Rs.
150 m. for promoters who did nothing
By Santhush Fernando
Just four unknown promoters have been paid as much as Rs. 150 million
for doing nothing but transfer State property near the Parliament
complex given to them for 'a song' by President Chandrika Kumaratunga's
Government, and over a hundred plots of land sold to numerous wealthy
Sri Lankans, while hundreds of poor people are fighting for a few
extra rupees as compensation, a Sunday Times investigation has revealed.
The
final instalment for the transaction of State land vested in the
Urban Development Authority (UDA) has just been completed with multi-millionaire
businessman Sumal Perera of Access Holdings paying off so-called
'promoters' of Asia Pacific Golf Course (Pvt.) Ltd., the owners
of the controversial Golf course at Battaramulla close to the Parliament
complex.
The
Rs. 150 million has been paid for the shares of Asia Pacific Golf
Course to these promoters who were given this property by President
Kumaratunga in 2001 via a BOI project. The promoters did nothing
but get this 226-acre property from the President and sell it in
turn to Sumal Perera's company.
The
original promoters - promoted by President Kumaratunga -- are Sivasinanathan
Selvaratnam, Suwaneeta Selvaratnam, Shantha Wijesinghe and Susan
Wijesinghe. Despite telling her cabinet that Japanese promoters
would also be coming in to invest, there is no known Japanese among
them.
In
the meantime, Asia Pacific Golf Course has entered into a separate
agreement with the UDA and sold some 100 plots of 20 perches each
at an undisclosed price reported to be in the region of Rs. 600,000
per perch to a host of wealthy Sri Lankans who include former national
cricketers, businessmen and arms-dealers, some of whom have purchased
more than one plot. Residents, displaced by this project, have been
offered a paltry Rs. 305 per perch.
The
deeds are signed directly between the UDA and the new owners of
this property, with Asia Pacific saying they paid a "premium
price" to UDA. Whether the UDA was entitled to enter into such
an agreement remains a legal question because the property was originally
acquired by President J.R. Jayewardene in 1986 under the Land Acquisition
Act for a "public purpose only" as stated in the acquisition
orders to residents who were later evicted. President Jayewardene
had acquired this property and vested it in the UDA for the Parliament
complex project. Building of private chalets in such State land
is illegal, some argue.
UDA
Chairman Gamunu Silva confirmed that these sales have been executed
and said that permission for this has been granted by the earlier
cabinet of President Kumaratunga.
According
to The Sunday Times investigations, President Kumaratunga's Government
has suddenly sought to cancel the deal, and the UDA has asked the
Attorney General for a legal opinion. Asia Golf has also obtained
a private legal opinion from a President's Counsel who regularly
is consulted by President Kumaratunga, to say that the company has
legally acquired the property from the persons President Kumaratunga
herself originally gave the land to. And that because it is a BOI
project, international contractual rules will be in force.
The
company says that a monetary consideration has been given by them
to these promoters and the transaction is now legal. The Sunday
Times learns that Rs. 150 million is the known sum given to these
promoters. They point out that President Kumaratunga herself canvassed
cabinet approval for these so-called 'promoters' in 1996 and asked
cabinet to give them the 226 acre property lower than the market
valuation of the Government Chief Valuer.
Sumal
Perera was away in England for the ICC cricket championships, but
the company's CEO, Dilshan Ferdinands told The Sunday Times this
week that they would be proceeding with the soft-opening of the
golf links in November this year in defiance of what is a sudden
change of heart from President Kumaratunga's Government to have
the rip-off deal cancelled - and that, after they have paid Rs.
150 million for the shares of the State lands President Kumaratunga
herself had given them.
The
company has finalised the payment of this Rs. 150 million to the
former promoters after holding a glittering function at the Hilton
Hotel in April to offer 2,500 preference shares of Rs. 250,000 each
to raise funds for the golf links to be named, Waters Edge Golf
and Country Club.
Meanwhile,
over a hundred former residents of the area have challenged the
meagre compensation that is being awarded to them by the UDA. Some
of them are to get compensation of less than one thousand rupees.
Asia
Pacific claim that only 30 per cent of the property will go for
the golf links and upto 60 per cent would include a playground in
Battaramulla, a bird sanctuary and a lake. They say that they have
already spent large sums of money to develop the former marshy land,
but residents say that they fear flooding of the area once the golf
links come up.
In
any event they ask who made a quick buck by this sordid deal, at
their expense, and whether the promoters were a mere front for some
businessman who was given a State bank loan in the UK only a few
years back to purchase a mini-golf course there as well. |