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Evil thrives in Sri Lanka in the absence of corrective action
With the grant of Independence, Sri Lanka’s business sector began to develop slowly. Regretfully, it is on the decline now. The tea industry was a gift to us from the British. Foreign companies earned large profits. We were left with limited benefits. During the recent past because of the tea industry there were some increased benefits to the poor people involved in the industry. The industry developed to some extent under Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, but this was short lived. This is because some young entrepreneurs went on the wrong way of developing this industry.
Govt. should take urgent steps to protect the Tea industry
Refuse tea manufacture was a result of a mistake made by a few members of a community. Still the main revenue to the country come from production. Through concerted efforts, the plantations should be protected, increasing the quality of tea. Tea will die a natural death unless estates owners and exporters take systematic steps to protect the sector. Both the Government and the opposition, together with planters and production staff must join this campaign to protect this valuable means of income. The price of a kilo of tea exported is between Rs. 500 and Rs. 600, but the locally sold tea is priced at Rs. 1000. Those who shout about the high cost of living fail to notice this. Why is the trade mafia hitting the common man’s drink this way? Tea that is not fit to drink is classified as Refuse Tea by the Tea Board and is meant to be destroyed. But our regulations have loopholes and we are forced to drink this Refuse Tea, instead, due to unscrupulous traders.
When we came to know about this a couple of years ago, we got teachers and pupils of Sri Jinarathana Technical College to obtain this Refuse Tea from the Tea Board and started to turn it into compost fertilizer. We learned that more twenty 40-foot containers carrying stocks of Refuse Tea had been detained at the harbour. We received more than 12 of these containers and made compost fertilizer out of Refuse Tea. This is our contribution to the country to improve the tea sector. A cup of tea is a poor man’s sustenance and let those involved in tea production consider giving tea to the locals at a reduced price. Let the Tea Board consider this seriously.
The rubber industry, too, has suffered from evil forces. Using rubber latex, Sri Lankans manufactured several items, including tyres. Because of the shortcomings of some of these people, the production facilities have been largely taken by foreign investors. The manufacture of sheet rubber was a cottage industry. For many, it was a means of livelihood. The producer, trader and the exporting company received a good price for sheet, crepe and all other forms of rubber. All this is no more.
Ven. Galboda Gnanissara Thera, chief incumbent of the Gangarama Viharaya in Colombo
The manufacturer of latex rubber is compelled to sell much of his produce to the black marketer. Vandals have destroyed the small producer’s smoke huts and robbed the rubber sheets. They are bent on destroying the sheet rubber industry. The evil forces have joined to destroy this industry and we have no sheet rubber production now. The Ministry of Finance, influenced by these forces, imposed a tax on the exportor rubber and we have hardly any local exporters. There are no rubber products. The foreign cartels buy our rubber latex for a song. We have lost substantial foreign exchange from rubber. The rubber trees are dying and the poor people who depend on it are the worst off. Similarly the country is slowly being pushed to destruction because those with limited knowledge at the helm are being influenced by some organisations bent on destroying local enterprise and production. The officials who are short sighted must take lessons from our past and take corrective measures for the present.
I have a word for those who serve the high and mighty. They must work with discipline and good behaviour. If they usurp the powers of their superiors, that is the end of the status of their masters. The status of the support staff of VVIPs has fallen low now. The VVIPs should ensure that those who are under them are managed, trained and are able to carry out their orders efficiently. Those in high office must select and retain persons of high calibre as their assistants; otherwise it is like the case of someone toiling hard but achieving nothing. They also must safeguard themselves from getting involved in family feuds. They must be careful to lead their family lives in an exemplary manner.
In legal matters and matters involving school and university education, the standards have begun to come down. We are unable to see things in the correct perspective. Evil is everywhere.
The CWE, the BMC, Osu Sala, the Fisheries Corporation and other such institutions were started to protect the consumer. But today they are unable to contain the cost of living that has risen steeply. These institutions have deteriorated badly and cannot be revived.
Cargills was once known as an organisation catering to the rich. But today Cargills Food City is catering to the poor with discounts being offered on the purchases of fruits, vegetables and selected items. Even though our small vendor is hit, the cost of living is kept at acceptable levels because of this Food City concept. Whatever the race or religion and whether someone is at a loss financially, what is good should be acceptable by all. What is good will always prevail.
Institutions bringing income to the Government have deteriorated. They are blighted by bribery, corruption, robbery and strikes. Private sector enterprises that were once profitable are in difficulty. In these places, though it is not seen in public, no one is sure where the unions are leading the staff or what they are up to. More time is spent on the phone rather than on the assigned work. There are white elephants in the private sector, the public sector and institutions brining revenue to the Government
In 1971, the country witnessed an insurgency. Robberies and mass killings became part of the order of the day. Evil began to rule here and evil has prevailed. The rise in abortion cases adds to the evil. The three-wheeler has become the surgical unit for abortion by the roadside!
We are a nation that has faced many a calamity. We lived on yams from the good earth. We have come far from that status. We have mental problems and problems created by evil within us. Do not buy things if they are expensive. If fish, dried fish, sugar and packets of tea are expensive, do not buy them. Allow your children to suffer a little, they will gain valuable experience. Do not do what you ought not to. Those who do wrong will be punished by the citizens. The punishment is not to buy expensive goods from vendors. After a month or two they will open their eyes. The tax from the packet of cigarettes is paid promptly because it is a British Company. If those who are selling liquor and other items in demand pay their due taxes to the Government, the country will prosper. So will our people.
If some people suffer, are worried and in pain, they will not see development. This is the situation now.
If we can get the Defence Secretary who was involved in winning the war to eradicate bribery, corruption, nepotism and molestation, we will be able to open the eyes and the minds of those who are blind. Though electricity and roads have come to the villages, much needs to be done to alleviate hunger. Pepper price is Rs. 1,200 a kilo, cinnamon Rs. 1,500, acid fruit (Goraka) Rs. 1,200 while local medicinal items such as nutmeg and long pepper (thippili) fetch good prices.
If the Government that gave the fertilizer subsidy and the seeds to the farmer can give priority to the local produce, increase the price of alcohol, control and manage taxation properly, the country would greatly benefit. So will the citizens.
The clergy has the ability and should change the mentality of the people and this could be done in six months.
But we are all sleeping. No one is bothered. The Sri Lankan as a rule sleeps when his stomach is full.