Terrorism

COMMENTS BY RONNIE DE MEL MP - " I HAVE PLACED THE COUNTRY BEFORE THE PARTY"

By an employee at a Kenyan Ministry

Statement by Mr. Ronnie de Mel MP in the Sri Lankan Parliament during the debate for the extension of the Emergency regulations make me to write this few words, which I have never told anybody since 1976. In 1976 Ronnie de Mel was the Minister for Finance in the Hon.Srimavo Dias Bandaranayake's government. At that time I was an employee of the Ministry of Works Kenya, and the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Kenya was Mr. Wijekulasooriya, a Lawyer from Galle, and ardent SLFP supporter. A political appointment. As Kenya is a very big exporter of Sugar.
Without the knowledge of the Sri Lankan Government Mr. Ronnie de Mel has contracted a French Company through his Son - in - Law's company ( the owners of the Marketing Department now) in Pakistan to get Sugar to Sri Lanka. At this time the price of Sugar at the retail market in KENYA was KSh 2.10 per lb (ie. equivelent to SRs 4.20 per Lb). But during this time the Sri Lankan Government through the CWE was selling Sugar to the general Public at Rs 12.50 per Lb Due to the sevear drought in Kenya (which was prevailing at that time) the production of Sugar was curtailed and the Kenyan Government ordered all contracts with non-government parties to be cancelled. One of the contracts which was cancelled belong to the French firm supplying sugar to Sri Lanka.

As this was a private arrangement, Sri Lankan High Commissioner or any of the Officials who worked at the High Commission was not aware of this arrangement between the Sri Lankan Government and the French Firm. As soon as the contract was cancelled, the officials of the Ministry of Finance as instructed by the Minister of Finance Mr. Ronnie de Mel, by wire, requested the High Commissioner to intervene in this matter and restore the supply of Sugar to Sri Lanka. The High commissioner was taken by surprise by these messages from Colombo and was more surprised to learned from the Ministry of Trade in Kenya that there is no contract with the Sri Lankan Government to supply Sugar to Sri Lanka. As the order to cancelled all private contracts was issued by the then Kenyan President Musse Jomo Kenyata, only he President was empowered under the Kenyan Constitution to cancelled the same order or restore some of the contracts at his will. Now what can the poor Sri Lankan High Commissioner do in a situation like this?

As a foreign Diplomat he was not able to meet the President under the protocol. As a employee of the Ministry of Works, I was responsible for the upkeep and the maintenance of all the State Houses and the Offices under the President, including the State House in Nairobi, his personal residence at Gatundu and his Ministerial offices and all the Special Branch buildings around Nairobi. As the Sri Lankan High Commissioner was failing to get any results he summoned me to his office by sending his official vehicle with one of the officials. I was briefed by the HC and showed me all the correspondence (with my acknowledgment that I keep everything as a secret) and how to get this order reversed. I promised the High Commissioner to try my best and proceed to meet the Presidents Son Hon. Peter Kenyatta, who was a Minister of the State with powers (more than any other Minister) vested on him by the President. I explained to him the situation and requested him to help my country as the poor people may go without sugar for their daily use. Peter was very angry to learned about the whole saga and called the Minister of Trade to his office to discuss the matter.

The export price of sugar to this French firm was Ksh 0.96 cts and the sugar was shipped to France and from there to Sri Lanka via Pakistan. As I was trying to get this order restored so to resume the supply of sugar to Sri Lanka I was forced to tell them the whole story and the involvement of the Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka. Peter spoke to the President (his father) and as a special favour for myself for the good work I was doing for the President, the supply of sugar to Sri Lanka was restored with the assurance that the next contract must be directly with the Kenyan government. So HC wired Colombo about the outcome, but I am sure that my name was not included in the messages as the HC took the credit. So, the sugar purchased at Ksh 0.96 cts from Kenya was at the Sri Lanakn market for the poor people at Rs 12.50 a lb.How much money these guys should have created from this contract and most probably this money should have used to purchased the Marketing Department from the last government. The most saddest thing is that all MD product wholesales around the world are Tamils and every order is another money making gamble of the LTTE to by Arms to kill innocent Sinhala and other people in Sri Lanka. So 'Mr. Ronnie de Mel always keep the country before the party, but not beyond the MONEY". This is a true story. One of the officials who was at the HC office in Nairobi at that time is an Ambssordor now. A True Sri Lankan