Sri Lankans tend to have short memories and remember anything only for about two weeks. But Sri Lankan people still remember how they waited for days and weeks in fuel queues without food, water, sleep etc. and ultimately died due to exhaustion. But the current Government put a full stop to that suffering forever by ending the monopoly of fuel supply in Sri Lanka.
Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said according to the agreement signed between Sinopec and the Power and Energy Ministry, the state-owned Chinese company will be granted a 20-year license to operate 150 fuel stations currently operated by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). He said that the agreement also allows Sinopec to invest in 50 new fuel stations and to invest in Sri Lanka’s energy sector.
The contract agreement signed between Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. and its parent company in China and Singapore and the Power and Energy Ministry on Monday in Colombo, for Sinopec to enter the domestic retail petroleum market. The company will never take dollars from Sri Lanka to buy fuel and it will obtain dollars from the mother company. Therefore, Sri Lanka does not need to spend even a single dollar.
The Sri Lankan people’s short memory has caused them severe problems during the past several decades and still they remember things only for two weeks. This enables any crook to capture power in the country after committing any crime against the country and the nation in the past. But luckily the Sri Lankan people remember certain things forever. The Mahaweli Development Project, Mahapola Scholarship Programme, establishment of Educational Colleges (Vidyapeeta), ending LTTE terrorism, constructing Expressways etc. are some of them. Sri Lankan people will never forget who ended their suffering in fuel queues when and how. Only one very small group of individuals will suffer forever due to the ending of the fuel supply monopoly in Sri Lanka. They are the trade unionists! The entire country will celebrate jubilantly rescuing people from the clutches of the trade unionists.
If any Sri Lankan remembers things before 2020, they should remember how the entire country suffered numerous occasions due to various strikes launched by trade unionists in the fuel sector, especially in the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) pointing out various stupid childish reasons. Even a heavy shower of rain was adequate for them to launch an islandwide strike bringing the entire country to a standstill.
Due to thousands of strikes launched by trade unions in the fuel sector, the entire country suffered because everything depends on the supply of fuel. For example, ambulances could not run without fuel to transport patients in critical conditions from one rural hospital to a main hospital or the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Patients died without being able to receive urgent medical treatment on time.
Unfortunately the Sri Lankan people cursed whatever the Government in power by that time but did not see who was actually responsible for their suffering. Trade unionists misled the public by holding press conferences and accusing whatever Government and the Minister in power at that specific time. But this time their evil efforts were defeated by the brave Power and Energy Minister and the Government on behalf of the people. There is a must that should be done immediately. That is opening the eyes of the public and showing them the real culprit responsible for all their sufferings.
The Government must take action to expose the evil agendas of all trade unions and otherwise as usual the public will believe that it is whatever the Government which is responsible for their suffering. Media publicity should be given for this purpose. Maybe by now all trade unions in the fuel sector are getting ready to launch their next evil ‘programme’ aimed at making people angry and antagonizing them against the Government. The Sri Lankan people had been brainwashed by them to believe that they fight for the people and whatever the Government in power by that time is against the people. But the reality is trade unions have been fighting to get uninterrupted salaries and overtime payments based on their attendance and not on their completed workload. This is the bitter truth that should be communicated to the public because only the private sector workers understand this.
Once the fuel supply monopoly completely ends the ordinary people of Sri Lanka will be able to fill their fuel tanks as they wish and there will not be any restrictions. They will not be required to suffer without fuel thereafter. This is very significant because all politicians, rich and powerful in this country, had more than enough fuel in the past no matter whether there was a strike, shortage or anything else. Only the ordinary people suffered without fuel. But now the difference is the ordinary people will have fuel.
If this Government and the leaders only thought about themselves they could have let the fuel monopoly continue letting the CPC to dominate the fuel sector. All decisions had been made giving priority for the people’s well-being. This is the significance of this entire process.
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