As remote as winning a lottery

The eternal cry of the pensioners today is that no action is taken by the Department of Pensions on any matter, even after repeated reminders. When an appeal is made to the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs, the only action taken by the Ministry is to forward a copy of that appeal to the Director of Pensions for necessary action.

What is the use of forwarding a copy to the Director of Pensions for necessary action, as the appeal was made because necessary action had not been taken?

Even letters sent to the Director of Pensions by the Ministry requesting him to appraise the writer of action taken, with copy to the Ministry, have been ignored.

The other drawback is that there is no follow-up action on those letters. The office copies remain idle,gathering dust in files. The belief of the general public today is that to get a reply from a government office even after repeated reminders, is as remote as winning a lottery.

By S.P. de Silva (A Pensioner), Polwatta, Ambalangoda