Ceylon Today Editorial

‘Taming’ MR’s white elephant

23 December 2016

Our lead story yesterday was that the Chinese firm, which, presumably will be given/one of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's white elephant projects, namely the Hambantota Port project, is on the undertaking that it will not be used for military purposes. Rajapaksa's costly white elephant projects such as the Hambantota Port is a cost to each of the island's 21.1 million citizens. It's a cost, because it was built after obtaining a multi-million US dollar loan from China. And it was not a concessional loan, but a commercial loan.

It's also a cost, because there is no return on investment (ROI) from this port. There is no ROI because there is no market for such a port. When J.R. Jayewardene developed Colombo Port, he had a market in mind, namely India. And Jayewardene's investment paid dividends. West of Singapore, in the Afro-Asian region, it may not be wrong to say that Colombo and Dubai are the only transshipment ports in that part of the world's geographical locality.

Only Rajapaksa knows, apart from Hambantota being the 'Rajapaksa' electorate, as to why an international seaport was built in Hambantota, when his own electorate is also taxed to repay this commercial loan for this white elephant project of his. The reason for giving the Chinese the port is, as the collateral 'seized' or taken over, because of the Government of Sri Lanka's (GoSL's) inability to repay this debt. That is a prudent move by GoSL. Another Rajapaksa white elephant is the Mattala International Airport, once more built with commercial loan money from China, with no market to cater to.

Considering global sensitivities, firstly from India, and then from the USA, it was a prudent move by GoSL to tell the Chinese that the Port should not be used for military purposes. Two other factors may need to be cleared.  Is this Chinese 'firm' which has been 'allowed to seize its collateral' for the 'non-repayment' of the Hambantota Port loan and possibly as repayment for other of Rajapaksa's white elephant Chinese commercial loans as well, to be operated by a Chinese private sector company or a Chinese State-owned enterprise?

According to Professor Razeen Sally, a Sri Lankan working as an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Chinese state capitalists invest in a country with strings attached, whereas in the case of the Chinese entrepreneurial class, which was professional, that that was no so. (Ceylon FT of 22 December, 2015). With virtually all of the commercial loans taken from China by Rajapaksa being from Beijing, i.e. the Chinese State, naturally, the Hambantota Port may not be an exception, i.e. that money for that investment too having had been obtained from the Chinese State and not from a Chinese private bank or a public quoted bank in China where the majority ownership is with the public and not by the Chinese Government.

Therefore, for all intents and purposes that 'Chinese firm' referred to in the lead story of this newspaper's yesterday's edition is that that Chinese investor in question is a firm controlled by the Chinese State and not by its private sector. Sally at a lecture delivered in Colombo on Tuesday (20 December) warned that dabbling with China's State capitalism risks creating an oligarchy in Colombo/Sri Lanka. Theirs (Chinese State's) is a 'no holds' barred operation, the speaker, an economist by profession, inferred.

Our lead story quoting Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama said that the government has informed the Chinese that the port couldn't be used for military purposes. Telling them that may not be enough, Samarawickrama may also have to go that extra mile by not only informing that Chinese company that the Hambantota facility cannot be used for military purposes, but also get a written guarantee from that 'firm' that it will not be used for such a purpose. Probably, a tall order on poor Samarawickrama's shoulders given the economic stagnation that the country is facing and China being the only possible source available to come to Colombo's succour.

Sally, in the course of his speech, said that Sri Lanka acts in such a way as if the whole world owes it a favour. But, if the rest of the world doesn't act in its favour, one cannot find fault with Samarawickrama by not asking for a written guarantee from Beijing that Hambantota will be a demilitarized port.

If such a request meets with a rebuttal, whom else can Colombo turn to? 'If you can't beat them, join them.' That was Jayewardene's Delhi doctrine after the Indian military violated Sri Lanka's air space in July 1987. One cannot fault Colombo if it acts that way too vis-à-vis Beijing, if in the event the whole world turns a blind eye to Sri Lanka economic woes.

Daily News Editorial

Devapriya, a confused man

23 December 2016

Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya, like his SLFP colleague Dilan Perera, never misses an opportunity to demonstrate his antipathy towards the UNP. The Chief Minister, like Perera, has a special dislike for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and everything that represents the UNP, never mind that the post of Chief Minister he now holds, with all its perks and privileges, was a direct outcome of the 13th Amendment enacted under a UNP government. In fact the Perera, Devapriya duo have today become the standard bearers of the SLFP, even more so than the President himself.

Devapriya has taken exception to the UNP using the President’s photographs at party events and talks as if he has secured the patent rights for President Sirisena and the UNP had better keeps its hands off their leader. “President Sirisena is also the SLFP leader and therefore the UNP cannot use President Sirisena to promote its political party”, he said addressing a media briefing on Wednesday. Devapriya apparently is all mixed up, seeing the woods for the trees. He has failed to comprehend that what we have is a unity government, read National Government. Both major parties are stakeholders in this National Government and hence the UNP has as much a right to display the photograph of the leader of this government as much as the SLFP, at all functions associated with development. The UNP has never displayed President Sirisena’s photograph at political events, though some of these functions associated with development may at times take on a political hue. There was no picture of the President seen anywhere when he graced the UNP’s annual convention. In any event, the Grand Old Party, which preceded the SLFP, and boasts of a rich political tradition certainly can do without the photographs of leaders of other political parties for its events.

At the same briefing, the Chief Minister, though, went onto grudgingly acknowledge the UNP’s contribution towards the victory of the Common Candidate but goes onto qualify this by claiming that it was only because the UNP did not have a proper leader capable of defeating former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Devapriya, if he is honest with himself, should admit that he was firmly planted in the Rajapaksa camp during the last Presidential election and not only backed the former President to the hilt but also cast aspersions on the CC. The Chief Minister, with fellow travellers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila, was not only a vocal critic of the person whom he now embraces and wants to protect from the wiles of the UNP, but also went along with the large scale vilification campaign that was carried out against the CC without raising a murmur of protest. It is laughable indeed that the self same Devapriya has today become an ardent disciple of the very individual he strove to defeat at the hustings.

Devapriya, hence, has no moral right to talk about who should and who should not use the President’s photographs at their party events. He goes onto gloss over the UNPs contribution to the victory of the Common Candidate in a clear attempt at obfuscation. He his fully aware that it was not just through the UNP votes that the CC was elected but that it was the Greens that were in charge of the entire election campaign and had to overcome severe odds, including a highly adverse media blitzkrieg, state terrorism and the entire state machinery, not to mention the extreme violence at the hands of the Rajapaksa juggernaut in which many party supporters were killed or injured.

Therefore, Devapriya should acknowledge that, if not for the UNP’s massive contribution towards the victory of the CC, he would not be the Chief Minister today, having secured the post with the grace of President Sirisena, who was elected President through the UNP votes and sacrifice of the party. The President himself has cleared the air on the matter on countless occasions for Devapriya’s edification. Hence the UNP is more than entitled to use the President’s picture at their own choosing and the sooner Devapriya comes to terms with this fact, the better it will be for the political health of those who are baying for the UNP’s blood.

The Chief Minister, also at the same media briefing, goes onto state that the UNPers were trying to mislead the SLFPers into believing that the President supported them (UNP). As the leader of the SLFP, President Sirisena, it goes without saying, has to boost the prospects of his own party. But this does not detract from the President’s own admission that he was propelled to power by the UNP and that he was ever grateful for that. President Sirisena since assuming the Presidency has attended both UNP annual conventions, and what is more, on the eve of the General Elections, all but gave the green light for a UNP victory, by cutting the grass from the under the feet of the UPFA campaign leader. How the SLFP interprets this is up to individuals such as Devapriya.

The Island Editorial

The dragon laughs

23 December 2016

 

Time was when Sri Lankans thought they were blessed with more grey matter than their Chinese counterparts. Their superiority complex is evident in a popular local expression which they still habitually use on being told a tall tale: konde bendapu cheennunta kiyapan— ‘go tell it to the Chinese with chignons’. But, today, the Chinese sans chignons, smartly dressed in western attire, have turned the tables on Sri Lankans who think no end of themselves and have underestimated the power of Confucianism.

India, which gave a RAW deal to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for being pro-Chinese and allegedly went to the extent of helping topple him last year, has got a raw deal from its darling, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government, which is desperate for Chinese funds for its survival. The current political leaders opposed the Chinese funded Port City, which was under construction at the time of the last presidential election and inveighed against the Rajapaksa government for appeasing China at the expense of the country’s sovereignty and relations with India and the western block. But, today, they have made a complete volte-face; they have not only authorised the resumption of the construction of the Port City but also allowed the Chinese company concerned to reclaim more land from the sea! Whoever would have thought the bigmouths of the incumbent regime would grovel before the Chinese? China has also got the Hambantota port and 15,000 acres in that area at bargain prices as it were. It couldn’t have asked for more! It has outfoxed not only Sri Lankan politicians but also their foreign allies.

China having thus got the best of both worlds, it will be interesting to see the reaction of India, the US and others, which helped engineer last year’s regime change here, to the handover of the Hambantota port and thousands of acres in its vicinity to the Chinese, their common enemy. Their silence is baffling. The Hambantota port is of strategic importance to China in that it lies close to its energy routes as is only too well known.

China’s rivals, however, cannot be expected to take it lying down. Now, Sri Lanka is of more strategic importance to them with China having secured the Hambantota port. They usually don’t baulk at anything in their efforts to protect their interests; they have a history of even bombing countries back into the Stone Age for that purpose. One wonders whether they have made a virtue of necessity by allowing the cash-strapped Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government, which they certainly cannot help financially, to strike the controversial port deal with China so that they can use it to gain a foothold in Trincomalee and/or Mattala? There is no way the government can refuse if they want to have a permanent presence here. If what is feared comes to pass—absit omen!—this country will become another battleground for world powers and find itself in the same predicament as the proverbial monkey which placed itself between two elephants engaged in a fierce clash, as we argued in this space the other day.

The Joint Opposition (JO), consisting of UPFA politicians loyal to the Rajapaksas, is in a quandary as regards the controversial Hambantota deal. The JO big guns cannot back it openly as they do not want to irk the public and lose votes as a result; they cannot oppose it either because of their strong bonds with China, which has been solidly behind them. Their mild criticism of the deal is sickening. They are floating like bees and stinging like butterflies while the government is suppressing workers’ rights, crushing labour struggles, endorsing attacks on the media and forcing the public into submission so as to curry favour with China and obtain loans.

Sri Lankans should stop using the aforesaid Chinese-with-chignons expression, which is no longer valid. Their own government has taken them for asses! It is said that people get the governments they deserve.