Since independence, Sri Lankans have seen the performance of thousands of parliamentarians and only a handful of them have donated or spent their funds towards the country.
After the Proportional Representation System was introduced in 1977 along with the open economy more and more politicians were prone to corruption.
In the olden days, there were politicians who gave their ancestral properties/assets to the State but there was no single politician to date who allocated a monthly budget to spend towards the welfare of Sri Lanka.
This record has now been broken with the new Minister and business tycoon Dhammika Perera pledging that he would spend Rs. 50 million each month towards welfare and to initiate new projects that need urgent attention.
Taking oaths as the new Minister of Investment Promotion after properly declaring his assets he was quoted on a TV channel as saying that his family gave him a deadline of six months.
“I was invited by the President to take over the Cabinet portfolio. First I contacted my mother who said to go ahead and serve the country with dignity as this is the time ‘something can and should be done to the country. She asked me how we can eat all three meals when fellow citizens cannot afford it.”
My family and children also endorsed this, but they gave me a deadline of six months to show tangible results. “Otherwise, we will take placards saying “thaththi (father) come home’ and stand before my house!,” they said.
Business
Kulappu Arachchige Don Dhammika Perera, commonly known as Dhammika Perera (born December 28, 1967), is a Sri Lankan businessman, philanthropist, and politician. He is one of the wealthiest people in Sri Lanka. Perera is known as a specialist in corporate re-engineering and revival.
He began a business venture in 1986 at the age of 19 after completing his primary and secondary Education at Taxila Central College, Horana.
He studied electronics at the University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, but dropped out to follow his business interests. In 1987, According to Wikipedia, Perera moved to Taiwan to follow his career in technical training for three months and returned to Sri Lanka to start his business to make slot machines. He then had to move to car sales in Payagala.
He also ran Tito Electronics, an electronic shop repairing electronic circuit boards in Kollupitiya. He started his own entertainment business in 1993, then started a business producing and selling neon bulbs in 1995, at a time when none of the manufacturers was keen on selling those bulbs. He also had the honour of meeting then International Monetary Fund resident representative in Sri Lanka Nadeem Ul Haque in 1998.
Perera ventured into large-scale businesses and purchased and took over ownership of Royal Ceramics in 1992, at a time when the company was making losses. He became its owner in 2000. He purchased the Pan Asia Bank in 2002 at a time when the bank was regarded as a loss-making financial institution. He partnered with investor Nimal Perera after acquiring the Pan Asia Bank in 2002
In 2013, after moving in to several successful ventures, Perera became Sri Lanka’s wealthiest person, with a net worth estimated by Forbes Asia at Rs 72.6 billion (550 million US dollars)
As of 2013, he controlled 23 listed companies and has made significant investments in healthcare technology. He is also known for frequently addressing policy for the country.
As per the Colombo Stock Exchange filing (notice) on June 10, 2022 Perera resigned from the boards of directors of Hayleys PLC, Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC, Hayleys Fabric PLC, Hayleys Leisure PLC, Haycarb PLC, and The Kingsbury PLC.
Hayleys and subsidiaries separately announced his resignation from the Board of Directors. Companies which announced the move on June 10, 2022 included Hayleys PLC and its subsidiaries, Vallibel One PLC and its subsidiaries, Singer Sri Lanka PLC and its subsidiaries, Royal Ceramics Group, Lanka Walltiles Group and LB Finance PLC.
This is to engage in full time politics and not have any vested interests towards the companies he is serving.
In June 22, Perera was sworn in as a National list member of Parliament, after being proposed to the Election Commission by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. On June 24, he was sworn in as the Minister of Investment Promotion.
The institutions that come under his preview include the Board of Investment, Colombo Port City Economic Commission, Department of Immigration and Emigration, Colombo Lotus Tower Management Company Ltd., Techno Park Development Company Ltd., and Information Technology Parks.
Philanthropic work
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Perera introduced a philanthropic initiative titled DP Education for students to study online free. He collaborated with the University of Moratuwa to offer a diploma to students aged 18 and above bundling maths, IT and English through DP Education platform.
He said that there is a great future for ICT professionals and said he would introduce a higher education step enabling ICT personnel to move to the next high paying salary pillar.
“What you basically need is creativity and a fair knowledge of English to become an IT professional and move into a high paying salary. I will also be having a special education program to teach English and also enabling more ICT training teachers to be created to groom youngsters to this profession.”
“Sri Lanka’s annual export revenue from ICT services is around USD 1.4 billion and my plan is to increase this to USD 5 billion.”
He also said that global universities should be allowed to open in Sri Lanka which will reduce students migrating to foreign countries for higher education.
“This can save around USD 2.5 billion spent by parents annually towards fees for their children educating overseas and also bring in a sizable income from foreign students who will be studying when foreign universities are opened in Sri Lanka.”
In September 2019, Perera published a document Sri Lanka 2030: A Developed Nation, with policy recommendations for 21 ministries to increase Sri Lanka’s per capita income to $12,000 by 2030.
Sri Lankan expatriate workers in addition to exports and tourism are key components to bring in the much needed foreign exchange to Sri Lanka. However, to migrate for employment one needs to obtain a passport (for first timers) which has been a huge issue as once applied, the date for an interview/processing comes almost one months’ time which results in huge queue and unrest in the passport office.
The new Minister’s first project was to look into this and a simple solution which could have been done before was executed. This is to make arrangements to extend the ‘one-day service to other regional passport offices in Matara, Kandy and Vavuniya Districts, thus reducing the demand for the Colombo passport office.
A new counter was also opened at the Department of Immigration for in Suhurupaya, Battaramulla to issue passports to those who had completed the documentation to travel overseas for employment.
Perera said that one of the key factors slowing down the public service is the tender procedure to purchase essentials.
“This is why I decided to spend Rs. 900,000 from my personal funds to rent an upload server for the Department of Immigration which experienced issues when a large number of headshots are uploaded.”
He has promised to set up a new passport office in Jaffna.
He said he is planning a common app for the public transportation sector. “If ‘PickMe’ can develop a local app to book a taxi, why not the public sector at least have the luxury to know the correct times when a bus or train is arriving in their vicinity?”
Here again he promised to use his private fund for this initiative.
Fuel crisis
The new minister in the interview also said that Sri Lankans willingly created the current energy crisis by protesting against each and every energy project that came Sri Lanka’s way.
Sri Lanka received proposals to build the second phase of the Norochcholai power plant to generate additional 300 Megawatts of power.
In addition, the Sampur coal power plant which was to generate 600MW was also stalled due to various protests by political parties depriving the country of 900 MW of power.
These two power plants could have operated with around USD 600 million per annum but due them not being implemented, today Sri Lanka has to spend around USD 1,600 to import fuel for the power generation sector alone.