Ex senior public official emphasises need to protect sovereign resources
View(s):A former senior public official with experience in serving three different governments at the President’s office has emphasised the need for the present government to strengthen the institutional mechanisms and listen to advice of knowledge bearers and the appointed experts, so that it can ascertain the truth behind important matters.
Chris Dharmakirti, former chairman of the National Ocean Affairs Committee (NOAC) told a recent seminar on “Selling Hambantota Port –The Forerunner of selling Strategic Resources in Colombo” that matters of importance to the country need to be evaluated very carefully, and Parliament must decide on how the country’s sovereign resources are shared or given to other nations.
Referring to the Hambantota Port issue, he noted that although Hambantota is presently an underutilised asset that does not have sufficient direct revenues to service the repayments on the loans that were taken to build it, as a holding entity, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) ought to be able to carry the debt by using the revenues from the fully operational Port of Colombo.
However, the SLPA has been prevented from realising the full revenue potential of its Colombo Port operations, because of an unfavourable loan agreement that the Government signed in 2004 when it borrowed US$300 million from ADB to build the South harbor in Colombo, he said.
Highlighting the importance of protecting most valuable assets for future generations, Mr. Dharmakirti noted that the Bay of Bengal seabed area asset is there for future generations, and under no circumstances can this process of securing the asset be allowed to be mismanaged.
In 2007, Sri Lanka completed the seismic survey of the Bay of Bengal to ascertain the 1 km sediment thickness outer edge, in order to prepare the scientifically backed claim document to submit to the United Nations, he disclosed.
The aim was to get sovereign ownership of the seabed resources lying beyond the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),
Despite completing the survey in October 2007, the collected seismic data, even in this instance, was withheld.
According to Sri Lanka’s chief scientific officer in charge of the survey Dr. N. Wijayananda, the project director of DEOCOM, Dr. Hiran Jayewardena has been insisting on drawing a line to extend the International Maritime Border Line that separates Sri Lanka and India in the Palk Straits towards the Indian EEZ in the Eastern side in the Bay of Bengal.
This has opened an avenue towards effectively surrendering the northern part of the Bay of Bengal to India, and be only satisfied with the southern part exclusively for Sri Lanka.
This is a serious issue, as the most valuable resources lie in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, estimated to be some 20 km in sediment thickness, and to give that up without proposing a joint mechanism with India for Sri Lanka to collectively reap the benefits is not only foolish, but also a traitorous act, he added.