By

D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna(JVP)led National People’s Power(NPP) Government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake known as AKD , has been in the saddle for close upon a year now. Given the JVP-NPP’s 159 members of Parliament and the victories registered in the local authority polls, the chances of being dislodged from that saddle soon seem remote.

Yet many opposition leaders seem to think otherwise. These hopes are hinged around two possibilities.Some are hopeful that the economy will eventually deteriorate, resulting in a crisis situation of availability and affordability along with shortages of fuel,electricity, gas and essential food items. This in turn would cause an “Aragalaya” type of situation that would topple the AKD regime.

The other line of thought is about internal dissension within the ruling party. There are tensions between the hardcore JVP old guard and the new reformist NPP. Many of the NPP parliamentarians resent the JVP domination and would break away is a fond belief. Furthermore there is personal rivalry among some top JVP’ers. This too may lead to a split in the party hopes the opposition.

Rumour mills work overtime in this regard. It is being said that two senior ministers are eying the Prime minister post. Hence there is a cold war being fought against Prime minister Harini Amarasuriya. According to the rumour mongers, Harini may have been compelled to quit as PM by the internal forces arrayed against her, but for the solidarity and support extended by President AKD.

It is not the intention of this column to probe the real or imaginary power play within Govt upper echelons at this juncture. However this column focuses this week on a bizarre turn of events concerning Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Trade, Cmmerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development minister Wasantha Samarasinghe and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna(SLPP) Hambantota district Parliamentarian D.V. Chanaka. Their three way exchange has created a controversy fuelling many conspiracy theories. Also it has strengthened the opinion that there is serious dissension within the Govt.

D.V.Chanaka

It all began with a seemingly innocuous question raised by Hambantota SLPP parliamentarian D.V.Chanaka . It was about the agreement signed in 2012 between the SupremeSAT pvt ltd and the Board of Investement(BOI) regarding a satellite project.

Interestingly the question was addressed to Prime Minister Amarasuriya instead of the finance minister despite the BOI coming under the purview of the Finance ministry. In addition to being premier, Harini is the minister of Education,Higher Education and Vocational Education. President Dissanayake is the Finance minister.

Prime minister Amarasuriya officially replied to DV Chanaka on August 6th. PM Harini stated at the outset that she was reading from data provided by the BOI officials. The essence of her reply as reported in newspapers was this –

Supreme SAT -BOI

“Supreme SAT entered into an agreement with the Board of Investment on 23rd May 2012 and invested Rs. 12.1 million for the satellite during 2013 and 2014. The investment was classified as a project targeting the local market, under clause 17 of the BOI Act.”

“The objective of the project was for the establishment and operation of a satellite system at the Kandy Industrial Park, with an investment of Rs. 1,828 million. It was for providing telecommunications and broadcasting services to local consumers. Commercial operations began on August 27, 2015.”

“The Sri Lankan government had not invested any cash in the venture.Therefore
The Sri Lankan state had not suffered any financial loss”

Prime Minister, Harini Amarasuriya, also presented details – based on BOI data – of revenue earned by Supreme SAT in the past years.The breakdown was –
:
2016: Rs. 19,617 million,
2017: Rs. 28,133 million,
2018: Rs. 29,106 million,
2019: Rs. 34,169 million,
2020: Rs. 40,960 million,
2021: Rs. 62,545 million,
2022: Rs. 87,789 million,
First half of 2023: Rs. 39,590 million.

According to the details presented by the Prime Minister based on BOI data, the revenue generated through the project in seven and a half years was 343.9 billion rupees. This meant the annual average was over 40 billion rupees!

“Chichi’s rocket”

According to a ‘Newswire’ report. Hambantota district MP Chanaka thanked the Prime Minister for addressing what he described as one of the major allegations made against investors in Sri Lanka.
He noted that the project was commonly referred to as “Chichi’s rocket”. “This is best known as Chichi’s rocket, rather than Supreme Sat in Sri Lanka. The allegation was that USD 300 million was invested in this and then the project disappeared,” Chanaka said.

“But now the Prime Minister has clarified that not a single Sri Lankan rupee was invested and that the project has generated substantial annual income and foreign direct investment,” Chanaka said.

He also referred to earlier accusations by NPP members, who alleged the project was a personal venture for the the sons of aformer president. He questioned whether such allegations made under parliamentary privilege were endorsed by the Prime Minister.

BOI Data

In response, Prime Minister Amarasuriya clarified that her statements were based solely on BOI data.“I have not given any personal analysis on whether the project was large or small. This matter was publicly discussed for different reasons. If there are further questions on that, I can respond separately. But this is the factual information based on the official reports. Whether it is good or bad will be determined by the public,” she said.

Third Son Rohitha

The full impact and implications of the Prime minister’s reply began to sink in after MP Chanaka’s “thankful”response to the Prime Minister’s reply. It appeared that the Prime Minister had provided a clean chit to the SupremeSAT project and cleared former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s third son Rohitha Rajapaksa known as “Chichi”of any wrong doing regarding the project.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of many instances of corruption,nepotism and abuse of power by his political detractors. Among these was the SupremeSAT project. According to various media reports published over the years, the project involved Rohitha Rajapaksa aka Chichi.

On 23 May 2012, a Supreme SAT project was registered with the BOI in Sri Lanka. The stated investment was 1,828 billion rupees. Ownership of the project was with Supreme Global Holdings (80%) and Supreme SL Investment (20%). The driving force behind the project was an entrepreneur named R. M. Manivannan who owned Supreme Global Holdings, along with two others, Jaya Sudhir and Alberto de Simone.

Manivannan appointed Rohitha “Chichi” Rajapaksa as chief technical director of SupremeSAT. He was issued shares through Dycer International, a company reportedly owned by Rohitha Rajapaksa himself. There were media reports that the project envisaging the launching of a Sri Lankan satellite was a brainchild of Rohitha.

Those reports were incorrect. SupremeSAT-1” was not a separate Sri Lankan spacecraft. It was capacity leased on ChinaSat-12 (which had earlier been ordered as Apstar-7B). The leased capacity was then co-branded/marketed as “SupremeSAT-1.” Nevertheless it was popularly referred to as “Chichi’s rocket”.

This was because of Rohitha Rajapaksa’s avowed interest and desire to be an astronaut in outer space. Unlike his elder brothers Namal and Yoshitha, the third son had different interests. He was somewhat romantic too. When he proposed marriage to his girl friend of nine years, the young man travelled from Tangalle to Tanzania.Rohitha climbed to the top of Africa’s tallest mountain Kilimanjaro with his significant other Tatyana Lee and proposed on bended knee. Elder brother Namal was present to record the event.

Corruption, abuse of power, nepotism

Despite all the fanfare and publicity nothing much was heard about SupremeSAT dubbed as Chichi’s rocket. It became a humorous topic. However opposition political parties utilised it as another stick to beat Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was accused of squandering millions of dollars to fulfill the whimsical impulses and fanciful desires of his youngest son. It was a three in one allegation namely corruption, abuse of power and nepotism. The JVP was at the forefront, tearing into the Rajapaksas citing Chichi’s rocket. For more than a decade the JVP had derived much propaganda mileage by attacking the Rajapaksa regimes over the Chichi rocket issue.

Former State Minister Janaka Wakkumbura expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for correcting an allegation levelled against the Rajapaksa family for over a decade. According to newspaper reports ,he made these remarks at a media briefing held at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Headquarters on August 7

He said that during the last election campaign, claims were made that USD 323 million — an amount equal to the first instalment Sri Lanka received from the International Monetary Fund — had been spent to launch a rocket for the son of a Rajapaksa, and that the rocket was never found.
Wakkumbura noted that the Prime Minister had clearly and effectively explained in Parliament that not a single cent from the Government was spent on the project, and that another company had funded it.

Premier Harini’s response to what -with the wisdom of hindsight – seemed a loaded question had delivered a fateful and possibly fatal blow to that charge. According to the Prime Minister , the Sri Lankan Govt had not invested even a rupee in the project The Country had not suffered any financiall loss. Moreover the project had earned more than 39 billion rupees in revenue. In one shot, Father Mahinda and son Rohitha had been absolved of any “sin”.There must surely have been much mirth and merriment in Medamulana with Chanaka being toasted many times.

“Malimawa”camp

In stark contrast, the “Malimawa”camp was down in the doldrums. The compass seemed to have lost direction. After years of propaganda unleashed by the JVP that the Chichi rocket affair was a colossal fraud, the Prime minister was now saying the opposite. The JVP led NPP Govt was looking foolish and was vulnerable to charges of having engaged false propaganda.
The JVP-NPP Govt was totally flustered.It is reliably leant that several meetings were held among the top rungers in Pelawatte and elsewhere. It soon became obvious that Harini had blundered and blundered badly. She had not smelt a rat when she had been asked to address the question instead of the finance minister.

Furthermore The Chichi rocket issue had been an embarrassment for the Rajapaksas for many years. They had steered clear of making references to it for several years.Now a Rajapaksa loyalist DV Chanaka was asking a pointed question about it in Parliament. Why re-open a forgotten matter now? The PM in Particular and the Govt in general had been caught napping.

In a serious lapse of judgement ,Dr.Harini Amarasuriya had accepted the data provided by the BOI and not vetted it at all. Furthermore she mixed up million with billion as stated in the BOI data. Where it should be billion she said million and where it should be million she said billion. She was not astute enough to realise that there was something wrong with the figures even as she was reading it. It was truly a major gaffe.

Moreover there were serious questions over the loyalty,integrity and efficiency of a few officials in the Prime minister’s office, finance ministry and board of investment. In the case of this particular question, the customary procedure would have been for the Prime minister’s secretary to refer it to the Finance ministry secretary who would have directed it to the BOI. The BOI would have supplied details of the sought information back to the Finance ministry. Thereafter a high official of the Finance ministry would scrutinise and verify the data before forwarding it to the Prime Minister’s office(PMO). This in turn would be checked by officials at the PMO before being given to the PM.

Given these procedures, it is indeed a “mystery” as to how the Prime minister was misinformed. Was it due to her personal carelessness in not vetting it herself or was it a case of misdirecting herself in good faith? There is also the possibility of political sabotage A good number of bureaucrats in top positions are Rajapaksa appointed oyalists. Their bona fides are still suspect. A rumour floating around is that a BOI official appointed during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Govt was allegedly responsible for deliberately misleading the PM.Under the present circumstances an intensive inquiry is required to elicit the truth.

Rallied Behind Harini

Meanwhile the damage had been done and some urgent damage control was imperative . It is learnt reliably that a contrite Harini was prepared to resign but the offer was rejected. In a rare display of solidarity, the JVP and NPP upper echelons closed ranks and rallied behind Harini. AKD, Tilvin, Bimal and Vijitha were strongly supportive of her.

It was then decided that Prime Minister Amarasuriya should issue a retracting statement in Parliament. It would contradict what she had said earlier but would set the record straight. Harini understood and approved the need for damage control but was reluctant to make the statement herself due to the potential embarrassment it was likely to cause her. This position was understood and accepted by the JVP bigwigs.

The procedure then would have been for the Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake to make the statement on behalf of the Prime Minister. But there was a hitch. Since there had been much speculation in the media about the “rivalry”between Harini and Bimal, the latter was reluctant to deliver the statement. Bimal to his credit did not want to be portrayed as one who backstabbed Harini. This stance too was understood and accepted.

Wasantha Samarasinghe

The problem was resolved by JVP secretary -general and father figure , Tilvin Silva known as “Tilvin Aiya”. He suggested that Trade, Cmmerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development minister Wasantha Samarasinghe should deliver the retracting statement. As is well known the ebullient Wasantha is a combative personality .It was agreed that Wasantha would make the statement in Parliament and not Harini or Bimal.

Had Harini or Bimal made the retracting statement it would have been the official Govt position. The problem here was that the previous statement by Harini was based on official BOI figures. There was no other official figures from BOI contradicting the earlier figures . On what basis then could H=the PM or leader of the House made a statement refuting the previous one. This is where Wasantha fitted the bill. His unorthodox statement was not officially a Govt statement. Yet his maverick styled statement was a useful instrument of damage control.

The JVP’s Wasantha Samarasinghe made his statement in Parliament on August 7th . According to newspaper reports, Wasantha contradicted the Prime minister on many counts but asserted that she hd been misled by the BOI. Accusing the BOI of providing wrong information to the Prime Minister. Wasantha stated the income generated was only Rs. 343.9 million not 343.9 Billion. “According to our findings, the total revenue earned by SupremeSAT is only Rs 343 million over all these years—not the billions that were presented,” he said.

According to media reports,Wasantha Samarasinghe told Parliament the real figures were a fraction of what the Prime Minister had announced. The correct numbers were-
2015–2016: Rs 19.167 million
2016–2017: Rs 28.133 million
2017–2018: Rs 29.1 million
2018–2019: Rs 34.1 million
2019–2020: Rs 42.9 million
2020–2021: Rs 62 million
2021–2022: Rs 87 million
=First half of 2023: Rs 39.5 million

The total was Rs 342 million, not Rs 343.9 billion. The discrepancy, Samarasinghe said, was due to a formatting error in which decimal points had been misread as commas, multiplying modest sums into astronomical billions.
Samarasinghe also clarified that the income figures referred to the company’s general operations, not directly to the satellite itself — which, he noted, remains untraceable. He raised fresh questions about the project’s finances, including the reported USD 320 million cost, possible Chinese bank loans, and the disappearance of Rs 12 billion in satellite-related assets from the company’s accounts between 2012 and 2015.“This data should have been properly verified before being presented,” he said. “The mistake lies with the officials who compiled the information.”

“There was a reported investment of Rs 12 billion, but it’s unclear who funded it or where it went. If this money was used, it should be reflected in the company accounts. But the accounts don’t show it. Why?” he asked, adding that USD 320 million was said to have been spent on the satellite project, partially through Chinese bank loans, which now must be verified.

Samarasinghe also said that while the satellite was said to have been launched from China in November 2012, there was no trace of it in space or in any international satellite records. “Where is the satellite? If it belongs to Sri Lanka, why can’t it be traced?” he queried.

Wasantha Samarasinghe “rectified”the political damage done by the Prime minister’s statement the previous day. The facts stated by the PM were attributed to the BOI but Samarasinghe’statement was not attributed to any particular source. His references were to the company accounts and the internet in general.

Responding to Wasantha Samarasinghe’s explanation that Harini Amarasuriya had read out misleading information provided by the BOI, DV Chanaka had a pertinent query- “Does Wasantha Samarasinghe think the Prime Minister merely parrots whatever she’s given to read in Parliament?”

Perception -Reality

The contradictory parliamentary statements by Prime minister Harini and minister Wasantha have created the perception that the JVP led NPP Government is deeply divided and that the minister has openly defied the PM. The concept of collective responsibility of a cabinet has also been raised . The reality however is that the Govt is acting unitedly. Samarasinghe made his statement with the approval and concurrence of his cabinet colleagues including the PM.

Govt Unity

While there are stresses and strains within the Government and party ranks, the SupremeSAT incident has actually promoted greater solidarity in the Govt.At least for the time being! Whatever the feelings towards Harini, the JVP led NPP cannot afford to throw her to the wolves at this juncture. It is a fact that President AKD and PMK Harini are of great value to the party and Govt. It is noteworthy that Bimal Rathnayake himself told the media that the president and Prime minister are great “assets”.

Besides this is not the time to jettison Harini even if some in the JVP hierarchy want to do so. This is the time to demonstrate that all is well within the Govt which is firmly united.As such the president,party and Government will stand by Harini at this critical moment. If the opposition parties misread the situation and submit a motion of no confidence, it would be roundly defeated.

Though the opposition is trying to project the Harini fiasco as a serious issue, in actual terms it is only a storm in a tea cup. The efforts of the opposition and sections of the media to magnify the episode cannot succeed. Perhaps it would be a tempest in a tea pot!

Moreover the current triumph of the SLPP and Rajapaksas may be quite ephemeral and even counter productive. It is quite apparent that the entire DV Chanaka question exercise needs to be probed further. It is important to ascertain as to how and why the BOI officials gave wrong info to the Prime minister. Were they being “incentivised”by interested parties?

Interestingly enough the buyant attitude displayed by the SLPP camp after Harini’s statement has evaporated after Wasantha’s statement. Obviously Harini’s faux pas has neither negated nor invalidated the original allegations about Chichi’s rocket. There is also a very pertinent point. If indeed the SuperSAT roject was above board and was generating billions of funds, why did not the Rajapaksas or their political ions not uttered a word prior to Harini’s statement about this? They could have made their critics cringe by revealing the details?

Intensive Inquiry

Furthermore the JVP-NPP Govt will now have to launch a fresh intensive inquiry into the whole Supreme SAT affair with special emphasis on the roles played by Rohitha and Manivannan. The source of the original funding of 12 Billion rupees has to be traced. It has to be ascertained as to whether tax has been paid or not on the revenue allegedly generated so far.

What s necessary now is for the AKD Government to conduct a two intensive inquiries. In the short term the matter of the BOI Officials allegedly misleading the PM Must be probed.The black sheep must be penalised. In the long term an inquiry must be launched into the entire SuoremeSAT episode and Chichi’s roket affair.

D.B.SW.Jeyaraj can be reached at djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com

This article appears in the “Political Pulse”Column of the “Daily FT”dated 15 August 2025. It can be accessed here –

https://www.ft.lk/columns/Premier-Harini-s-gaffe-and-JVP-led-NPP-Govt-s-damage-control-efforts/4-780290

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