In a stunning U-turn, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe debunks PM Harini Amarasuriya’s claims about Sri Lanka’s first satellite generating billions in revenue. He now says the ‘Chichi Rocket’ never earned a cent and might still be lost in space.
The Sri Lankan government has landed itself in an embarrassing contradiction after Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe claimed in Parliament that the controversial SupremeSAT satellite infamously dubbed “Chichi’s rocket” is in fact still missing, contradicting Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya’s statement the previous day.
Speaking in Parliament, Samarasinghe alleged that the Board of Investment (BOI) had misinformed the Prime Minister, leading her to present inflated figures suggesting that the satellite had been generating billions in revenue since a 2015 commercial agreement.
Just 24 hours earlier, Prime Minister Amarasuriya had stunned Parliament with an announcement that appeared to settle a long-standing mystery. She confidently stated that SupremeSAT, the satellite launched in 2012, had been generating around Rs. 20 billion annually and confirmed it was a private investment that used no government funds. She even released figures said to be from the BOI, implying a functional satellite was orbiting the Earth and delivering economic value to Sri Lanka.
Her statement set off a firestorm on social media, with SLPP supporters and online activists using the moment to mock previous critics. They asked why the satellite was criticized for years if it had always been operational and profitable. Many turned their attention to Rohitha Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the face behind the project. Nicknamed “Chichi,” Rohitha had once claimed ambitions of becoming an astronaut but has since become a running joke in political circles. His employment status remains unclear.
But just when it seemed Chichi’s reputation was redeemed, Minister Samarasinghe pulled the rug out. Speaking in Parliament, he said the BOI’s data was inaccurate. He clarified that the revenue attributed to SupremeSAT actually came from unrelated ventures such as a television channel. The satellite itself, he claimed, has generated minimal income just Rs. 342 million and that too was from non-satellite sources.
Samarasinghe added that previous financial records showing the company had Rs. 12 billion in assets and Rs. 11 billion in liabilities had mysteriously disappeared from reports post-2014. He questioned the integrity of such record-keeping and noted that SupremeSAT had not submitted any financials to the BOI since 2022.
The Minister also revealed that the satellite was launched using loans from two Chinese banks and that since its deployment in November 2012, the satellite has reportedly been untraceable. According to him, its whereabouts are still unknown, adding more confusion to the saga.
The contradictory accounts by two senior members of the government have created a public outcry. Many now question whether statements made in Parliament are vetted at all. It is particularly troubling that the Prime Minister could announce seemingly definitive figures one day, only to be contradicted by a Cabinet Minister the next.
As for the BOI, the organization now finds itself at the center of the chaos. Since Thursday, efforts to obtain clarification from its officials have failed. When questioned about the alleged misinformation provided to the Prime Minister, one official responded that they were not in a position to comment.
This fiasco has left the public bewildered. What was once hailed as Sri Lanka’s space age breakthrough now seems more like a crash landing of political credibility. And as of now, the only thing that appears certain is that Chichi’s rocket is still missing and so is the truth.
