Sri Lanka has been going through the worst crisis, with the disastrous economic policies of the Rajapaksa regime pushing the country and its people into a grim situation. Amidst the crisis, Roshan Abeysinghe, the Managing Director of RF Asia (Pvt) Ltd in Sri Lanka sat down for an exclusive interview with OpIndia this week. His company deals with hair products and other cosmetics. He is also a Director of Crusador Sports and Leisure Tours. Abeysinghe is also a leading and one the most popular Sri Lankan cricket commentator not only within Sri Lanka but also worldwide.
Talking to OpIndia, Abeysinghe spoke on a spectrum of subjects post the crisis in Sri Lanka. He spoke about a host of subjects ranging from dynasty politics and how it became normalised in Sri Lanka to China’s role in the island nation and India’s as a neighbour. “India has played the honest neighbour’s role in assisting Sri Lanka. Indian credit lines and credit have been most welcoming and without which Sri Lanka could have been bankrupt much earlier”, said Abeysinghe. Speaking about how dependence on China could have contributed to the crisis in Sri Lanka, Abeysinghe said, “China was the easiest to obtain loans from in comparison to some of the agencies and countries that would insist on more stringent evaluation of projects”. He further said that the funds from China have been invested in projects with low return on investment and that hurt Sri Lanka’s economy massively since it affected the nation’s ability to repay the loans.
With the economic and political crisis brewing in Sri Lanka, it becomes imperative to understand the roots of that crisis, Sri Lanka’s view of India and its role in stabilising the neighbourhood and more. Following is the interview with the veteran cricketer, with questions and answers, produced verbatim.
OpIndia: Sri Lanka has been in the throes of an economic and political crisis. As a Sri Lankan, what is your understanding of the situation?
Roshan Abeysinghe: If you mean the economic situation then it is not something that has happened overnight but over a period of time. I would put it down to ill-sighted political decisions and policies of successive governments that have been keener on staying in power rather than making tough decisions such as improving productivity and exports. Sri Lanka has been plagued by loans that have been utilized mostly on unproductive projects and misappropriation of funds at all levels including Government employees too.
Besides, political parties that were outside the government also derailed many projects through strikes, etc., which prevented the government of the day from making productive the poorly or unutilized assets of the country. Hence in a nutshell it has been caused by Governments and Politicians from all walks of life, especially in the last 25 years.
OpIndia: The crisis in Sri Lanka is largely being credited to Rajapaksa. Could you explain his hold on Sri Lankan politics and why he was not opposed earlier?
Roshan Abeysinghe: Sri Lankan politics have been dominated mainly by two parties. i.e the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The UNP was controlled initially by the Senanayake family and after which the family dynasty broke up with the succession of leaders i.e J.R.Jayawardane, R.Premadasa, and Ranil Wickramasinghe. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party or the SLFP kept evolving by changing symbols and names, firstly under the family of the Bandaranayake and then after 2005 with the Rajapakses.
Such Dynasties provided a rich political heritage existed and became acceptable to the Sri Lankan voter. Besides President Mahinda Rajapakse ended the 30-year war in Sri Lanka which propelled him to a status of a King. Though in 2015 he lost the race to President Sirisena very much against the odds the infighting between President Sirisena and PM Wickramasinghe and the then government plus lack of proper productivity coupled with the Easter bombings allowed the Rajapakse family to come back as the saviours of the nation through the Presidential election of 2019 until the current disaster struck the Nation.
OpIndia: Sri Lanka’s dependency on China has increased exponentially through the years, especially in the economic front. Do you think that contributed to the crisis?
Roshan Abeysinghe: China was the easiest to obtain loans from in comparison to some of the agencies and countries that would insist on more stringent evaluation of projects. However, the overall debt percentage is just 10% regarding the dues to China. The Chinese funds however have been invested in projects where the ROI has been poor which I am sure is hurting the repayment. This was one reason that prompted the then government in 2015 to lease out the Port in Hambantota on a long lease to offset and convert the loans to equity.
OpIndia: How do you see India’s role in the current situation in Sri Lanka?
Roshan Abeysinghe: India has played the honest neighbour’s role in assisting Sri Lanka. Indian credit lines and credit have been most welcoming and without which Sri Lanka could have been bankrupt much earlier. Hence the country is indebted to India for expecting the least when helping the country. And even at present the assistance has been very well received by Sri Lanka.
OpIndia: Is Ranil Wickremesinghe the only option Sri Lankans have to get out of this mess or do you think there are many other leaders who are capable right now?
Roshan Abeysinghe: He is not the only option but in most people’s eyes he is the best of the worst options we have considering his long experience and also due to his acceptance in the world over most other potential leaders in the country. However, being called a protector of the former Rajapakse regime has dented much of the faith the public has had in him in the past. Besides his election has to be nothing short of a miracle as he was in Parliament through only a bonus seat after his party was routed and to become PM and now the President has to be one of the fairytales of the century.
Having said that it is my belief that most of the country is willing to give him the opportunity to get the country out of this current mess. This could be a turning point in his political career which can also determine the future of this beautiful nation.
OpIndia: What do you think is the way forward for Sri Lanka?
Roshan Abeysinghe: The only solution is to have the entire political machinery working together as one government and also for the public to start dropping the demands for handouts. It is time outside the political sphere that Sri Lanka also looks at a meaner and leaner state service and look at all state enterprises that are loss-making to be made profitable or self-sufficient. At present Sri Lanka should have the largest ratio of state sector employees to the population as well as running highly unproductive state enterprises that doesn’t serve the national cause.
Sri Lankan airlines which is considered a flagship is one of the biggest loss-makers along with the petroleum, transport sector, and the electricity sector. This is more to do with bad governance and domination of trade unions than anything else. Also, a clear plan is needed to eradicate poverty in Sri Lanka through a phased-out program to ensure that the said segments’ dependency on the government is reduced to a large extent. These are some of the obvious solutions amongst many others available.
OpIndia: As a known and celebrated personality of Sri Lanka, what advice will you give to your fellow citizen to fight this situation?
Roshan Abeysinghe: Be resilient and disciplined with what you do. Start this yourself by being self-sufficient in whatever way one can be by using the available garden space. Also, stop the colossal wastage of resources such as water and electricity that costs the government big bucks and love the country. Take pride in being a Sri Lankan.
