Features
Speech writing for Mrs. B, mischievous Felix and 1965 general election
Governor General Gopallawa was a pillar of rectitude
(Excerpted from Rendering unto Caesar, by Bradman Weerakoon
Making speeches and preparing for them, was a constant occupational hazard for the prime minister and her staff. The international speeches were clearly the most important from a personal as well as country’s image-building point of view. Sirimavo gained immense credit from a statement she made in Belgrade at the Nonaligned Summit in 1961, when as the first woman prime minister of the world she used the phrase — As a woman and a mother, I call upon the nations of the world to desist from violence in their dealings with each other …’This phrase,was unique as no other world leader up to then could have used it, and was carried in headlines across the world giving Sirimavo and Ceylon a tremendous boost.
The trouble with great phrases is that once they are made, they cannot be used again, or if so, very sparingly. We faced this problem acutely in Cairo in 1964, at the next Non-aligned Summit. Once again, the drafting team was Felix, Glannie and myself Sirimavo had told us in advance that we must try to make it as powerful as the speech that she had done in Belgrade. We tried as hard as we could, but could not come up with any extra-bright ideas as we struggled through the draft for the rest day, a day before the opening. As a break from our labours, that afternoon we went to visit the Cairo Museum. It was eerie, being so physically close to the Pharaohs, dead and mummified, some three thousand years ago.
Late that evening we were still at it trying to find the magic breakthrough. At 9.30 that night Sirimavo peeped into the room on her way to bed and asked, “How are you doing? Have you found anything exciting to say?” At which point, Felix, at his most mischievous, softly said, “No, not yet Sirima. But how would you like to start it like this, now that you are in Cairo, As a woman and a mummy, I call upon, etc, etc.’ Sirimavo yelled at him, “Felix!” as if she could have strangled him and chuckling softly to herself, turned away closing the door behind her.
The Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement
The question of the citizenship rights of the Tamils of Indian origin who worked on the plantations was something always high on Sirimavo’s agenda. She was well aware of the political implications of the issue. She had personal knowledge of the condition of the people working on estates and the sad quality of their lives, from her childhood in the province of Sabaragamuwa, which had a large number of plantations in both tea and rubber. The Federal Party too, had included citizenship of the Indian Tamils as part of their basic four-point minimum agenda.
The Tamils of recent Indian origin, as a group, had been disenfranchised through the Citizenship Acts of 1949. They had little representation in Parliament, and since the 1950s had been represented only through one or two nominated members of Parliament. Soon after independence, in the first Parliament of 1947, they had had as many as 11 representatives in a House of 101 MPs. The legislation of 1949 had removed most of the Indian Tamil voters from the electoral lists in the up-country areas and their representation by Tamil members of Parliament had declined.
This had enabled, what were referred to as the `Kandyan electorates’, to be represented thereafter more by boomiputras – sons of the soil – rather than by representatives who were deemed to have only a marginal interest in Ceylon and a greater loyalty to India. This was the prevalent feeling among a section of the population who were proud to refer to themselves as Kandyan Sinhalese and the last to be brought under British rule in 1815. But, it had left behind a feeling of having been discriminated against, in the minds of the plantation Tamils and was to be a constant factor in their political agenda.
The Federal Party had been quick to make common cause with the plantation Tamils on this account using it as another example of the domineering character of the majority Sinhalese state.
Sirimavo realized that the critical issue in this very complex she had serious concerns, was to come to agreement with India on the specific numbers as to who would become Ceylon citizens and those who would become Indian citizens. On a visit to New Delhi in October 1964, she arrived at a historic settlement of this problem which had long evaded resolution. The Indo-Ceylon Agreement or the Sirima-Shastri Pact, it was popularly called, was undoubtedly the high point during this period of her two terms as the prime minister of the country.
I recall her telephoning me from Delhi to inquire what the reactions were in Colombo about the Agreement which stated that Ceylon would accept 300,000 of these persons as citizens. I believe she was bothered as to whether this number might be regarded as too large. I assured her that considering that there were at the time many as 975,000 persons of Indian origin in Ceylon and that India had accepted to take 525,000 as citizens of India, we had come out rather well in the negotiations.
It would mean in effect that for every four persons of recent Indian origin we took in as citizens, India would take seven. If the Agreement worked out according to plan around 15,000 persons of Indian origin would be repatriated annually over a spread of about 15 years. Things finally did not work out precisely as planned on schedule. But after a while, a regular flow of repatriation took place and the problem which had strained relations between India and Ceylon, and also become a domestic political issue for long, was resolved. It was one of the most notable political and diplomatic achievements that Sirimavo could take credit for.
Her personal touch in foreign relations
Sirimavo evinced great interest in events occurring around the world and brought a personal touch into her dealings with world leaders. Unexpected and dramatic change would affect her in a very personal way. I recall the evident sadness with which she spoke to me on the morning of President Kennedy’s assassination. Her thoughts were of the grieving widow, Jacqueline and the two children Caroline and John junior. It must have brought memories of what she herself had experienced in September 1959.
Frances Willis, the US ambassador had broken the news to her in the early hours of the morning. Frances was the first of a long line of female Heads of the Foreign Missions who came to be appointed for duty in Ceylon at the time on the assumption that they being female, would have easier entry to a woman prime minister than a male ambassador. It did not always work that way, but between Frances and Sirimavo, who were both very dignified in behaviour, there was an excellent rapport.
This certainly helped with all the actions we were taking at the time which were considered adverse to US interests, like the take-over of the oil distribution business which was then shared by the giant transnationals – Shell, Caltex and Mobiloil. At Kennedy’s death, Sirimavo wanted a well-drafted message of sympathy to Jacqueline Kennedy, which was sent by cypher to our ambassador in Washington for handing over. Similarly, the death of Feroze Gandhi, her friend Indira’s husband, also evoked a long and supportive letter of sympathy. She was very good about keeping in touch with her wide circle of friends abroad especially at moments of personal grief
President Tito and his wife Jovanka Broz were also special friends after the many occasions they had been together on the Non-aligned circuit. Yugoslavia was a favourite country of hers, and Sirimavo went as often as she could, both officially and privately, because there she had found a place for effective treatment of the knee problem which troubled her often. She liked the ‘alternative medicine’ method of therapeutic mud-packs, somewhat reminiscent of our own ayurveda which was practised in the clinic in Bratislava on the Adriatic coast. This was the only health problem that she had, throughout the four and a half years of her first premiership. I believe the lift at Temple Trees was installed at this time as she found it very painful, at times when the knee became inflamed, to climb the stairs to her bedroom upstairs. Once or twice, I even had to carry the official files into her room and she would attend to the papers quite cheerily, while propped up in bed.
Administrative Reform at home
Sirimavo made some important changes in public service administration both at the top and the bottom of the ladder. I had a feeling that Felix was very much behind all this. In 1963 after much consideration, the Ceylon Civil Service was abolished and replaced by the Ceylon Administrative Service constructed on broader recruitment base. The writing had been on the wall for a while. The primary reason for the change seemed to be that, Felix particularly, and a few of the other ministers, were not too comfortable with having their chief administrative advisors being people with their own individual minds and opinions.
They would have preferred less debate and more action once the political decisions had been taken. It was not so much obstruction, as the perceived continuing challenge to their authority, which was galling. How much easier it would be if one had more obedient, less intellectually inclined, and less argumentative people to take their orders and carry them out, seemed to be the basic reasoning which the Cabinet accepted.
There was some truth in these suppositions. The Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) which was very much an elite club with its own subculture, still tried to maintain the tradition of the impartial, learned, and omnicompetent advisor. Raw entrants to the service in the post-independence period, were increasingly academically brilliant young men coming in from the rural Maha Vidyalayas. But they were quickly schooled by their peers in the CCS who largely came from the traditional urban public schools, which had earlier produced the base of the service, into the ‘culture’, and became ofttimes stronger keepers of the tradition than their mentors.
After the political revolution of 1956 and the emergence of a new breed of politicians, all this had been under attack. The CCS seemed to be supremely indifferent to the profound changes going on, unless the changes affected their own interests. Radical change in the objectives and methods of governance were afoot. The accent being on delivering what the people at the grassroots wanted, and delivering it quickly. Felix seriously felt that many of the Ceylon Civil Service administrators were too ‘dyed in the wool’ in old-school ways and methods.
What he thought of them was that there was too much of the observance of the letter of the law and not enough sensitivity to the spirit of the new times. In a way there was much truth in what he was saying because the civil servants had the independence of doing things the way they wanted to because of the levels of education and achievement they possessed academically, and also since most of them had independent means. A civil servant was a prized catch for the daughter of a successful businessman or a rich land owner. There were many CC S men of acute intellectual brilliance who had been snared by very rich bus magnates or owners of vast acres of coconut and rubber land. Felix’s point was that with all this acquired wealth behind them would they be able to implement the programme of socialistic reforms the government had in mind?
So without much ado in 1963 all of us civil servants were given the option to retire immediately ‘on abolition of office terms’, or of retiring within the next 10 years on the same generous terms. Several of the older ones left pretty soon while some of the younger ones, like myself, remained to exercise the option at a later stage of our career. Similarly, Sirimavo with Felix’s help, made a strategically important structural change at the bottom of the administrative chain of the highly centralized structure of government in place at the time. This was the abolition of the office of the ‘Village Headman’ and his replacement by the more homely grama sevaka – the servant of the people.
The role of the Governor-General
The results of the general elections called by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1965 were inconclusive. The SLFP-led front had not obtained an outright majority of parliamentary seats. The UNP, among the parties that had contested, had won the most number of seats. Sirimavo who always wanted to scrupulously observe the rules and procedures asked me to prepare the usual letters of resignation of her government.
However there were other political forces at work attempting to persuade her to consider other options, before resigning. One such, put forward by Dr Colvin R de Silva, the astute legal brain of the LSSP, was to hold on and face a vote of confidence when Parliament met in ten days time. The debate was fast and furious and tempers ran high. As usual much was at stake. I recall very clearly the alignment of forces. Those of the Left were arguing for the prime minister to stay on, and let the issue be decided by
Parliament when it met. Others, mainly her family members, like her Private Secretary Mackie, Felix and Lakshmi Bandaranaike and James and Siva Obeysekere, were for her doing, what she wanted to do, which was to resign and allow the governor-general the opportunity to call whomever he thought could form a government, to do so.
The delay in the prime minister resigning was leading to unruly behaviour in the city. Outside in the city. Outside Temple Trees a crowd of people gathered at the gates in support of Sirimavo. I saw my university colleague, the diminutive Stanley Tillekeratne, then an SLFP back-bencher, orating before the restive crowd. Through all this William Gopallawa, the governor-general acted with impeccable integrity.
At times like these, the role of the governor-general in terms of the constitution came into its own. At normal times although the highest in the land protocol-wise, he had no effective power to act on his own. After a general election however, and one which was indecisive, he was endowed with wide discretionary power. He could in his discretion, when informed by the prime minister that she had resigned, summon a leader of a political party to form a government, if in his view that political leader could command the confidence of Parliament. He could also, in circumstances that nobody else could do, call on the resigned prime minister to try to win the support of other parties and produce proof that he/she could command the confidence of the House.
It was an excruciatingly difficult time for Gopallawa. It was Sirimavo who in the aftermath of the failed coup d’etat in 1962, and the removal of Sir Oliver, recommended his name to the Queen for appointment as governor-general. There were links of kinship between the Bandaranaikes and the Gopallawas. The other party, in the wings – the UNP – might deal harshly with him if they came in, since he had been appointed by the SLFP.
None of these considerations bothered Gopallawa when it came to doing his duty. During those critical hours when the country’s fate, hung in the balance as it were, Gopallawa was unshakable in his devotion to duty. Almost every hour he would call me to ask whether the prime minister had made up her mind. Once, in exasperation, he asked me whether he should send over Erskine May, the authoritative book on parliamentary procedure and practice, with the relevant portions highlighted. I begged for time.
I was being given a difficult time by the left members. They resented my advice to Sirimavo that she resign and leave it open to the governor-general to take the matter further. Finally Colvin ordered me to leave the room. I countered that I worked for the prime minister and would only leave if the prime minister asked me to do so. Sirimavo remained calm and said nothing. So I remained.
That night dejected and disappointed at the delay, my car was stoned as I drove down Cotta Road to my home in Rajagiriya. I announced tearfully to Damayanthi that I would be resigning the next day if there was not a proper outcome. Around seven the next morning I had a call from Mackie asking me to come to TT (Temple Trees) as soon as possible as the prime minister had decided to sign the letter. I got back to TT, had the letter signed and was coming down the stairs when I met a small group of those who had been trying to persuade the prime minister to stay on, coming up.
I ignored their rather black looks and went over to Queens House. Gopallawa was much relieved and immediately sent for Dudley to see whether he had the required majority. The hero of the story for me was Gopallawa. His had been a supreme act of patriotism; an act of loyalty to the state which transcended party, kinship and even personal obligation.
Combating money laundering:
Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe has said combating money laundering and countering financing of terrorism will help improve the credibility of the financial system, increase FDIs, enhance access to international financial markets, promote good governance practices and strengthen national security. Accordingly, a Financial Intelligence Unit has been given the opportunity to conduct further investigations into suspected transactions and activities related to money laundering and financing of terrorism.
Money Laundering: A Global Menace
Money laundering is a pervasive global issue that threatens financial systems and undermines the integrity of economies. It involves disguising the origins of illicitly obtained funds to make them appear legitimate. Criminal networks, terrorist organizations, and corrupt officials frequently employ this technique, exploiting weaknesses in financial regulations and enforcement mechanisms. Today we examine the concept of money laundering, its mechanisms, and its impact, supported by notorious examples worldwide, highlighting the need for robust anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks.
Definition and Mechanisms
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) defines money laundering as the process of concealing the illicit origins of funds through a series of transactions designed to obscure the money’s true source. The process typically involves three stages: placement, layering, and integration. Placement introduces illicit money into the financial system, often through cash-intensive businesses or smuggling. Layering involves complex transactions to obscure the trail, such as transferring funds through offshore accounts or shell companies. Finally, integration reintroduces the laundered funds into the legitimate economy as clean money.
The main methods of money laundering include:
Layering: This involves complex financial transactions designed to obscure the origin of the illicit funds. Layering can involve transferring money through various accounts, converting it into different currencies, or using shell companies. The goal is to make tracing the money difficult.
Placement: This is the initial stage where the illegal funds are introduced into the financial system. It often involves depositing large amounts of cash into banks, purchasing assets such as real estate, or using the funds for gambling or investments in legitimate businesses.
Integration: In this stage, the illicit money is integrated into the economy in a way that makes it appear legitimate. This could involve purchasing high-value goods, transferring money across borders, or setting up fake businesses to funnel money in and out.
Smurfing:This involves breaking up large amounts of illegal money into smaller, less suspicious amounts and depositing them in different accounts or financial institutions to avoid detection by regulators or authorities.
Use of Shell Companies:
Criminals create fake companies (shell companies) that don’t engage in any real business. These companies are used to hide the ownership of illegal funds, often moving them through multiple jurisdictions.
Trade-Based Money Laundering:
Criminals manipulate trade transactions, such as over- or under-invoicing, to disguise the movement of money. They may falsely report the value or quantity of goods to justify payments or receive excessive payments from foreign entities.
Cryptocurrency Laundering:
With the rise of digital currencies, criminals use cryptocurrencies to facilitate money laundering, often through exchanges or by using privacy-focused coins to obscure the transaction trail.
Real Estate Laundering:
Criminals buy high-value real estate and then sell it, using the profits to launder the illegal funds. This may involve inflating property values or flipping properties for a higher price.
Casino Laundering:
Money launderers may use casinos to launder funds. They could gamble with illicit funds and then cash out with a “clean” check or claim winnings, making the money appear legitimate.
Terrorist Financing:
Though not exactly money laundering, terrorists sometimes use similar methods to move money around, often utilizing donations, front organizations, or international financial networks.
Preventing money laundering involves stringent regulatory controls, such as Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, anti-money laundering (AML) checks, and monitoring for suspicious transactions.
Notorious Examples of Money Laundering
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) Scandal
The BCCI scandal of the 1980s and early 1990s remains one of the most infamous cases of global money laundering. BCCI was accused of laundering billions of dollars for drug cartels, terrorists, and corrupt officials across multiple countries. The Colombo branch of BCCI was acquired by Seylan Bank and restructured it with the help of the CBSL.
Danske Bank Case
Danske Bank, Denmark’s largest financial institution, became embroiled in a money laundering scandal in 2018. Investigations revealed that its Estonian branch had facilitated the laundering of approximately €200 billion, involving funds from Russia and other former Soviet states.
Panama Papers
The Panama Papers leak in 2016 exposed how Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, helped individuals and entities worldwide evade taxes and launder money through offshore shell companies. Notable figures implicated included politicians, celebrities, and business magnates.
The MDB Scandal
Malaysia Development Berhad (MDB) fund was established to promote economic development. However, investigations revealed that billions of dollars were misappropriated and laundered through luxury purchases, real estate investments, and shell companies. High-profile individuals, including Malaysian officials and international bankers, were implicated.
The HSBC Case
HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, faced allegations in 2012 for facilitating money laundering by drug cartels in Mexico. The bank’s inadequate AML controls allowed billions of dollars in illicit funds to pass through its accounts, resulting in a $1.9 billion settlement with U.S. authorities.
Impact and Challenges
Money laundering has far-reaching consequences. It erodes trust in financial systems, fuels corruption, and enables organized crime and terrorism. Moreover, it creates economic distortions by misallocating resources and undermining fair competition. Countries with weak AML frameworks often become attractive destinations for illicit financial flows, further exacerbating economic inequality.
However, combating money laundering presents significant challenges. These include the complexity of tracking cross-border transactions, the rise of cryptocurrencies, and the use of sophisticated techniques by criminals to evade detection. While international bodies such as FATF and national governments have implemented stricter regulations, enforcement remains inconsistent.
Mechanisms to Prevent Money Laundering: Existing Measures and Proposed Controls
Money laundering poses a significant threat to global financial systems and economic stability. Preventing this illicit activity requires a combination of robust regulatory frameworks, international cooperation, and technological innovation. We examine existing mechanisms for combating money laundering, evaluates their effectiveness, and hope to propose enhanced controls and remedies to address emerging challenges.
Existing Mechanisms to Prevent Money Laundering
1. Regulatory Frameworks
Governments worldwide have established laws and regulations to combat money laundering. Key frameworks include:
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Laws:
Laws such as the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and the European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering Directives (AMLD) mandate financial institutions to implement controls for detecting and reporting suspicious activities.
Know Your Customer (KYC) Policies:
Financial institutions are required to verify the identities of their clients, ensuring transparency in transactions and reducing the risk of illicit activities.
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs):
Institutions must file SARs with relevant authorities when they identify transactions that may involve money laundering.
2. International Cooperation
Money laundering often involves cross-border transactions, necessitating international collaboration. Organizations like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) set global standards for AML measures and facilitate cooperation among member states. Additionally, mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) enable countries to share information and coordinate investigations.
3. Technology and Data Analytics
Advancements in technology have bolstered AML efforts. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are used to detect anomalies in transaction patterns. Blockchain technology also enhances transparency by providing immutable records of financial transactions.
4. Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)
FIUs, such as the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), analyze financial data to identify and investigate money laundering activities. These agencies act as intermediaries between financial institutions and law enforcement.
Effectiveness and Limitations of Existing Mechanisms
While existing mechanisms have had some success in curbing money laundering, challenges persist:
Evasion Tactics:
Criminals continually devise sophisticated methods, such as trade-based money laundering and virtual asset exploitation, to bypass controls.
Regulatory Gaps:
Variations in AML standards across jurisdictions create vulnerabilities, particularly in countries with weak regulatory frameworks.
Resource Constraints:
Many financial institutions and enforcement agencies lack the resources to implement advanced AML measures effectively.
Proposed Controls and Remedies
1. Strengthening International Cooperation
Enhanced collaboration among countries is essential to close regulatory gaps. Establishing a unified global AML framework, supported by real-time data sharing and joint task forces, can improve enforcement.
2. Leveraging Advanced Technologies
AI and Predictive Analytics:
Develop AI-driven tools capable of real-time transaction monitoring and predictive analysis to identify suspicious activities.
Blockchain Integration:
Promote the use of blockchain in financial systems to improve transparency and reduce opportunities for laundering.
3. Addressing Cryptocurrency Risks
Cryptocurrencies have become a preferred medium for laundering due to their pseudonymity.
4. Capacity Building and Training
Provide financial institutions and enforcement agencies with adequate resources and training to stay ahead of evolving laundering techniques. Awareness campaigns targeting high-risk sectors can also enhance compliance.
5. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
Fostering collaboration between governments and private sector entities can improve AML efforts. PPPs enable the sharing of intelligence, resources, and best practices.
(The writer, a senior Chartered Accountant and professional banker, is Professor at SLIIT University, Malabe. He is also the author of the “Doing Social Research and Publishing Results”, a Springer publication (Singapore), and “Samaja Gaveshakaya (in Sinhala). The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the institution he works for. He can be contacted at saliya.a@slit.lk and ww.researcher.com)
by Professor Emeritus,
I M Dharmadasa
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
This article summarises the history of solar energy development in Sri Lanka that I have been involved with, over the past 40 years and my thoughts on the present situation in the country. As an active solar energy conversion researcher in both academia and industry (British Petroleum Research in London), I have seen the maturity of this technology since the late 1980s and started to promote it in schools and community events in the United Kingdom.
I then extended this work to my native country, Sri Lanka, in 1991, by initiating a UK-DFID (UK Department of Foreign and International Development) funded and BC (British Council) managed Higher Education Link (HE-Link) programme. This is how I met all renewable energy promoters in Sri Lanka. This article brings back my memories from the work done in collaboration with various people, starting in the late 1980s.
During the six-year HE-Link programme, I worked with several universities (Peradeniya, Colombo, Kelaniya, Moratuwa and Ruhuna) and organised conferences, seminars and public lectures in schools and government ministries. There were only two or three small solar energy companies at that time, struggling to do business, and they all joined together to promote renewable energy initiatives in the country.
Among many interested academics, senior engineers like Dr. Ray Wijewardane joined all these events, and I met three notable entrepreneurs working in this field starting in 1985. They were Lalith Gunaratne, Pradip Jayawardane and Viran Perera. These three friends, who were brought up in Canada, visited Sri Lanka for a holiday after their marriages and decided to stay in Sri Lanka and start a solar energy business. Their starting work was a mobile solar water pump, but about 80% of the people who were not connected to the national grid asked for solar lighting rather than solar water pumping.
Sir Arthur C Clark also gave them a good helping hand and they started to install small solar home systems in rural areas. They also started to import solar cells and assemble SUNTEC 36 W solar modules in the country, but due to various barriers from outside, that project had to be terminated. There were numerous barriers within the country itself. I remember a newspaper article that appeared in Sri Lanka titled, “Solar Power Suitable for Lotus Eaters”. After all this fantastic work in the late 1980s, Lalith returned to Canada, Viren started an eco-tourist centre, and Pradip continued to work in the solar energy field.
Most of these entrepreneurs told me that the government authorities did not listen to them due to their vested interests. For this reason, I made the decision to promote renewables as a research scholar without any connection to a commercial company. This approach worked well, and I made two or three visits to Sri Lanka in some years delivering public lectures in ministries, universities and in schools. I also wrote numerous articles in the local press and completed many interviews on applications of renewable energy sources.
Solar home systems, at early stages, had about 50 W solar panels. These were combined with lead-acid batteries to store energy and provide 5-6 lights at night. This was also enough to power a black-and-white television for a few hours. Depending on the number of lights used, the cost of such a system varied between Rs 40,000 and Rs 60,000.
Meanwhile, the Ceylon Electricity Board also worked to expand the national grid under the country’s 100% electrification programme. As the national grid is available almost everywhere, the interest in small solar home systems gradually disappeared.
There were many people in the country involved in promoting renewables, and I was able to visit Sri Lanka every year to spend a few weeks at a time and work with numerous institutes.
I also personally met almost all Science & Technology Ministers, starting from Bernard Soysa, and some Power and Energy Ministers to introduce renewable energy projects. Although the government’s take-up was slow, the private sector developed very rapidly, starting many new companies for solar system installation.
Gradually, the main interest turned to the grid-tied larger solar systems installed on freely available rooftops. With the “Soorya Bala Sangramaya” programme introduced around 2016, solar roofs began to be connected to the grid via “Net Metering”, “Net Accounting”, and “Net Plus” methods. A few years ago, a 5 kW solar roof used to cost about Rs 14,00,000, but today, the cost has come down to about Rs 9,00,000. Each 5 kW solar roof installed in the country removes the need to burn 7.5 metric tons of imported coal, introducing numerous health and economic benefits to the nation, including reducing the country’s huge import bill.
I also collaborated with the ex-chairman of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), Prof. Krishan Deheragoda, to bring two 500 kW solar farms to the country, introducing larger solar farms. After promoting renewable energy over four decades, I am pleased to see numerous large solar energy systems beginning to appear in the country, including “Floating Solar Farms”.
The current government’s interest in indigenous, hydro, solar, wind, biomass and bio-gas energy, as well as the contributions from over 200 private solar energy companies to power Sri Lanka, is a very encouraging sign.
As a result of the six-year HE-Link programme SAREP (South Asia Renewable Energy Programme), the Solar Asia Conference series and the “Solar Village” project evolved. Solar Asia Conferences have taken place twice in Sri Lanka, once in Malaysia and once in India.
A pilot solar village started in 2008, and nine solar villages have been established in the country since. The concept of solar village is to empower rural communities by introducing a regular wealth creation method using solar energy and guiding them to develop themselves sustainably. This, in turn, contributes to reducing poverty and mitigating damaging climate change, benefits 80% of the Sri Lankan population who lives in villages, and paves the way for the prosperity of Sri Lanka. To attract external funding and rapidly replicate solar villages in Sri Lanka, a “Solar Village SDG” community interest company (CIC) was formed in November 2024.
According to the latest SLSEA statistics, Sri Lanka has 2000 MW of solar and 200 MW of wind installations. This is 2.2 GW and a good fraction of the total power production capacity (~5 GW) in the country.
The intermittent nature of solar and wind can currently be balanced using hydropower until the fast-developing green hydrogen technology is established in Sri Lanka. When solar power is at its maximum power production during the daytime, the hydropower can be reduced simply by controlling the flow of water without any technical difficulties. With the positive steps taken by the GOSL and the private sector, Sri Lanka could become a renewable energy island in the future, giving the country many health and economic benefits and attracting many tourists from around the globe.
To achieve this noble goal, every sector in the country should work together. The general public should understand the benefits of using renewables and install more systems in the country, perhaps via “Crowd Funding”.
It is now clear that ROI (Return on Investment) from a solar roof is greater than the interest earned by keeping the money in the bank. PV companies must improve their “after-sales service” to increase customer satisfaction and help their customers get the most from their investment by promptly rectifying any issues arising from these new technologies.
The CEB has a great responsibility to gradually improve the national grid by reducing energy leakages and replacing weak transformers and grid lines to move towards a smart grid, enabling the absorption of more indigenous solar and wind energy.
The Author, I. M. Dharmadasa, is an Emeritus Professor with 51 years of university service, over 40 years of active solar energy research, and over 35 years of renewable energy promotional work. He has supervised 30 Ph.D. students and published 254 scientific articles and two books in this field.
by Jehan Perera
Four months after coming to power, the NPP government is facing growing criticism from those in the opposition and also scepticism regarding its ability to make policies necessary to revive the country and its economy. The catchy stories in the media are invariably in relation to some mishap or shortcoming in the past of government leaders. Some of these relate to the inexperience of the new decisionmakers, many of them having spent their lives in academia rather than in politics or public administration. The criticisms that ring true to the masses of people relate to the economic difficulties they continue to experience in full force. Those who contributed to the economic catastrophe of 2022 by their own actions over the past decades have little credibility to criticise.
The promise of an uncorrupt government made at the presidential and general elections continues to keep popular support on the side of the government. There is a continuing belief that the government is sincere about keeping corruption under control and dealing with past abuses. But there is also disappointment that the promises the NPP made about renegotiating the IMF agreement and reducing its burden on the masses of people are not being realised in the short term. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to be very large with those who are owners of rice mills, hotels and stocks getting massive profits while those on fixed incomes and subsistence farmers eking out a living.
The basic problem for the government is that it inherited an economy that had been made to collapse by irresponsible governments of the past. The agreements that the previous government signed with the IMF and international bondholders reflected Sri Lanka’s weak bargaining position. This was why Sri Lanka only got a 20 percent reduction in its debt, whereas other countries got 50 percent reductions. The NPP government cannot extricate itself from the situation. The hope that a generous benefactor will extricate us from the difficult economic situation we are in underpins the unrealistic expectations that accompanied President Anura Kumara Dissanayake during his two state visits to India and China.
CAUTIONARY TALES
Nearly two centuries ago, in 1848, one of Britain’s 19th-century Prime Ministers, Lord Palmerston, declared “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests is our duty to follow.” His speech was meant to explain and defend Britain’s foreign policy, emphasising that the country’s decisions were guided by its strategic interests rather than fixed loyalties to other nations or ideologies. It justified Britain’s controversial alliances and interventions, such as supporting liberal revolutions in Europe while maintaining colonial dominance elsewhere. This explains the inconsistent use of legal and moral standards by the international community that we see in the world today.
When Sri Lanka engages with other countries it is important that we keep Lord Parlmerston’s dictum in mind. Over the past three decades there has been a noticeable shift in the practices of countries that have claimed to believe in the rule of law and universal human rights. There was a long period after the end of the second world war when the powerful countries of the world that had emerged victors in that war gave leadership to liberal values of human rights, democracy and justice in their engagements in the international arena. Together they set up institutions such as the United Nations, international covenants on human rights and the International Court of Justice, among others. But today we see this liberal international order in tatters with happenings in countries such as Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Palestine reflecting the predatory behaviour of the strong against the weak.
According to international scholars such as Prof Oliver Richmond of the UK, the Liberal International Order (LIO) is losing its grip as global power shifts toward an emerging Authoritarian International Order (AIO). In his writings, he highlights how the LIO’s failures to resolve key conflicts have exposed its weaknesses. The prolonged failures like the Cyprus peace talks and the breakdown of the Oslo Accords in Israel-Palestine have highlighted the limits of a system driven more by Western dominance than equitable solutions. The rise of powers like China and Russia, who openly prioritise state sovereignty and power over liberal values, marks the shift to a multipolar AIO in which every country tries to get the maximum advantage for itself even at the cost to others.
Prof. Richmond warns that neither the liberal or authoritarian international orders, as implemented, are equipped to deliver lasting peace, as both are driven by geopolitical interests rather than a commitment to justice or equality. He argues that human rights, development, pluralism and democracy as the outcome of peacemaking and political reform that the Liberal International Order once held out as its vision is more just and sustainable for ordinary people than the geopolitical balancing, and authoritarian conflict management which is now crudely pushed forward by the proponents of the Authoritarian International Order. Without a new approach that prioritises fairness and sustainability, the world risks further division and instability.
NOT GENEROSITY
Following upon the stately receptions accorded to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in India and China, there is much anticipation that Sri Lanka is on the verge of receiving massive support from these countries that will give a turbo-boost to Sri Lanka’s development efforts. In the aftermath of India’s unprecedented economic support of USD 4 billion at the height of the economic crisis in 2022, the promise of as much as USD 10 billion in economic investment from China reported by the media offers much hope. India and China are two economic giants that are in Sri Lanka’s neighbourhood who could do much to transform the economy of Sri Lanka to reach take-off into self-sustaining and rapid economic development. This accompanies the shift of economic power in the world towards Asia at this time.
Both India and China are keen that Sri Lanka should be in their orbit or minimise its position in the other’s orbit. They each have strong rivalries and misgivings about each other, especially regarding security issues. They have had border disputes that led to military confrontations. The Authoritarian International Order that Prof Oliver Richmond has written about would influence their behaviour towards one another as well as towards third countries such as Sri Lanka. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake appears to have been aware of this problem when he visited India and China. In both countries he pledged that Sri Lanka would do nothing that would be injurious to their security interests.
Lord Palmerston’s old dictum that countries act on permanent interests rather than permanent friendships is important to bear in mind when foreign governments make inroads into third countries. Sri Lanka needs to protect its own interests rather than believe that foreign countries are going an extra step to help it due to shared political ideology, age-old friendships or common culture or religion. Sri Lanka, its leaders and citizens, need to look at each and every offer of foreign assistance in a realistic manner. Each offer should be assessed on its own merits and not as part of a larger package in which generosity is imagined to be the sole or main motivating factor of the foreign country.
For Sri Lanka to emerge stronger, it needs to evaluate every offer of foreign assistance with a clear-eyed focus on its own national interests, ensuring that the benefits align with the long-term well-being of its people. Pragmatism, and hard headed analysis, must guide the country’s engagement with the world. This would be best done in in a bipartisan manner at the highest level, without being distracted by partisan party politics and narrow political and personal self-interest which has been our failure over time with a few exceptions.
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