Govt makes U-turn: Chichi’s rocket goes missing again

• Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe says BoI gave wrong info to PM
• Company had generated minimal revenue, earning only Rs.342 million and not the satellite
• According to Minister Samarasinghe, the company was established using loans from two Chinese banks

Colombo, August 8 (Daily Mirror) - Controversy surrounding the satellite released by Supreme SAT in 2012, more popularly known as ‘Chichi’srocket’ took a bizarre twist in Parliament yesterday when Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe contradicted Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya stating that the Prime Minister had been fed with inaccurate statistics for her answer by the Board of Investment and the rocket was in fact still missing.

Just a day before, in a shocking revelation in Parliament, Prime Minister Amarasuriya ended years of speculation on the whereabouts of the rocket stating that the satellite released by Supreme SAT in 2012 had been generating a revenue to the country since the company came into a commercial agreement with the BOI in 2015.

The Prime Minister even went as far as to release the annual revenue gures which divulged an average annual earning of Rs.20 billion and said that this was a private investment and no monies had been used by the Sri Lankan government.

Following this revelation, the SLPP camp along with thousands of social media users questioned the government as well as other political parties saying if the rocket was well stationed in orbit and was generating an income then why was the matter criticized for years.

They even took use of the opportunity to ask the critics on what basis they had then said that millions of funds of tax payer monies were used to send this communications satellite to space.

In fact Rohitha Rajapaksa, the third son of Mahinda Rajapaksa known more popularly as ‘Chichi’ had become a national joke, well considering that he did nothing to pursue his career as an ‘astronaut’ after helping send this satellite to space. While he boasted of wanting to pursue a career as an astronaut, to date even his employment status is being questioned.

Well, after the Prime Minister seemed to have saved Rohitha Rajapaksa from some embarrassment hintingthat the rocket was well stationed in orbit, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe made a u-turn in Parliament yesterday claiming that the rocket was in fact still missing.

He said that the Board of Investment (BOI) had provided inaccurate information to Prime Minister Amarasuriya regarding Supreme SAT and revealed that, contrary to the impression given, the company had generated minimal revenue, earning only Rs.342 million and that too from other businesses such as a television channel and not from the satellite.

Minister Samarasinghe further disclosed discrepancies in the company’s nancial records.

“Earlier reports indicated that the company had assets worth Rs. 12 billion and liabilities of Rs. 11 billion.

However, these gures have been removed from its annual reports since 2014. How can such a thing happen?” the Minister asked.

According to the Minister, the company was established using loans from two Chinese banks. He also revealed that the satellite, launched in November 2012 at a cost of US $ 300 million, had reportedly gone
missing since its deployment and remains missing to date.

He said the Supreme SAT had not provided accounts to the BOI after 2022.

This back to back contradiction in Parliament by two senior government members has left the public to wonder whether statements read in Parliament are not veried. And is it not a shame that while the Prime Minister reveals gures and information for public knowledge, a senior Minister contradicts her the following day saying she was misled with false gures.

The BOI themselves are in a quandary over the matter with all ofcials going mute since Thursday. When the Daily Mirror contacted the BOI over the allegation that they had provided the Prime Minister with falsegures, an ofcial said they could not comment.

At this rate the only conclusion we can immediately come to is that Chichi’s rocket seems to have crash landed on the government.