Anura Kumara and the NPP government seem to be talking about the China visit with more fanfare than Anura’s India visit. The NPP government seems to be trying to portray the Hambantota Oil Refinery as an achievement during Anura’s China visit and the Port City Convention Center as an achievement during Anura’s China visit.
No matter how much the NPP government boasts about these achievements, the stories Anura made about Chinese projects in Sri Lanka when he was in opposition are going viral on social media. Below are the stories Anura made about Sinopec and Port City when he was in opposition. Below is Anura’s answer to the question of Port City in an interview with The Morning newspaper.
“There has been a lot of talk about the Port City over the past few weeks. Some allege that your criticism of the Port City is biased. Isn’t foreign investment needed for the country, especially in the years to come following the pandemic? We need investments on two grounds: one is technology and the other is capital. We are not a political movement that completely rejects investments. But Sri Lanka already has many institutions and regulations that work heavily in favour of the investors.”.
“One is the Board of Investment (BOI) and the BOI Act. The tax relief provided to investors is determined by the Strategic Development Projects Act. The Act gave tax relief to Shangri-La in 2008. The same Act also gave tax reliefs to the Hambantota Port, after it was sold by (former Prime Minister and current United National Party [UNP] Leader) Ranil Wickremesinghe. Some taxes in the port were even completely waived off for 28 years. Other taxes were halved for 15 years. When the full tax revenue can be levied on the Hambantota Port, Wickremesinghe won’t even be alive, since it would take approximately 43 years until the complete taxes can be received”.
“However, due to the Port City Bill, seven of the country’s acts have no power over that land. Another 14 can be amended at any time. That means a place is being built that is not governed by the country’s common law and is not under the Parliament. The power of making laws, which is with the Parliament, shifts to the commission. The other main thing is that the control of public finances is with the Parliament. That control is not with Parliament upon the enactment of this Bill (in this context). An investment zone usually does not have residents. But this has residents. We know that any place that has residents is controlled by elected leaders.”
“But the Port City would be controlled by the commission. It also has the potential to be part of the black market. The Port City is not part of the Government’s economic development plan. We all know the problems that the world has with China. Thus, this is part of China’s economic development plan to serve its geopolitical ends. We must not let any country use our land for their geopolitical games. Some have even said that the Port City is the turning point of our country’s economy. Sri Lanka is a land which has over 65,600 square kilometres, a population of over 20 million, and numerous resources. If development does not stem from there, then why are we placing all of our bets on a small, filled-up land off our shore? J.R. Jayawardena said he would turn around our economy, the Hambantota Port was supposed to turn around our economy, but what is the result now?”
Below is Anura’s statement about Sinopec in Parliament.
During today’s parliamentary session, NPP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake asserted that China’s Sinopec project, aiming to establish 250 petrol sheds, does not constitute a genuine investment. He argued that local businessman Dudley Sirisena could have undertaken a similar endeavour if provided with the opportunity.
Addressing the Parliament, Dissanayake emphasized that a legitimate investment should contribute technology and capital to the country. He raised questions about the nature of the Chinese company’s initiative to set up 250 petrol sheds for fuel sales, questioning whether it truly qualifies as an investment that brings technological advancements or capital infusion.
“The Chinese company was given a chance to open 250 petrol sheds to sell fuel. Is it an investment? Is it an intake of technology or capital? Even Dudley Sirisena could have opened 250 petrol sheds. It is not an investment,” he declared.
Below is the statement made by Anura that the port was a Chinese colony.
Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated today (16) that no one has given the President the authority to allow Port City to become a Chinese colony.
“The people never gave a mandate to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa or his government to build a Chinese territory that will have long-term negative impacts on the country,” he said today at a media briefing.
He alleged that the Colombo Port City Economic Commission is to be established due to the need of the China Harbour Engineering Company to fall in line with the Chinese geopolitical economic vision.
“At present, there are issues between India and China. If Sri Lanka works with one country and works according to its geopolitical programme, we will have to be prepared for the threats from the other country,” Dissanayake said.
“Only the people have the right to make key decisions for the country, and that is why the JVP filed an application with the Supreme Court seeking an order for a referendum for the passage of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill,” he said, adding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government has not been given the right to slice-off parts of Sri Lanka as they fancy.
Through these statements, Anura pointed out the danger of Chinese projects. He enlightened the people about the port, Sinopec and explaining the damage it would cause to the country. He made these statements not in the distant past. I was recently from 2021 to 2023. People gave power to Anura and NPP in the hope that Anura would prevent the damage caused to the country by Chinese projects. No such thing has happened with China. Anura had agreed to continue what Rajapakse and Ranil agreed projects with China. This is despite the danger that the Chinese projects that Anura said were posing to Sri Lanka when he was in the opposition. The MOU that Anura signed when he went to China has not yet been revealed to Sri Lanka. Previously, the MoUs signed by Mahinda, Maithripala, Ranil, and Dinesh when they went to China were announced when they ended the Chinese visit. The MoUs for Anura’s visit to China are still a mystery.
