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| Wednesday, 24 March 2004 |
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The Director General of the Public Enterprises Reform Commission states in a letter to the Editor, Daily News: "We refer to the article by Sapumalie Samudradevi carried on the front page of your newspaper on Monday, 22nd March under the banner headline "Govt. sells multi-billion mineral sands grid to aliens". We wish to point out emphatically that there is no truth whatsoever in the statement that the Cabinet has given approval to sell the Mineral Sands Company (Lanka Mineral Sands Ltd.) owned by the Government. The statement that the Economic Reforms Ministry and the Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC) has already received advice from private financial consultant agencies to sell this company is also totally untrue. We also wish to point out that the reference made to State Pharmaceuticals Corporation in the above article is also not correct". ---- Editor's note In standing by our report we quote our source a high ranking official of the Mineral Sands Corporation who states that the sale and privatization of valuable and rare quality mineral resources during the past two years is another step in the present Government's policy of privatization and sale of National Assets and State Enterprises. Cabinet Memoranda have already been formulated on the advice of Economic Reforms Ministry, PERC Institute and private financial consultant agencies to privatize Lanka Mineral Sands Limited, the 100 percent Government Owned Company owning the Pulmudai Mineral Grid and the Processing Plant. Forfeiting the Government Ownership of this national asset is a serious problem endangering the future economy by playing in to the grip of multinational neocolonialists. It inevitably paves the way for them to swallow the entirety of this small island together with its resources. According to present estimates, Pulmudai Mineral Sands Grid contains a deposit of 16,000 tons of mineral sands resources. 90 per cent of the composite consists of valuable and exotic varieties of sand like Rutile, Zircon, Ilmenite and Hitytenium. According to the present market value it is assessed that the Government is forfeiting the ownership of mineral sands to the value of Rs. 197,715 million under this privatization programme. Going by this assessment, the total value of mineral resources available in the grids of Arisimalai, Nilaveli, Kokilai, Nayaru and Chemmalai in the neighbourhood and Puttalam and other continental mineral deposits is incalculable. In other words, the gross value of Pulmudai deposit alone exceeds five times the Rs. 4 billion loan agreed to Sri Lanka in 2003. The value of the Phosphate Grid too is inestimable. We are used to buy agro chemicals from foreign market when 60 per cent of our population are farmers who use fertilizers for which phosphate is the basic raw material. If we act with foresight, we can employ modern technology to utilize this Grid to produce agro-chemicals for our farmers at a reasonable price in order to improve the productivity of agricultural industries like Tea, Rubber, Coconut, and other crops. When we consider the question of improving agricultural productivity in proportion with the growth of population, the utilization of the phosphate grid under State ownership to produce agro-chemicals under a proper management alone will provide a long term remedy for the existing economic crisis. In spite of such circumstances, it is reported that the Geological Survey and Mining Bureau (G.S.M.B.) is pursuing action to sell the Pulmudai Mineral Sands Grid which supply mineral sand to the sand processing plant to a private businessman. To sell out the Grid and to retain only the processing plant is equal to selling the paddy field and retaining only the threshing floor. The value of the Mineral Sand deposit in this Grid as published in the Industrial Mineral Magazine of February 2004 is attached. It is the responsibility of the Government coming into power as well as the responsibility of the masses to save the Mineral Sands Grids including the ilmenite Grid from local and foreign business tycoons. Throughout the recorded history of Sri Lanka, from the days of King Pandukabhaya who ruled the country for 70 years right down the line including kings who ruled for one day and even during the reign of the Tamil King Elara, not a single ruler sold the country's natural assets like water, trees and environment to foreign countries. According to Ceatal Declaration, the Americans have no right to sell Red Indians or their land and environment, vegetation or any indigenous asset. The Supreme Court protected this same right of ours in the case of Privatization of the Phosphate Grid. Our ancient kings who reigned throughout 3000 years of history asserted our responsibility to save national assets like irrigational tanks, dagobas and temples for the use of the posterity by placing stone inscriptions and rock carvings to guard the treasure troves built by them. The perpetuation of this ancient stand is one of the prime duties of the people of the entire Sri Lanka. |
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