Premier Harini’s gaffe and JVP-led NPP Govt.’s damage control efforts

President Anura Kumara Disanayake

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya

While there are stresses and strains within the Government and party ranks, the SupremeSAT incident has actually promoted greater solidarity in the Government. At least for the time being! Whatever the feelings towards Harini, the JVP-led NPP cannot afford to throw her to the wolves at this juncture. It is a fact that President AKD and PM Harini are of great value to the party and Government. It is noteworthy that Bimal Rathnayake himself told the media that the President and Prime Minister are great “assets” 

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) led National People’s Power (NPP) Government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake known as AKD, has been in the saddle for close upon a year now. Given the JVP-NPP’s 159 members of Parliament and the victories registered in the local authority polls, the chances of being dislodged from the saddle soon seem remote.

Yet many opposition leaders seem to think otherwise. These hopes are hinged around two possibilities. Some are hopeful that the economy will eventually deteriorate, resulting in a crisis situation of availability and affordability along with shortages of fuel, electricity, gas and essential food items. This in turn would cause an “Aragalaya” type of situation that would topple the AKD regime.

The other line of thought is about internal dissension within the ruling party. There are tensions between the hardcore JVP old guard and the new reformist NPP. Many of the NPP parliamentarians resent the JVP domination and would break away is a fond belief. Furthermore there is personal rivalry among some top JVP’ers. This too may lead to a split in the party hopes the opposition. 

Rumour mills work overtime in this regard. It is being said that two senior ministers are eying the Prime Minister post. Hence there is a cold war being fought against Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya. According to the rumour mongers, Harini may have been compelled to quit as PM by the internal forces arrayed against her, but for the solidarity and support extended by President AKD.

It is not the intention of this column to probe the real or imaginary power play within Government upper echelons at this juncture. However this column focuses this week on a bizarre turn of events concerning Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Hambantota district Parliamentarian D.V. Chanaka. Their three way exchange has created a controversy fuelling many conspiracy theories. Also it has strengthened the opinion that there is serious dissension within the Government.

D.V. Chanaka

It all began with a seemingly innocuous question raised by Hambantota SLPP parliamentarian D.V. Chanaka. It was about the agreement signed in 2012 between the SupremeSAT Pvt Ltd. and the Board of Investment (BOI) regarding a satellite project.

Interestingly the question was addressed to Prime Minister Amarasuriya instead of the finance minister despite the BOI coming under the purview of the finance ministry. In addition to being premier, Harini is the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. President Dissanayake is the Finance Minister.

Prime Minister Amarasuriya officially replied to D.V. Chanaka on 6 August. PM Harini stated at the outset that she was reading from data provided by the BOI officials. The essence of her reply as reported in newspapers was this:

Supreme SAT-BOI

“Supreme SAT entered into an agreement with the Board of Investment on 23 May 2012 and invested Rs. 12.1 million for the satellite during 2013 and 2014. The investment was classified as a project targeting the local market, under clause 17 of the BOI Act.”

“The objective of the project was for the establishment and operation of a satellite system at the Kandy Industrial Park, with an investment of Rs. 1,828 million. It was for providing telecommunications and broadcasting services to local consumers. Commercial operations began on August 27, 2015.”

“The Sri Lankan government had not invested any cash in the venture. Therefore the Sri Lankan state had not suffered any financial loss.”

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya also presented details – based on BOI data – of revenue earned by SupremeSAT in the past years. The breakdown was:

2016: Rs. 19,617 million,

2017: Rs. 28,133 million,

2018: Rs. 29,106 million,

2019: Rs. 34,169 million,

2020: Rs. 40,960 million,

2021: Rs. 62,545 million,

2022: Rs. 87,789 million,

First half of 2023: Rs. 39,590 million.

According to the details presented by the Prime Minister based on BOI data, the revenue generated through the project in seven and a half years was Rs. 343.9 billion. This meant the annual average was over Rs. 40 billion!

“Chichi’s rocket”

According to a ‘Newswire’ report, Hambantota district MP Chanaka thanked the Prime Minister for addressing what he described as one of the major allegations made against investors in Sri Lanka.

He noted that the project was commonly referred to as “Chichi’s rocket”. “This is best known as Chichi’s rocket, rather than SupremeSAT in Sri Lanka. The allegation was that USD 300 million was invested in this and then the project disappeared,” Chanaka said.

“But now the Prime Minister has clarified that not a single Sri Lankan rupee was invested and that the project has generated substantial annual income and foreign direct investment,” Chanaka said.

He also referred to earlier accusations by NPP members, who alleged the project was a personal venture for the sons of a former president. He questioned whether such allegations made under parliamentary privilege were endorsed by the Prime Minister.

BOI data

In response, Prime Minister Amarasuriya clarified that her statements were based solely on BOI data. “I have not given any personal analysis on whether the project was large or small. This matter was publicly discussed for different reasons. If there are further questions on that, I can respond separately. But this is the factual information based on the official reports. Whether it is good or bad will be determined by the public,” she said.

Third son Rohitha

The full impact and implications of the Prime Minister’s reply began to sink in after MP Chanaka’s “thankful” response to the Prime Minister’s reply. It appeared that the Prime Minister had provided a clean chit to the SupremeSAT project and cleared former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s third son Rohitha Rajapaksa known as “Chichi” of any wrongdoing regarding the project.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of many instances of corruption, nepotism and abuse of power by his political detractors. Among these was the SupremeSAT project. According to various media reports published over the years, the project involved Rohitha Rajapaksa aka Chichi.

On 23 May 2012, a SupremeSAT project was registered with the BOI in Sri Lanka. The stated investment was Rs. 1,828 billion. Ownership of the project was with Supreme Global Holdings (80%) and Supreme SL Investment (20%). The driving force behind the project was an entrepreneur named R.M. Manivannan who owned Supreme Global Holdings, along with two others, Jaya Sudhir and Alberto de Simone.

Manivannan appointed Rohitha “Chichi” Rajapaksa as chief technical director of SupremeSAT. He was issued shares through Dycer International, a company reportedly owned by Rohitha Rajapaksa himself. There were media reports that the project envisaging the launching of a Sri Lankan satellite was a brainchild of Rohitha. 

Those reports were incorrect. SupremeSAT-1” was not a separate Sri Lankan spacecraft. It was capacity leased on ChinaSat-12 (which had earlier been ordered as Apstar-7B). The leased capacity was then co-branded/marketed as “SupremeSAT-1.” Nevertheless it was popularly referred to as “Chichi’s rocket”.

This was because of Rohitha Rajapaksa’s avowed interest and desire to be an astronaut in outer space. Unlike his elder brothers Namal and Yoshitha, the third son had different interests. He was somewhat romantic too. When he proposed marriage to his girlfriend of nine years, the young man travelled from Tangalle to Tanzania. Rohitha climbed to the top of Africa’s tallest mountain Kilimanjaro with his significant other Tatyana Lee and proposed on bended knee. Elder brother Namal was present to record the event.

Corruption, abuse of power, nepotism

Despite all the fanfare and publicity nothing much was heard about SupremeSAT dubbed as Chichi’s rocket. It became a humorous topic. However opposition political parties utilised it as another stick to beat Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was accused of squandering millions of dollars to fulfil the whimsical impulses and fanciful desires of his youngest son. It was a three in one allegation namely corruption, abuse of power and nepotism. The JVP was at the forefront, tearing into the Rajapaksas citing Chichi’s rocket.

Now with Harini’s response to what – with the wisdom of hindsight – seemed a loaded question had delivered a fateful and possibly fatal blow to that charge. According to the Prime Minister, the Sri Lankan Government had not invested even a rupee in the project. The country had not suffered any financial loss. Moreover the project had earned more than Rs. 39 billion in revenue. In one shot, father Mahinda and son Rohitha had been absolved of any “sin”. There must surely have been much mirth and merriment in Medamulana with Chanaka being toasted many times.

“Malimawa” camp

In stark contrast, the “Malimawa” camp was down in the doldrums. The compass seemed to have lost direction. After years of propaganda unleashed by the JVP that the Chichi rocket affair was a colossal fraud, the Prime Minister was now saying the opposite. The JVP-led NPP Government was looking foolish and was vulnerable to charges of having engaged false propaganda.

The JVP-NPP Government was totally flustered. It is reliably leant that several meetings were held among the top rungers in Pelawatte and elsewhere. It soon became obvious that Harini had blundered and blundered badly. She had not smelt a rat when she had been asked to address the question instead of the finance minister. 

In a serious lapse of judgement, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya had accepted the data provided by the BOI and not vetted it at all. Furthermore she mixed up million with billion as stated in the BOI data. Where it should be billion she said million and where it should be million she said billion. She was not astute enough to realise that there was something wrong with the figures even as she was reading it. It was truly a major gaffe.

Moreover there were serious questions over the loyalty, integrity and efficiency of a few officials in the Prime Minister’s office, Finance Ministry and Board of Investment. In the case of this particular question, the customary procedure would have been for the Prime Minister’s Secretary to refer it to the Finance Ministry Secretary who would have directed it to the BOI. The BOI would have supplied details of the sought information back to the Finance Ministry. Thereafter a high official of the Finance Ministry would scrutinise and verify the data before forwarding it to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). This in turn would be checked by officials at the PMO before being given to the PM.

Given these procedures, it is indeed a “mystery” as to how the Prime Minister was misinformed. Was it due to her personal carelessness in not vetting it herself or was it a case of misdirecting herself in good faith? There is also the possibility of political sabotage. A good number of bureaucrats in top positions are Rajapaksa appointed loyalists. Their bona fides are still suspect. Under the present circumstances an intensive inquiry is required to elicit the truth.

Rallied behind Harini

Meanwhile damage had been done and some urgent damage control was imperative. It is learnt reliably that a contrite Harini was prepared to resign but the offer was rejected. In a rare display of solidarity, the JVP and NPP upper echelons closed ranks and rallied behind Harini. AKD, Tilvin, Bimal and Vijitha were strongly supportive of her.

It was then decided that Prime Minister Amarasuriya should issue a retracting statement in Parliament. It would contradict what she said earlier but would set the record straight. Harini understood and approved the need for damage control but was reluctant to make the statement herself due to the potential embarrassment it was likely to cause her. This position was understood and accepted by the JVP bigwigs.

The procedure then would have been for the Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake to make the statement on behalf of the Prime Minister. But there was a hitch. Since there had been much speculation in the media about the “rivalry” between Harini and Bimal, the latter was reluctant to deliver the statement. Bimal to his credit did not want to be portrayed as one who backstabbed Harini. This stance too was understood and accepted.

Wasantha Samarasinghe

The problem was resolved by JVP Secretary-General and father figure, Tilvin Silva known as “Tilvin Aiya”. He suggested that Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe should deliver the retracting statement. As is well known the ebullient Wasantha is a combative personality. It was agreed that Wasantha would make the statement in Parliament and not Harini or Bimal.

The JVP’s Wasantha Samarasinghe made his statement in Parliament on 7 August. According to newspaper reports, Wasantha contradicted the Prime Minister on many counts but asserted that she had been misled by the BOI. Accusing the BOI of providing wrong information to the Prime Minister. Wasantha stated the income generated was only Rs. 343.9 million not 343.9 billion. “According to our findings, the total revenue earned by SupremeSAT is only Rs. 343 million over all these years—not the billions that were presented,” he said.

Samarasinghe also revealed financial inconsistencies, noting that the company began showing asset declarations in 2013 and 2014, declaring assets of Rs. 12,144 million and liabilities of Rs. 11,700 million. He stressed that there were no financial records available post-2015, raising serious concerns about transparency.

“There was a reported investment of Rs. 12 billion, but it’s unclear who funded it or where it went. If this money was used, it should be reflected in the company accounts. But the accounts don’t show it. Why?” he asked, adding that $ 320 million was said to have been spent on the satellite project, partially through Chinese bank loans, which now must be verified. 

Samarasinghe also said that while the satellite was said to have been launched from China in November 2012, there was no trace of it in space or in any international satellite records. “Where is the satellite? If it belongs to Sri Lanka, why can’t it be traced?” he queried. Wasantha Samarasinghe “rectified” the political damage done by the Prime Minister’s statement the previous day. The facts stated by the PM were attributed to the BOI but Samarasinghe’s statement was not attributed to any particular source. His references were to the company accounts and the internet in general.

Responding to Wasantha Samarasinghe’s explanation that Harini Amarasuriya had read out misleading information provided by the BOI, D.V. Chanaka had a pertinent query: “Does Wasantha Samarasinghe think the Prime Minister merely parrots whatever she’s given to read in Parliament?”

Perception-reality

The contradictory parliamentary statements by Prime Minister Harini and Minister Wasantha have created the perception that the JVP-led NPP Government is deeply divided and that the Minister has openly defied the PM. The concept of collective responsibility of a cabinet has also been raised. The reality however is that the Government is acting unitedly. Samarasinghe made his statement with the approval and concurrence of his cabinet colleagues including the PM.

Govt. unity

While there are stresses and strains within the Government and party ranks, the SupremeSAT incident has actually promoted greater solidarity in the Government. At least for the time being! Whatever the feelings towards Harini, the JVP-led NPP cannot afford to throw her to the wolves at this juncture. It is a fact that President AKD and PM Harini are of great value to the party and Government. It is noteworthy that Bimal Rathnayake himself told the media that the President and Prime Minister are great “assets”.

Besides this is not the time to jettison Harini even if some in the JVP hierarchy want to do so. This is the time to demonstrate that all is well within the Government which is firmly united. As such the president, party and Government will stand by Harini at this critical moment. If the opposition parties misread the situation and submit a motion of no confidence, it would be roundly defeated. 

Though the opposition is trying to project the Harini fiasco as a serious issue, in actual terms it is only a storm in a tea cup. The efforts of the opposition and sections of the media to magnify the episode cannot succeed. Perhaps it would be a tempest in a tea pot! 

Moreover the current triumph of the SLPP and Rajapaksas may be quite ephemeral and even counterproductive. It is quite apparent that the entire D.V. Chanaka question exercise needs to be probed further. It is important to ascertain as to how and why the BOI officials gave wrong info to the Prime Minister. Were they being “incentivised” by interested parties?

Intensive inquiry

Furthermore the JVP-NPP Government will now have to launch a fresh intensive inquiry into the whole SupremeSAT affair with special emphasis on the roles played by Rohitha and Manivannan. The source of the original funding of Rs. 12 billion has to be traced. It has to be ascertained as to whether tax has been paid or not on the revenue allegedly generated so far.

(The writer can be reached at [email protected].)