 2022 are adequate and in line with the existing legal framework.

But the Special Rapporteur’s name is not given in the statement issue by HRCSL.

The statement:

On 9^th May 2022, after a discussion at the temple trees (the official residence of the Prime Minister), a group of people attacked two peaceful protests in front of the Temple Trees and Galle Face (in front of the Presidential Secretariat).

Later violence spread all over the country and the properties of politicians and others were targeted and set on fire. The same day a group of prisoners were assaulted by an unidentified group. The HRCSL believed that the 9^th and 10^th of May violations led the country to lawlessness and alleged violation of the rule of law.

Therefore, the HRCSL decided to appoint a Special Rapporteur to investigate and report to the HRCSL as to whether the law enforcement authorities provided adequate protection to the people, the damaged houses and in an extension of the efforts taken to uphold the rule of law on 9^th and 10^th of May 2022 are adequate and in line with the existing legal framework.

Accordingly, the HRCSL appointed a Special Rapporteur for this task, and he has started his mission and is expected to submit his report after concluding its further proceedings.

 

Five investments to look out for in Sri Lanka post-IMF bailout

 

Tuesday, 28 June 2022

Once the US President John F. Kennedy said that when written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters, one represents danger and the other represents opportunity. The Chinese phrase for “crisis” is “Wēijī:” 危机. Wēi, 危, does in fact mean danger, the word Ji (机), represents an incipient moment or crucial point when something begins or changes. Since it can be reinterpreted as, crisis time also is a time when things start to go awry. 

The crisis in Sri Lanka is also an opportunity for the country to bring forward an appropriate fiscal policy framework, vibrant leadership, investor-friendly policies, restructuring of the government sector, etc. The collapse of the Sri Lankan economy was gradually building up due to events in the past such as the civil war, socialist-centric economic policies, poor fiscal regulations, etc. However, the sudden downfall was due to a chain of recent events such as the Easter Sunday attack, COVID, and the Ukraine-Russian conflict, resulting in completely impacting the foreign currency coming in, especially from the tourism industry which annually brings over $ 5-6 billion; also, paying off the maturing ISB loans, global hike in fuel prices and the political instability brought the country to a deadlock.  

The Sri Lankan authorities are now in discussions with the IMF; upon its confirmation, a recovery plan will be implemented while the debt will be restructured. The Government will promote and give priority to export-oriented businesses going forward and as a result prospects of FDI to Sri Lanka will increase following the IMF-proposed debt restructuring. Below is a layout of five projects to look out for: 

1.  The New Fortress Energy 

 The New Fortress Energy Inc. is a global energy infrastructure company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company accelerates the world toward the transition to clean energy and is known globally for expanding LNG infrastructure under Build, Operate, and Transfer agreements. In 2021 New Fortress Energy was interested in expanding its business in Sri Lanka and proposed to build the first offshore US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility and have it running in 12 months. However, due to complications the project was postponed but the interest in this project is still valid as the US LNG producers are working near peer capacity to supply buyers seeking alternatives to Russian gas over the crisis of Ukraine. 

Moreover, shortages of gas and demand for LNG have pushed global prices to new heights and spurred interest in new projects and countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. are emerging markets with a lot of interest in expanding their national energy needs which are connected directly to three deepwater ports in Sri Lanka. 

The agreement which was signed by the New Fortress Energy and the Sri Lanka Government in September 2021, focuses on building a terminal near Colombo. It also highlighted that the proposed LNG terminal will introduce LNG as an alternative source of cleaner energy in a quest to push Sri Lanka towards energy transition. As part of the agreement New Fortress will be given gas supply rights to the Kerawalapitiya Power Complex and will initially provide the Government with an estimated 1.2 million gallons per day of LNG. This will supply both the currently operational 310 MW Yugadanavi and an additional 350 MW at the Yugadanavi Power Plant to start operations from LNG by 2023.

2.  Trincomalee Harbour and the Kurunegala-Trincomalee Expressway

 Over generations, the harbour in Trincomalee was written in many books and publications for its strategic position, geographical formation of the natural submarine canyons, and most importantly the depth of the harbour. The harbour expands to an area of 1,630 hectares in water with a 500-metre-wide entrance making it one of the finest harbours in the world. 

The two Panamax harbours in Sri Lanka, the Colombo Harbour which is known as a transhipment hub and is usually very busy and the Hambantota harbour in the south is developing to be linked to the industrial zone and has less military capabilities as the harbour is cut into the coast to avoid the heavy swells from annual monsoons, and its narrow channel makes the harbour useless for any military operation which gives less interest for global superpowers. However, the Trincomalee Harbour is ideally suited for a military base, yet it’s more likely that it will be developed as an energy harbour. 

The current geopolitical interest in Asia puts the Indian Ocean as a strategic gateway, it is most likely that the US and its allies will engage in expanding its interest towards Trincomalee, and introducing LNG by the New Fortress could be the initial framework. 

However, ultimately the New Fortress Energy could expand its interest to Trincomalee port, which was mostly under the influence of India since 1987, yet the current global dynamics in the Indian Ocean are changing and India is now getting coupled with US businesses. The best example, the recent recoupling of the India-US business council under the US Chamber which is one of the world’s largest business organisations headed by the US Ambassador Atul Keshap, will eventually build more momentum for US business to establish in the region making Sri Lanka an important market for FDIs. 

The inland infrastructure is very vital for improving investments and adding value, and linking the city of Trincomalee to the nation’s highway system would be something the investors and the Government might look into. The current expressway network to Kurunegala is proposed to be extended to Dambulla and to Trincomalee, in order to get all three deep sea ports into one network. The Bay of Bengal will then link to the Arabian Sea via land base corridor, changing global maritime routes forever and creating a lot of investment opportunities for Sri Lanka. 

3.  The Colombo Port City land lease

 The Colombo Port City is one of the major investments in the Indian Ocean which is followed by many investors globally. Since the completion of the land reclamation, the project company identified 74 land plots, out of which 31 were completed in the technical proceedings. Six plots out of 31 will be released to the market first on a 99-year lease basis which can generate up to a $ 600 million investment commitment. As per the agreement between Urban Development Authority, CHEC Port City, and the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry, 286 acres out of a total of 440 acres of the liveable area will be leased to the CHEC Port City on a 99-year lease by the Sri Lankan Government. 

Currently, the port city identifies the ‘Port City Villa Development’ in the land plot of 2-01-01 along with the Board of Investment Sri Lanka in an area of 27 acres with a minimum investment of around $ 400 million. The project also allows foreign investors many benefits including 100% ownership of real estate investments.  

CHEC Port City has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Sri Lankan Government to develop a $ 1 billion worth building complex at Colombo International Financial Centre which will be established within the Port City premises. 

So far, the construction work of a state-of-the-art duty-free shopping mall inside the Port City has already been started by two international companies which will draw another $ 2 billion for the building complex. The US-based Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) was awarded the design contract to do the master plan of the design of the building. 

The Sri Lankan Government approved the proposal to call for proposals to build a hotel, convention centre, hospital, and an international school on the State-owned land plots of Colombo Port City. The CHEC Port City has invested $ 1.4 billion in land reclamation and infrastructure development of the Colombo Port City project which will be an important investment project. In the midst of the crisis the Colombo Port City has been sailing smoothly meeting all the timelines and building the required soft and hard infrastructure. 

 4.  Hambantota Industrial Zone

 The Port Industrial Park holds around 600 acres of dedicated land, which is made available for the setup of businesses and industries. Having the Hambantota Port declared as a free port eases financial burdens in today’s fast-moving day and age for shippers and manufacturers to manage their cargo movement on import, export, and re-export. The Port Industrial Park follows and replicates the success of China Merchants Port’s strategic ‘PPC’ or Port, Park & City model, which was first effectively implemented in the renowned industrial zone – Shekou in Shenzhen, in China. This model has enabled investors to benefit from considerable savings in cost and time as a result of having the port within close proximity to their manufacturing plant 

The industrial park has demarcated and classified three industry clusters, such as Heavy Industries, Light Industries, and Food processing Industries. The main aim of the Hambantota Industrial Zone is to set up any manufacturing industry that’s geared towards exports. Sri Lanka in the midst of two giant economies, India and China, holds strategic importance in mediating the future growth of the region. 

So far, this vibrant development is made to attract investments and in 2020 November the Hambantota International Port Group signed a $ 300 million agreement with China’s Shandong Haohua Tire to manufacture tyres inside the Hambantota Industrial Zone, and is completing ground levelling to start construction, which also aims to employ local labour force and purchase locally sourced rubber. Also, another $ 16 million investment from China’s Shenzhen Xinji Group to set up a plug-and-play “Park in Park” facility in the Port Industrial Park. Shenzhen which is known as China’s Silicon Valley globally is known as a leading city in China and a technology hub, and through this investment, the company aims to transfer skills and technology and begin the production of household electric and electronic appliances. 

In 2020 August the Hambantota Industrial Zone sealed another investment of $ 58 million with Sea Horse Yachts to assemble and export yachts. Sea House Yachts is a Maldivian company that expects to grow around 200 jobs and to make Sri Lanka a pioneer in the boat building industry.  

The newly built Lanwa Sanstha Cement factory is adjacent to the Port Industrial Park and is able to discharge bulk raw materials for the Lanwa Sanstha Cement Factory via belts, and pipelines, and recently installed two cranes to move clinker, gypsum, and slag cargoes from vassals to the factory. The Hambantota-based Lanwa Sanstha Cement factory is able to enter the market with 2.3 million tonnes of capacity making it the largest cement factory in Sri Lanka. Moreover, under the Board of Investment Sri Lanka, another 400-acre land is established as the ‘Pharma Zone’ for investments in the production and exports of locally produced pharmaceuticals 

5.  The Colombo Light Rail

The Colombo light railway system is a long-due project in Colombo. Chinese firm Seoyoung Engineering undertook the feasibility study for the project in November 2017 and submitted it to the Sri Lankan Government in June 2018. However, the project was given the green light by the Sri Lankan Government to carry out with the support of the Japan International Government Corporation Agency (JICA) which is the official government agency for international projects. JICA also agree to offer $ 1.8 billion from the Japanese government under a 40-year repayment term and a 12-year grace period.  

Construction of the first phase of the project is estimated to cost $ 2.2 billion and was scheduled to start in 2020. Commercial operations are expected to start by 2025. However, in 2019 the new government decided to halt the project. The light rail system will include 16 stations at IT Park, Malabe, Thalahena, Lumbini Temple, the National Hospital, Borella, Cotta Road, Rajagiriya, Welikada, Sethsiripaya, Battaramulla, Palanthuna, Robert Gunawardana, Colombo Fort, the transport centre and St. Joseph’s College. The estimated traveling time between Malabe and Colombo Fort was expected to be reduced to 30 minutes from the current 45-90 minutes.

 Observations

The crisis in Sri Lanka is felt at all levels of society and apart from tourism, one of the most urgent solutions is to attract foreign direct investments to build export-oriented industries in Sri Lanka to strengthen the foreign reserves. The Sri Lankan Government urgently needs some breathing space till the negotiations at the IMF and debt restructuring is completed with both the donors as well as the private investors. 

These projects can build some momentum to urgently improve foreign reserves and boost investor confidence. Moreover, when moving forward the current free trade agreements which Sri Lanka ratified as the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, and bilateral Free Trade Agreements with India, Pakistan, and Singapore should be taken into consideration when identifying investments and expanding exports. 

The ongoing negotiations of the Sri Lanka-China Free Trade Agreement could also be an important milestone to maximise Sri Lankan exports to the world’s fastest-growing and second-largest economy. 

(The writer is an independent researcher on maritime affairs and BRI development. He graduated from Dalian Maritime University, and in 2016 was awarded by the Chinese Government a scholarship to complete a Master’s program in Environment and Natural Resources Protection Law at Ocean University of China. He is the co-founder of Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka (BRISL), an independent and pioneering Sri Lankan-led organisation, with strong expertise in BRI advice and support. He can be reached via e-mail: Info@brisl.org.)

 TNA leader says diaspora will only assist in Sri Lanka if Tamil question is solved

 

28 June 2022

R Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said that although the worldwide Tamil diaspora could contribute economically to alleviate the crisis in Sri Lanka, they would not do so unless the ethnic issue on the island is resolved once and for all.

Speaking to Sooriyan FM, Sampanthan said that the main reason for the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka was the absence of a permanent solution to the Tamil national question. The lack of this led to an armed struggle, he continued, adding that the government had to spend a huge amount of money to wage a war on Tamils for 30 years.

Similarly, due to corruption, bribery and non-fulfillment of promises made to the international community, many states around the world still view Sri Lanka with suspicion, he said.

Sampanthan went on to state that the only remedy to the current problem in the country is providing a definite solution with a fair, permanent and durable devolution of power to the Tamil-speaking people. No one has the power to deny the birthright of the Tamil people and they are entitled to demand self-determination, he added, urging Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim leaders to work together and find a solution to the ethnic problem.

Diaspora Tamils ​​can make a difference, the veteran TNA leader continued, but noted that they must first trust the rulers of the country and that they expect a just solution to the ethnic problem. This national issue has remained unresolved for 79 years, he added. Without this happening the diaspora will not be wasting their money.

Speaking on the ongoing anti-government protests in the South, Sampanthan said that they carried a lesson for politicians on the island. The struggle is against corruption, in which the Tamil people must participate and fight together, he added, claiming that there is also a change taking place among the Sinhalese people.

Though Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa pledged to form an expert committee to formulate a new political system for the island when he met with the TNA on March 18, the TNA leader said he was doubtful that any such proposal would be produced.

Instead he called on protestors at Galle Face and other parts of the island to go beyond party differences and find a solution to the ethnic issue. For this to be realized and the country to be built, Sinhalese, Tamils ​​and Muslims must unite together, he added.

He also added that the TNA is undertaking efforts to negotiate with the government and the international community, including India, with regards to a solution to the Tamil national question.

A solution would be coming soon, he added.

 An ‘Essential’ Lesson In ‘Essentiality’

By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody –JUNE 28, 2022

Ruwan Jayakody

Raving tentacles of writhing hopelessness, nourished by seething curses and boiling rage, undulating as they do, from the tributaries of languid bylanes, through to the torrents of main thoroughfares, and across the estuaries of filling stations and distributing centres, only to disgorge into the rapacious maw of dispenser pumps and cylinders, this is what queues in Sri Lanka, be they for fuel or gas, are.

Like the American art rock band, The Velvet Underground’s songwriter Lou Reed’s junkie in ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’, who is feeling “sick and dirty, more dead than alive”, waiting for that fix which is “never early” but “always late”, Sri Lankans too are learning more than they care to, that one has “always gotta wait”. A lot, it seems. “That…that was how I spent the day, just waiting, waiting, waiting…but waiting like a man running amok, senselessly, like an animal, with that headlong, direct persistence.” That was a day in the life of Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig’s obsessive protagonist in ‘Amok’, and it uncannily mirrors that of Sri Lankan citizens.

What is ‘essential’ about this devoted and long wait? There is another answer besides the obvious. Is it that we, the people, as British poet Philip Larkin further observes in ‘Next, Please’, being “always too eager for the future” have picked up the “bad habits of expectancy” of “something always approaching, every day”, something slow, wasteful, “refusing to make haste”, but a “sparkling armada of promises” drawing near, yet leaving us holding the “wretched stalks of disappointment”, as it “no sooner present than it turns to (the) past” or have we found, as American novelist Chuck Palahniuk notes in ‘Choke’, that “after you find out all the things that can go wrong, your life becomes less about living and more about waiting.”

But if Lankans, weary of waiting and entombed within expectation, are expecting the unguent of “an arrival, an explanation, an apology” as a character in American novelist Marilynne Robinson’s “Housekeeping” would have it, such is- in the backdrop of the Power and Energy Ministry Secretary being unaware last week as to why an eagerly awaited stock of 92 Octane Petrol had been delayed despite a previous assurance by the subject Minister – an exercise in abject ‘manna from heaven’ futility.

Instead, they are, of late, being emotionally goaded like the bull is by the toreros, with a lesson on the semantics of ‘essentiality’ by none other than the peoples’ sworn protectors, the law enforcers, the Sri Lanka Police- that is when the latter is not fending off their counterparts in the Army, both groups manning fuel sheds at present, providing ‘security’ for the stations, upon their being deployed as ‘crowd control’ against the helpless and wretched masses who for their part have only managed one incident of genuine bloodletting (a three-wheeler driver knifing a motorcyclist to death), some minor scuffles amongst each other, and major ones with gun toting, sky shooters in khaki and camo who have also claimed a civilian life (Rambukkana).

In a backdrop of video footage being shared on social media platforms of various Police officers, sometimes the same cop, driving multiple vehicles that clearly do not belong to the Police, bypassing queues to the pump, and elsewhere, whisking off with can after fuel can (supposedly to power generators at Police stations during power cuts, per the Police Media Spokesman), and also not lifting a finger against a Government Parliamentarian’s ‘thug gone wild’ brother for obstructing duties, it was observed by the Police Department’s mouthpiece who also is a Senior Superintendent of Police and an Attorney to boot, that while Police officers, owing to the round the clock nature of their work such as responding to 119 calls, other emergencies and investigations, are not encouraged to queue up, the Police would however probe and take action regarding any public complaints replete with express evidence attesting to instances of alleged nepotism, the exertion of undue influence and thereby the misuse of authority on the part of Police officers to procure and secure fuel for family and friends. Duty calls. “So, we cannot afford to have our officers in queues,” the said Spokesman emphasized.

Meaning is derived in part from context. The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘essential’ as something that is completely necessary and extremely important in a particular situation or for a particular activity. By this working definition, it is a given that the Police ‘service’ is of vital essence, but by that same token, so too is the time (for those in queues, this is now measured in days and weeks), and the limited stock quota of fuel (to the degree that it requires the person in the queue to repetitively engage in a Sisyphean rigmarole [it is a rigmarole as one can never really know for certain which shed will receive fuel, how much, when, and of recent times, where the queue even begins]), for the majority of those in queues.

Read More

 

Country in a mess: Recovery possible, but not easy

Wednesday, 29 June 2022 

The country having gone through a heavy lockdown with the COVID pandemic is aiming for another lockdown, with Government offices closed on Fridays and two weeks work-from-home from 20 June. The decision was due to

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

non-availability of fuel for traveling to work. But private sector staff continue working.

The issues started with daily electricity power cuts since 22 February with fuel shortages caused by the foreign exchange crisis. The fuel shortage resulted in queues, which are becoming longer and longer, currently at the peak. In addition, cooking gas shortage led to another set of long queues. Even after price increases, the public are spending days in queues and there are occasional fights at fuel stations. The shortage of FE has affected imports; even medical supplies are running out. 

How did this happen?

People blame President Gotabaya for the mess. True he did some blunders such as reversing taxes imposed on high income groups, heavily reducing State income. He may not have been aware that the increased taxes were imposed in agreement with IMF during the Yahapalanaya regime. Our governments since independence continued expenses over income except for two years, survived with loans. But the loans, also the loan interest, had to be paid, with more and more loans.

Gotabaya refused loans and FE reserves came down. Then came the COVID pandemic. Gotabaya, former Army Commander, may not understand economics, but he fought the pandemic as another war. With the Army’s help, Sri Lanka became among the first countries in the world to defeat the pandemic. But the country’s lockdowns reduced production and exports; meanwhile Government staff salaries remained intact, among few countries to continue. With shortage of funds to import chemical fertiliser for paddy cultivation, he suddenly announced moving over to organic fertiliser in April 2021, which resulted in crashing of paddy cultivation and farmers had no alternative but to protest. Today the Government has reversed organic farming, but chemical fertiliser is only a promise, expected in early July.

To prevent the public from starvation, the Government was forced to import rice mostly from India. It is claimed the Government spent more on importing rice than fertiliser imports.

Poor advice to President 

President Gotabaya was not alone in taking decisions. He was assisted by the Governors of Central Bank, Prof. W.D. Laksman, succeeded by Ajith Nivard Cabraal until Nandalal Weerasinghe took over in April 2022. P.B. Jayasundara was the Secretary to President until Gamini Senarath succeeded in January 2022.

Ajith Nivard Cabraal continued to print money for Government expenses and defended the Rupee/Dollar rate at Rs. 203 exhausting most of the Dollar reserves. Finally when the Dollar was liberated it reached almost Rs. 375, now settled to around Rs. 360, resulting in a Rupee depreciation by almost 75%, forcing the public to face rising food costs and other costs, without salary increases.

Without FE for imports the Government was forced to seek Indian assistance to import oil, gas and others. This year alone it obtained an Indian credit line of $ 500 million and another 200 million later, now all used up and expecting more.

Seeking help from IMF

Nandalal Weerasinghe took over Central Bank Governorship in April and immediately sought IMF help to overcome the crisis and attended IMF discussions in Washington along with former Finance Minister Ali Sabry. Sri Lanka is expected to show proposed steps to overcome the crisis, also ways to settle the loans expected from IMF, including existing loans.

At an online meeting with IMF, the PM agreed to improve local income over expenditure to 1% by 2025. This will require rehabilitation of a large number of State organisations and heavy staff reductions, would sure to create unrest.

For the second round, the IMF team is already here and discussions are taking place. The team would get first-hand knowledge of queues and public unrest. But funds from IMF will be possibly only around August. When IMF agrees, other countries too would look at Sri Lanka more favourably.

Ending gas and fuel queues

The Prime Minister informed Parliament that with $ 80 million from World Bank and $ 20 m from the Treasury, 100,000 tons of gas would be imported next month and gas shortages would end.

Now, petrol prices have been revised to exceed Rs. 500. A car running 12 km from a litre will cost Rs. 40 a km for petrol alone. Most office staff will be forced to move over to bus travel. Three-wheel drivers have found selling petrol by staying in queue earns more than hires. This has resulted in petrol consumption coming down, shortening queues. Housewives will keep the filled gas cylinder in the kitchen, and cook with firewood.

Our politicians could set an example by using a smaller vehicle with a driver and a security guard without escort vehicles.

Renewable energy

The biggest foreign exchange expenditure is the import of oil for electricity generation, which could only be solved by replacing imported oil with renewable power generation using solar, wind, bio-energy and small hydro power, contract awards were suspended by CEB since January 2018.

Now that the Electricity Bill has been amended, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera who had been concentrating on fuel supply, in a public discussion stated that plans for the electricity sector would be made public soon. The Minister who displayed his efficiency, the public expects him to handle CEB and take proper steps to resolve the issues.

First the 1,300 prospective investors capable of generating 4,000 MW of electricity registered and waited for over four years need be permitted to go ahead. But their proposals were based on former Rupee value and payable charges for generated electricity need be increased by 75%. But with increased loan interest rates by banks, some investors may not be willing to continue.

Immediate action

Installing roof-top solar would be the fastest way to reduce oil imports. Currently, CEB allows solar power generation only to the building’s maximum power consumption. The removal of restriction would allow large roofs of storage warehouses to be prioritised for solar installation. Also CEB’s unnecessary restrictions such as environmental approvals, joint inspections and many others, need to be removed. US Aid and Germany have already agreed to provide funds for import of solar panels. Thus, if the Minister initiates a proper plan, generating 1,000 MW from roof-tops within a year, reducing costly thermal power generation during daytime will not be difficult.

Country’s power requirement

The country started solar power plants in 2010 and wind power plants in 2012. With advancing technology solar prices came down in 2015, but CEB stopped RE project approvals in January 2018. Cost of electricity produced with solar is around Rs. 15-20, wind power around Rs. 12 for plants around 10 MW prior to devaluation. The country’s largest RE producer is the Mannar wind farm opened in December 2020, producing 103 MW costing $ 200 million. CEB engineers boasted that power produced cost only around Rs. 6 per unit. What cannot be understood is if the electricity produced is so low, why did not CEB continue with at least five more similar plants? 

Currently coal power costs around Rs. 40 a unit, oil based power over Rs. 60 a unit, some plants reaching Rs. 120. Thus moving away from coal and oil to renewable energy is urgent for the country’s survival.

The country’s peak electricity demand is around 3,000 MW and is expected to reach 4,800 MW by 2030. Of the requirement large hydro produces 1,300 MW and 350 MW with private small hydro plants. Hydro production reduces with low rainfall and balance is managed with coal (900 MW) and oil powered plants.

The current coal and oil based electricity production amounts to 2,000 MW, but considering wavering nature of solar and wind, the country would need a capacity around 3,000 MW under RE and more in following years.

Considering the cost of Mannar wind power plant, a RE power plant would cost around $ 3 million per MW. Thus moving away from coal and oil will require around $ 9,000 million. The Government has requested only $ 4 billion from IMF; then how could the country find $ 9 billion? Thus help from every possible source is urgent.

Visiting Indian team

The Prime Minister informed the Parliament recently that India’s recent assistance amounts to $ 4 billion, whereas SL’s request from IMF too is $ 4 billion. The recently arrived four-member Indian team was expected to finalise another $ 1 billion credit line, for fuel and essential goods. The team has responded by saying it will consider.

MOU with Adani

Recently COPE Committee raised the signing of MOU with Indian company Adani for the generation of 500 MW of electricity with solar and wind power payable in dollars. The CEB Chairman’s behaviour forced him to leave his job; the entire process showed mishandling.

India came to our rescue during the most difficult period and is fair to make a request in return. If Indian PM Modi requested Gotabaya to award a contract to Adani, our Ambassador to India Milinda Moragoda could have discussed the matter with the Indian Energy Minister and signed an agreement nominating Adani as India’s representative. The Cabinet acceptance of agreement between the two countries make tender calling unnecessary.

Wind power in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu just across Palk Strait, the Wind Power leader in India, produces wind power of 7,630 MW, 29% of India’s total. Tamil Nadu’s Muppandal wind-farm capacity 1500 MW is India’s largest.

North-western Sri Lanka especially Mannar region is blessed by the same wind stream, with a massive wind power generating capacity, well over the country’s requirement, needs making use early.

Sharing electricity with India

India imports/exports electricity between neighbouring countries and has issued the “Guidelines for Import/Export (Cross Border) of Electricity 2018”. Presently, India exports electricity to Nepal 700 MW, Bangladesh 1,160 MW and Myanmar 3 MW; also a high capacity link is under discussion. In addition, India imports around 2,000 MW of power from Bhutan.

India claims an interconnection between India and Sri Lanka is under discussion, but our politicians are ignorant. If we discuss and agree with India, the country will receive cheaper electricity around 500 MW within two years, reducing import of expensive oil.

Getting cheaper fuel and gas

Our sole refinery is 40 years old, and could only produce 25% of our needs; thus balance is imported. Meanwhile, one million ton capacity oil tanks in Trincomalee inherited from British idled for 75 years, were recently leased to India.

If we request India to install a large capacity crude oil refinery in Trincomalee as a joint venture, the excess capacity could be sent to India. They could purchase bulk crude oil when market prices are low and stockpile in available tanks. By the time refinery construction is complete in few years, the Russia-Ukraine war would have ended with lower oil prices. 

IMF conditions for the loan

When SL requested funds from IMF, their conditions included rehabilitation of over 40 State organisations who have massively contributed to the current mess. But the organisations were not made public; even the ministers seem unaware of organisations coming under them.

Improving economy

Few years ago, foreign exchange earned through export of garments, tourism and receipt from locals employed abroad balanced the FE requirements. But today, after the COVID pandemic import Dollar prices have gone up, supported by the Russia-Ukraine war. Thus balancing imports is difficult. With better supply of fuel and gas long queues would disappear and tourism will recover. The depreciation of the rupee will make the country be more attractive to tourists. Re-emergence of tourism will improve dollar supply.

Garment exporters claim they could double the exports if sufficient workers are available. A positive side of the current crisis is increased cost of living will force idling girls at home towards employment in the garment sector.

Recently, the Daily FT front page highlighted the possibility of exporting chicken to Singapore if proper chicken feed is available, as import of Malaysian chicken has been banned due to bird flu in Malaysia and Sri Lanka is free from bird flu. Thus the Government needs to come up with incentives to investors to reduce unemployment and increase exports but soon.

Now powdered milk is a rare commodity, but packeted fresh milk is freely available in supermarkets, but at a higher price. In three to four years with the expansion of large cattle farms the country would become self-sufficient in milk products.

Light at the end of tunnel

Sajith Premadasa and JVP are boycotting Parliament sittings for a week claiming Ranil Wickremesinghe has failed to submit proper proposals for the country’s economic recovery. They seem to expect PM to correct blunders of 75 years within six weeks. 

The country’s problems are longstanding. Mainly 1. Expenses over the income since independence. 2. Loading the State organisations with staff under political patronage. 3. State corporations making huge losses while their employees are getting paid heavily. 4. Sinhala-based education neglecting possibilities of future employment.

Sri Lanka expects a loan of $ 4 billion from IMF, the 17th loan. The country’s conditions are far worse and loan conditions too would be tougher, will address above, except the last. But unless the education issue is addressed, students in universities also in Advanced Level classes will have no future and will easily be pushed towards a revolution by JVP and other affiliated organisations.

The agreement with IMF will allow rescheduling existing foreign loans, also receive help from other countries. Already World Bank, ADB, some countries and organisations have helped below $ 100 million each.

Currently, agriculture has crashed without chemical fertiliser. The expected fertiliser in early July would be too late for Yala farmers, but they will still use. The Government is planning to import fertiliser for the Maha season. If they arrive by mid-September the farmers will cultivate every inch with paddy and highlands with corn; by next February the country would be self-sufficient in rice.

The biggest problem facing the country is the purchase of oil for electricity generation, which could only be solved by moving over to renewable energy. We would have achieved same long ago if not for the obstructions by CEB engineers, who were after commissions from private power producers. Meanwhile the politicians were dumb and deaf. When the current Government wished to amend the Electricity Act, the Opposition proposed RE projects under 10 MW be exempted from calling for tenders. If same was implemented anytime after January 2018 when CEB stopped all RE projects, the country would have been in a much safer position.

Reducing Government expenses would require reducing Government staff and rehabilitating State corporations, most making losses; easiest would be discontinuing all casual workers. To secure employment opportunities to future students, the Government needs to convert education to English medium and improve quality. Those already in universities need to be taught English and IT.

Most urgent is moving over to renewable energy eliminating oil imports for power generation. Each day’s delay will cost the country millions of dollars. Now the Electricity Act has been modified allowing negotiated contract awards, instead of calling tenders saving valuable time. First 1,300 investors waiting since 2018, next solar and wind power from Adani and the electricity transmission line from India. But the efficient running of the system will require upgrading power grids to accommodate new generating plants, while keeping a sharp eye on CEB who will wish to sabotage