“Koheda yanne? Malle pol!” says UNP MP Harsha on Govt. take on Shangri-La deal

UNP MP and Chief Economic Affairs Spokesman Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday issued a strong rebuttal to the Government’s clarification and stand on the alleged controversies over the deal on Shangri-la Hotel and connected issues.

He said that upon the Government being questioned on the sale of 10 acres of land opposite Galle Face to a Chinese fighter aircraft manufacturer without a tender procedure, Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena is now attempting desperately to confuse the public with irrelevant answers.

Dr. de Silva was responding to Daily FT’s page 1 article yesterday titled ‘Shangri-la deal no mystery, says Govt.,” quoting comments made by Abeywardena at a media briefing the previous day.

“The UPFA campaigned on a “never privatise” policy. It was repeated ad nauseam that the patriotic UPFA would never sell an inch of land of the motherland. That was, we were told, the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’. As a matter of fact this same Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena who is now talking incoherently on the Galle Face land sale had told Parliament on 20 October 2010 that ‘...I clearly state to this House that the Government has no plan or is attempting to give country’s land to any foreign country, company, individual or a group’ (see Daily News of 21 October 2010). 

Ironically this was just one day after his own Minister submitted a cabinet paper to sell outright 10 acres of this country’s most prime land to a foreign company without even calling for a tender. Such is the hypocrisy of this Government,” charged de Silva.

Pointing out that the UNP had not faulted the Shangri-la investment for cheap political gain, he said: “I and others have stated clearly in Parliament on several occasions that we welcome the Shangri-la investment as it is a well-respected hotel company. 

We however questioned the Government why no tenders were called, why taxes were exempted and how the proceeds were utilised. These are legitimate questions. On the other hand, we have and will continue to probe the sale of the adjoining 10 acres of land to China Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation or CATIC. This purportedly globally-reputed hotel company CATIC does not have a single hotel outside China. In fact, for the most part, CATIC is a manufacturer of fighter aircraft, helicopter gunships and missiles. It is therefore legitimate to ask how the Government sold this prime piece of tourist property to this company without calling for tenders. There are a number of serious issues with this sale, including even the violation of payment terms of the agreement, which will be dealt with in due course.

“In this continuing tragicomedy this Deputy Minister informed Parliament last week that the Government obtained three times the value of the Government Valuer for the said land. If this is true, then a large amount of money has vanished! If on the other hand this statement is not true, then why did he mislead the House? What was the motive for such a grave falsehood?”

“The Deputy Minister has also alleged the UNP Government ‘sold 13 acres of the Wellawatte Textile Mills for a song amounting to Rs. 170 million to Mireka Capital Private Limited without any valuation’. Would anyone be surprised that this too is an absolute falsehood like the many previous ones? As a matter of fact it had been during President Rajapaksa’s time, in 2007, that 135 perches had been sold to Mireka Capital upon a Government valuation for Rs. 170 million. So if that was a song, who wrote the script? As for the 13 acres, that transaction had happened in 2003 with the Bank of Ceylon taking 40 per cent equity stake as the joint venture partner of Mireka Capital upon a Government valuation of Rs. 750 million. Anyone can verify this information from the Annual Report of the Bank of Ceylon. It is very likely that the value of that 40 per cent stake in Mireka Capital, the developer of Havelock City, is many times more than the initial investment. It is indeed sad the way in which this country is being governed; or should it be misgoverned?” de Silva added.