Mangala vs. LHP: facts and fallacies

The Minister said: 

As the second matter I say that in 1990 the government took a decision that valuable tea estates in the country should be privatised. At the time of privatisation, did you (Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe) not, while being a member of the Cabinet and a member of the very same Cabinet sub committee vest in a company where your mother and others were shareholders two of the largest estates in the country? 

L H. Plantations (Pvt) Ltd says:

Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd., is a private management company. It won a right to manage a State owned plantation, along with 22 other reputed local companies, in a competitive privatisation process monitored by the World Bank, not by Ranil Wickremesinghe (who indeed abstained from key meetings relating to Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd. This independent selection process was investigated in 1995 under the present Government by no less than Mr. A. S. Jayawardene, the respected Governor of the Central Bank, and no malpractices relating to Lake House Plantations were ever voiced because there were none. 

Moreover, Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd. does not own an inch of land. It does not own a single tea bush or an inch of tea land. As at today, it manages only the lands that were officially vested in it by the State and purely for the State, contributing money to the State as per regulations. We are astounded at the Hon. Minister's facts: if the Hon. Minister can prove otherwise, we welcome a correction.

The Minister said: 

We can say it direct. Vested with Lake House Plantations Ltd. When this charge was levied against Lake House Plantations it was told that Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe did not have any shares in the Lake House Plantations. You can remember this? This is true. Lake House Plantations shares are owned by Lake House Printers & Publishers. They have 55 %. Lake House Investments has 35 %. Uncle of the Leader of the Opposition R. S. Wijewardene 2.5%. Another uncle is Mr. Gomes. He has 1.5 %. Gooneratne is another uncle 1.95 %. Nalini Wickremesinghe 0.5 %. Although I say this in tea estates when you work out .5% it is millions. Another relative is Wijesundere. Gunatunga is after that. Sarathi Ltd., another company has 2.5 %. Here this is the concealment. 

LH Plantations says:

Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe does not and has never owned any shares in Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd. Some of the shareholders in this company are related to Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the general public can easily see. Some such as Mr. D.V. Gunatunga, mentioned by the Hon. Minister, are not related at all. 

There can be no fraud of any sort about the composition of a private management company: shareholders can be related and unrelated. Many private companies are thus and there are indeed examples of the Ratwatte family being shareholders of plantation companies. There is no illegality whatsoever about such a private company offering its management services to an internationally overseen privatisation exercise further cleared by Mr. A.S. Jayawardene, Governor Central Bank. 

Lake House Plantations has no involvement at all in the tea sector, only in coconut and rubber. The country well knows the continued plight of the coconut sector and the very low prices (about Rs. 5) offered by the wholesale market for a coconut. To further say that Mrs. Nalini Wickremesinghe, who owns just half a percent of Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd., thus holds shares worth "millions" is a most unrealistic and totally incorrect assumption: If the Hon. Minister can prove the "millions" in value, we would be glad to know this. 

Furthermore, we correct the Hon. Minister again in that Lake House Investments Limited owns at present just 0.043% (i.e. a fractionth of one percent) oaf Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd., and not 35 % as stated by him. 

The Minister said: 

This is a fraud of immense proportions. In any other country this person as the Minister tomorrow as the Leader of the Opposition today must resign. When they do things like this, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe is director only in Sarathi Ltd. Sarathi, shows here, Ranil Wickremesinghe, Tharmaratnam and Ranjit Wijewardene are appointed as shareholders. Not only that, Ranil Wickremesinghe is a shareholder in Lake House Printers & Publishers. He is a shareholder in Lake House Investments. It is all right there. 

LH. Plantations says:

Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe does not and has never owned any shares in Sarathi Limited. He has never acted as a Director of Sarathi Limited. The Hon. Minister's statements in this regard are incorrect again. Perhaps he — or any member of the public — can check the company register that he refers to.

The Minister said:

What did Lake House Plantations say in reply? What? Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe did no fraudulent land transaction. A land dealing had been done but it was not fraudulent. What does that mean? When Cabinet approval is given any fraud becomes legal. But no where is it said land was not taken.

LH. Plantations says:

There is no issue of a "land dealing", fraudulently or not fraudulently. A statement below clearly spells out the facts relating to how Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd., became vested with state land. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe had no part to play in how this company was selected and was most certainly not involved in any malpractice relating to this issue. 

A statement by L.H. Plantations (Pvt.) Ltd.:

Lake House Plantations Ltd., was one of 22 companies selected after the most careful scrutiny and according to established criteria to manage State agricultural land. LH Plantations was selected to manage the State lands belonging to the Government-owned company Kurunegala Plantations Ltd. (KPL). The lands belonging to Kurunegala Plantations Ltd., consist almost entirely of coconut together with some rubber and some minor crops. KPL owns no tea land. In 1995 a Special Committee was appointed by President Kumaratunga's Government under Mr. A. S. Jayawardene, the then Secretary to the Treasury (and now Governor of the Central Bank) to inquire into whether there were any irregularities in the selection of managing companies. No irregularities were reported and LH Plantations was in fact one of only mine companies out of the original 22 companies called for talks when the privatisation of State Plantations commenced in the latter part of 1995. After the first few rounds of talks, LH Plantations Ltd., and the other coconut plantation management company were suddenly excluded from the privatisation process. No reasons were offered as to why this was.

At the end of Lake House Plantations' first five year term of management on December 31, 1997, our contract was arbitrarily dismissed by the government (plantation company) despite meeting all our contractual obligations. Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd., as with Chilaw Plantations — another similar coconut plantations company facing the same fate, was forced to commence Arbitration in January 1998 to appeal against this unfair decision. After two and a half years of hearing, in June 2000 the independent arbitration panel of judges concluded that Lake House Plantations (Pvt) Ltd., as with Chilaw Plantations, was fully entitled to the extension of its management agreement and costs were awarded against the earlier dismissal.

Years of valuable time during which both plantation companies could have helped further develop our primary coconut sector were wasted on legal proceedings and unnecessary uncertainty.  

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