Editorial

Tea snapshot

Published

3 years ago

2023/06/4

The publication of Merril. J. Fernando’s autobiography last month is a useful peg to hang a discussion on the Ceylon tea industry – we advisedly call it Ceylon tea rather than Sri Lanka tea – as the former is the name by which this unique product is known globally. Merril Fernando, of course, needs no introduction. He is very well known in this country as the creator of the Dilmah brand he coined from the names of his two sons, Dilhan and Malik, which he took to the world outside making it the best known nationally owned tea brand in Sri Lanka. As we said in a review of the book last Sunday, MJF is not the country’s biggest tea exporter but his is the best known nationally-owned brand of Ceylon tea in the tea drinking world.

During the British colonial years and the early post-Independence period, tea was our major export and foreign exchange earner. But decades ago garments overtook tea and also, remittances from blue collar workers striking out overseas to support their families back home became a reckonable factor in the country’s foreign exchange budget. Net earnings from tea, obviously, was far higher than what garments, that had by far become the country’s largest manufacturing industry fairly quickly, brought in. That was because the imported input into tea was a fraction of what the clothing factories had to import to manufacture their product. This included not only fabrics but much more. The labour was the major value adding factor in the domestic garment industry.

The major imported input into the tea industry is fertilizer. Like garments, tea growing too is a labour intensive industry. Onetime Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel who presented 10 national budget for the J.R. Jayewardene regime from 1977 to 1988 once famously said that Sri Lanka’s economy sits on a tripod of women workers – those slaving on the tea fields, working in the garment factories and venturing out as domestic servants largely to the Middle East. Never were truer words spoken. The British brought in indentured Tamil labour from India to work on their tea estates under harsh conditions because the upcountry peasantry was reluctant for various reasons to work on the plantations. These were created at tremendous environmental cost on land sold for a pittance under the infamous Waste Lands Ordinance of 1840.

This stipulated that “all forest, waste, unoccupied or uncultivated land was to be presumed to be the property of the Crown until the contrary is proved.” This resulted in the denuding of the country’s mountain slopes clothed with montane rain forests providing the sponge-like catchments for the rivers flowing through the valleys. The price paid was irreparable ecological damage to first plant coffee and then tea. The upcountry peasantry lost their common grazing land and much more to this despoliation that brought fame and fortune to British plantation owning companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange. Ceylon tea soon earned the reputation of being the world’s best and Merril. J. Fernando in his memorable over six decade long journey through the industry retains at age 92 a passion for the product that was the foundation of his success.

Apart from very readable accounts of his upbringing and early years covered in the book, Fernando has dwelt on the exploitation of Ceylon tea by the British whose chief focus was the bottom line. He writes that during the period of his training as a tea-taster in the UK he was greatly distressed “by the ruthless exploitation of our tea industry and its workers that took place in London.” He had developed a great respect for the British as a result of his friendship with many Brits resident her e as well as his employers who controlled much of the tea export trade. But all that was shaken when he realized what was being done in London to Ceylon tea by the British who dominated the global tea trade in Mincing Lane, “the world’s undisputed tea center controlling and manipulating the distribution and marketing of tea from grower countries.” He says that resulted in producers, especially those in Ceylon, being held to ransom adding that we were then more vulnerable to market manipulation than any other grower as about 90% of national production was being exported, a large proportion going to the UK.

A major service rendered to Ceylon tea by Merril Fernando was his resistance to efforts to make Sri Lanka a so-called ‘tea hub’ by importing cheap teas and blending them with Ceylon tea. This would have been a profitable business but at the cost of both the unique character and reputation of Ceylon tea. In the middle seventies, as result of the JVPs 1971 adventure attributed by the then rulers to land hunger, the land reform laws compelled the sale 150,000 acres of British-owned sterling estates at a price of Rs. 1,125 an acre (pounds 42 and 50 pence). It was agreed that the compensation would be “prompt, effective (meaning may be remitted) and adequate.” Payment was concluded over four years. Rather than alleviate land hunger, the plantations were vested in two monolithic state corporation, the Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation and the Janatha Estates Development Board.

Despite the presence of 23 Regional Plantation Companies managing state-owned plantations leased to them in 14 regions, 70% of Sri Lanka’s tea is produced by nearly half a million smallholders mostly in the low country. Today the industry is hard-pressed for labour with the tea workers lot way below minimum norms. But the industry remains a vital segment of the Sri Lankan economy.

All News Advertisement

Up Next

Babes in arms

Don't Miss

Virus and moral failure

Click to comment

Editorial

Govt. drops fig leaf

Published

16 hours ago

2026/04/11

Thilina Walpola

Saturday 11th April, 2026

The JVP-NPP government has dropped the fig leaf of good governance and defended Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody allegedly involved in a coal procurement scam, which has cost the state coffers billions of rupees and caused a huge drop in the national power supply. It went so far as to defeat a no-faith motion against him in Parliament yesterday. In 2023, the JVP/NPP vehemently condemned the then SLPP-UNP government for defending Minister Keheliya Rambukwella allegedly involved in a pharmaceutical procurement scandal. It has just done what it vilified its predecessor for.

The SLPP-UNP government at least allowed legal action to be taken against Rambukwella, who was arrested, remanded and prosecuted, but the incumbent administration has ensured that Jayakody remains above the law.

The no-faith motion was a smart move by the Opposition. It caused the government to make a mockery of its commitment to upholding the rule of law and accountability. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake himself defended his friend, Jayakody, in Parliament on Tuesday, sending a clear signal to the NPP parliamentary group; they had to vote en bloc against the no-faith motion on Friday. It is now clear that the JVP-NPP government has no qualms about defending tainted politicians.

The coal scam will not go away simply because the no-faith motion against Jayakody has been defeated. Governments abuse their parliamentary majorities to defend their members and protect their interests. Now, the Opposition will take the coal issue to the streets and flog it hard to gain political mileage. It held a demonstration near Parliament yesterday. It has got hold of something to beat the government with.

There is no way the government can prove its claim that there has been no wrongdoing on its part where the low-grade coal imports are concerned. The National Audit Office itself has pointed out serious procurement irregularities related to coal imports. Power tariffs will have to be increased again to meet the additional cost of operating oil-fired power plants to make up for the generation shortfall at Norochcholai. It has been reported that Sri Lanka’s household electricity tariffs are among the highest in South Asia, and further power tariff hikes will make the situation far worse, and Sri Lanka will have its work cut out to attract foreign investors who factor in power prices before parking their money in any investment destination. Ordinary Sri Lankans are struggling to make ends meet, and their patience is wearing thin, and this will make the task of mobilising popular support easier for the Opposition. It was people’s economic hardships and public protests that made the JVP’s meteoric rise to power possible in 2024.

Governments with supermajorities succumb to the arrogance of power and ruin things for themselves. The best way out of the current coal imbroglio would have been for the JVP-NPP government to ask Minister Jayakody to step down and let the national anti-graft commission and the police institute legal action against him. Such a course of action would have helped the government convince the public that it was serious about fulfilling its pledge to eliminate bribery and corruption and send a clear message to the corrupt elements in its ranks that they would not be protected.

The JVP/NPP is now without any moral right to be critical of former Presidents who defended their cronies involved in corrupt deals. A fish is said to rot from the head down.

Editorial

Corrupt vs Corrupt

Published

2 days ago

2026/04/10

Thilina Walpola

Friday 10th April, 2026

A motion of no confidence against Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody is scheduled to be taken up in Parliament, today. The JVP-NPP government, which came to power promising to eliminate bribery and corruption and cleanse Parliament, finds itself in an unenviable position. It assured the public that its members would be above suspicion, but it is now in the dock over a corrupt deal. It has chosen to defend Minister Jayakody indicted of corruption and allegedly involved in a corrupt coal procurement deal. The only way the JVP/NPP can extricate itself from the current imbroglio is to ask Minister Jayakody to step down.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake badly dented his good governance credentials on Tuesday by claiming in Parliament that the low-quality of coal imports had caused a drop in electricity generation at the Norochcholai power plant, but there had been no irregularities in the coal procurement process. He sought to fix the blame squarely on the coal supplier. He was obviously defending his friend, Jayakody, caught in a cleft stick. Interestingly, no sooner had he made that claim than the National Audit Office released its report on the coal procurement process revealing very serious irregularities therein. This official document has helped knock the bottom out of the government’s argument in defence of Minister Jayakody.

Keheliya Rambukwella and several Health Ministry panjandrums who served under him were arrested, remanded and prosecuted for their involvement in the procurement of substandard medicines which caused huge losses to the state coffers. So, why Minister Jayakody and his officials have not been dealt with in a similar manner over the coal scam defies comprehension. There is a prima facie case against them. The JVP-NPP government has made a mockery of its commitment to upholding the rule of law and accountability. The SLPP-UNP government ruined its chances of winning elections by defending Rambukwella and defeating a no-faith motion against him in 2023. The JVP-NPP administration is doing something similar.

The worst is yet to come where the adverse impact of the coal scam is concerned. Electricity tariffs will have to be increased again to recover the additional cost of burning diesel to produce more than 150 MW of electricity a day to make up for the Norochcholai generation shortfall caused by low-grade coal imports, independent experts have pointed out, warning of power cuts in a few months. The Opposition has stated that unofficial load shedding is already on. It has produced documentary proof in support of its claim.

More information about the Health Ministry procurement rackets came to light after the defeat of the no-faith motion against Rambukwella. Similarly, the magnitude of the coal procurement scam is yet to be determined. JVP/NPP politicians are known for their glib tongue, but they will not be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the resentful public battered by the soaring cost of living.

Two-thirds parliamentary majorities are apparently accursed in this country. Governments with such steamroller majorities indulge in corruption, succumb to the arrogance of power, which blinds them to reality, and dig their own political graves. They remind us of Lord Acton’s words of wisdom about the corruptive nature of power. One may recall that the SLFP-led United Front government, which abused its two-thirds majority, had a Humpty-Dumpty-style fall in 1977.

The Mahinda Rajapaksa government, which had a razor-thin majority, defeated the LTTE, developed the economy, implemented many development projects and lived up to the people’s expectation, but it failed pathetically after securing a second term and mustering a two-thirds majority in 2010. It became a metaphor for corruption, and suffered a catastrophic fall. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa government also became a victim of its two-thirds majority, so to speak. The JVP-NPP government is moving in the same direction, defending corrupt politicians and covering up crooked deals.

Ironically, many key Opposition figures who are flaying the JVP-NPP government for corruption and trying to engineer its ouster are themselves facing allegations of corruption. The people seem to have little option but to set thieves to catch thieves.

Editorial

Interval in hell

Published

3 days ago

2026/04/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

Thursday 9th April, 2026

The whole world must have heaved a huge sigh of relief yesterday when the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with Israel consenting to follow suit. Pakistan deserves praise for a timely intervention to de-escalate the West Asian conflict and prepare the ground for negotiations aimed at working out a lasting solution.

However, the situation is far from right as rain. What we are witnessing in the trouble-torn West Asia, which is red in tooth and claw, is an interval in hell, so to speak. Over the past several days, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash hell on Iran unless the Hormuz Strait is reopened for international navigation. Hell hath no fury like a US President piqued, one may say with apologies to the Bard. There are some contentious issues to be resolved for a durable solution to be negotiated.

Iran has put forth 10 conditions and the US 15 for ending the conflict peacefully. It is now up to the other world powers and the UN to step in and ratchet up pressure on the US, Israel and Iran to reach a middle ground, without resuming hostilities, and give peace a chance. They ought to do so for their own sake. Occasions were not rare when the world experienced the so-called butterfly effect, or the phenomenon whereby a minute localised change in a complex system has large effects elsewhere. But what it has recently witnessed in West Asia may be described as the Pterosaur effect, as it were, the impact of the conflict on the rest of the world being so huge. Oil prices soared, making economies around the world scream. Some leading economists even warned of possible global stagflation risks in case of prolonged energy shocks from the Iran war. Oil prices came down significantly following the announcement of the ceasefire, but it is highly unlikely that they will return to the pre-conflict level of USD 70 a barrel any time soon due to irreparable damage suffered by critical energy infrastructure in the region. This has been the cost of US-Israeli military aggression.

Long dead as Mahatma Gandhi is, a core tenet of his teachings, nonviolent resistance, lives on today. What the Iranians adopted yesterday to protect their power plants, bridges, etc., vis-à-vis US President Trump’s threat to destroy them in a matter of a few hours was the Gandhian method of countering violence with nonviolence. According to media reports, a large number of Iranians gathered around potential US/Israeli targets, appealing to the conscience of the Americans. Whether their conscience-stirring method was the reason why Trump decided against carrying out his threat to annihilate the Iranian civilization in one fell swoop is a moot point, but blowing up infrastructural facilities together with thousands of unarmed civilians is something that no leader, other than someone like Hitler, can bring himself to do. Trump is already facing protests in the US against his war and has incurred international opprobrium for US aggression. Most of all, an attempt to wipe out a whole civilization would have triggered a spate of retaliatory attacks by Iran on multi-billion dollar US assets in the region.

It is ironic that the Iranian authorities who mercilessly ordered crackdowns on civilian protests before the eruption of the conflict had to urge the people to come out in their thousands and form human chains around infrastructural facilities to protect them.

One thing we gather from the West Asian conflict is that some elderly leaders’ dreams can become nightmares for others, especially the youth. Driven by his MAGA dream, Trump is trying to build an empire and grab the precious oil resources of other nations. He has graduated from abductions (in Venezuela) to assassinations (in Iran) in a bid to realise his goal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that a 40-year-old dream came true for him when he and Trump started attacking Iran. The Iranian leaders have also been dreaming of obliterating Israel. These dangerous dreams of ageing leaders remind us of Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth: “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? — Only the monstrous anger of the guns …” Perhaps, the best elderly leaders with a penchant for belligerence can do for the world, particularly the youth, who bear the brunt of any war, is to stop dreaming.

It is hoped that the peacemakers who have undertaken the onerous task of reconciling the warring parties in West Asia will not lose sight of the need to address the root cause of the conflict. While welcoming the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire, many seasoned analysts have pointed out that without a resolution of the Palestine question, particularly working towards a two-state solution supported by the UN, broader peace initiatives in West Asia are unlikely to reach fruition.