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Samba, Nadu at record Rs. 98; action against errant traders
View(s):Police assistance has been sought by the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) to carry out raids on retail markets selling rice above the stipulated price, a senior official said.
CAA Director General Mohamed Fowzer told the Sunday Times raids had already started to ensure that retail prices were maintained. The maximum retail price for White and Red Samba and Nadu has been fixed at Rs 98 a kilo.
In some areas, police visited retail shops and warned them that legal action would be taken if they failed to sell rice at the stipulated price, but traders claimed they had bought rice at higher prices and were unable to sell them at the government price.
According to the CAA, at least 1,430 shops were inspected during the raids conducted since Thursday. Some 512 shop owners were caught selling rice above the stipulated price and legal action is to be taken against them.
Internal Trade and Consumer Welfare State Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa told the Sunday Times that with recent massive cuts of Special Commodity levies and Value Added Tax (VAT) on essential goods, traders had to adhere to government regulations to ensure that those benefits reached the people.
Minister Yapa acknowledged there had been some delay in giving these benefits to the people, but said that government had issued stern directives to the CAA to launch countrywide raids to crack down on traders who sold rice, milk powder and cement at prices higher than the stipulated prices. “People can lodge complaints directly to the CAA, if traders don’t adhered to newly revised prices,”the minister said.
The National Movement For Consumer Rights Protection, an organisation that fights for the rights of the consumers expressed serious concerns over the increasing rice prices in the market while farmers have to sell their paddy at a low rate.
The organisation’s chairman, Ranjith Withanage, said rice mill owners bought paddy from farmers at prices as low as Rs. 32-35 a kilo, even though the government had fixed the buying price at Rs. 41. The big rice mill owners, Mr Withanage said were making huge profits by selling the rice at much higher prices.
On Wednesday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made an inspection visit to the Narahenpita Special Economic Centre to monitor whether prices of essential goods had been brought down in keeping with the recent government tax cuts and regulations.
“I have instructed the CAA to immediately implement the declared maximum retail prices of essential goods and ensure that tax concession benefits go to the consumers, whilst assuring an uninterrupted supply of goods during the festive season,” the Presidential Secretariat quoted the President as saying.
The non-convening of the Cost of Living Committee is believed to be one of the reasons for the bureaucratic delays that prevent the recent tax cut benefits from reaching the people. The committee which functions as a Cabinet Sub-Committee chaired by the President is yet to meet since it was appointed a week ago.
The committee also includes Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development Minister Chamal Rajapaksa, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Douglas Devananda, and Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture Minister Ramesh Pathirana.