MCC agreements need P’ment approval: Eran

 State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne

• Assures House of transparency, says Cabinet approval was needed first but P’ment will get its chance
• Says MCC grant already signed with 29 countries 
• Grant funds will help attract investment

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

The much-debated Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement with Sri Lanka needs House approval and will not be able to function solely based on a Cabinet decision, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne confirmed in Parliament yesterday.Updating lawmakers on the details of the MCC agreement, the State Minister held that it is not a secret pact with the United States to surrender Sri Lanka and its sovereignty. 

“The MCC agreement needed Cabinet approval first. Unless sanctioned by Parliament, the agreement will fail to deliver even with the signatures. This MCC agreement has already been executed in 29 counties. The agreement demands many proposals and standards be established. The entire agreement is for $ 480 million, where $ 350 million will be for the transport sector. The MCC agreement was discussed in 2004 and again in 2007, but was unable to move forward due to the War. The agreement surfaced in 2017 and moved forward till 2019. The Chamber of Commerce and many other State establishments took part in the discussions. This is not a secret agreement to hand over the country and its ownership to the United States,” said State Minister Wickramaratne.

According to Wickramaratne, the Government is bound by the nonaligned policy, but from time to time, Sri Lanka has entered into agreements with different countries for the betterment of the country while dealing with diverse nations in mutual relationships.

Differentiating the needs of the past with today’s world, the State Minister highlighted a Hazard report of 1938 describing the colonisation program of Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake. “During the D. S. Senanayake era, people were relocated on Crown land to develop the country with colonies. People would have questioned these decisions and could have criticised. This was eight decades ago, but with the current changes happening in the world, these decisions will not suit today’s requirements. We would never have dreamed of the internet 25 years ago. Today, we talk about the internet of things where smart machines are connected to the internet. The world we know today and the demands will change in the next 50 years,” he explained.

Based on a Harvard report, the Minister said the Government had identified several projects, including land for development, transport and infrastructure, and improving water resources and sanitation, as essentials for a country to develop and attract investment. (AH)