Letters to the Editor
View(s):ECT agreement: Making a bad situation worse
That said, the desperate solution offered by the Cabinet in view of the widespread agitation seems to defy all logic, as now the proposed ECT joint venture on a 51:49 share basis in favour of the SLPA is made null and void and in lieu the Government is presently offering the West Container Terminal (WCT) on more lucrative and better terms of ownership to the stakeholders than before! It is on a 11:89 share split with the SLPA becoming the minor shareholder.
The main difference is that the ECT is well into profitable operation with firm laid out plans for further expansion, while the WCT is on a build operate and own basis. It remains to be seen how the present Government would wriggle out of this thorny issue.
As often the case, the so-called patriotic and nationalist set of pro-Government politicians who vociferously denounced the ECT pact as detrimental to the country, are quite surprisingly and shamelessly defending the more damaging compromise that is offered on WCT by the Government.
They now take refuge in the Vistas of Prosperity in which they claim that the WCT is already listed for a public/private partnership for its development and to top it all 6.9 million have voted for its implementation and as the ECT is not in the agenda, their protests are justified, so they say! Our politicians’ patriotism is like no other, indeed!
Be that as it may, it is high time that the Government politicians fulfil the promises documented in their much-hyped manifesto, rather making it a scapegoat for their survival and political rhetoric instead, as and when necessary.
In this stormy terminal issue, knowing the strong-arm tactics of India and having experienced many, among other things, the infamous food drop and the forced Indo-Sri Lanka peace accord, one wonders whether they would jeopardize the Covishield vaccine programme that is already on with the blessings and kind courtesy of both the WHO and India so far. If the expected supply chain with the same brand is delayed or diverted elsewhere by India, all front-line health personnel and others who are lined up for their second jab, in a few weeks’ time would be waiting in vain and others – numbering few millions-eagerly awaiting the first shot will be a disappointed lot, as well. If that happens, our options are limited as the vaccine race is at full speed all over the world at present.
The Government should be mindful of this fact too.
M.R. Pathirage Kolonnawa
Maybe it’s high time for ‘another way’
I switched on the ‘News at Noon’ and heard the President proclaim, “I do it my way, look at the Avenue of ‘Na’ trees I planted despite protests……”.
At this crucial point the power went! These words were sufficient to give me plenty of food for thought.
An avenue of massive trees, striking in appearance planted to commemorate Independence in 1948 was uprooted and replaced by the admittedly picturesque “Na” tree. The reason being that the previous trees were imported. I hope the same fate does not befall those magnificent Mara trees adorning Bauddhaloka Mawatha, imported from Brazil by the British!
Even President Premadasa who first proclaimed that the Na tree was our national tree, did not go this far. The tree could have been used to beautify one of the numerous roads adjacent to Independence Square.
Another “my way” exercise is the problem solver at massive gatherings in rural areas. No thought is given to the risk involved during these COVID times. Chronic problems are presented, (where instant fixes are impossible) and the response I fear is instinctive, emotional, rather than a rationally conceived approach based on Government policy.
Maybe, Mr. President, it’s time “My way” took another path!
P. Amerasinghe Colombo
Is our COVID testing and isolating procedure forcing exposure on healthy people?
How is it not a criminal offence to expose perfectly healthy people to the virus?
Both the RAT and PCR tests yield false positives. These false positives (healthy people) get dumped together, first on a bus or ambulance for hours then at a holding centre together with other true positives in close proximity. So the process is forcibly exposing a certain percentage of perfectly healthy people to the virus. And then we wonder why the positive detections are increasing. And then we wonder why more people are not volunteering for testing.
False positive rates can be between 5% and 40% depending on the test, the kit, and various factors. Granted there is no better way of screening available, so we make the best of what we have. However, don’t we have to know its limitations and set in place procedures that accommodate these limitations?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Allow asymptomatic test positives to self- isolate at home. (Potential false positives. Innocent until proven guilty)
2. Allow them to pay for a repeat test. (Probability of two consecutive false positives on the same test subject is much smaller than a single)
3. Use the savings from not holding healthy people unnecessarily (and exposing them to the virus) for fine tuning the screening process so that true positives are identified.
Gayathree Jayasinghe Bio statistician Colombo