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Shipping
Development Fund Bill runs aground The Secretary
to the Ministry of Ports Development and Shipping who was present
in court and consulted on the matter, said that in view of the grounds
taken by the petitioners and the comments made by Court, the Minister
would be advised to withdraw the Bill in its present form and present
it after the Bill has been re-formulated. The Bench comprising
Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva and Justices Shirani Bandaranayake
and Hector S. Yapa having decided that in the circumstance there
being no questions for the court to exercise jurisdiction, fixed
the case to be mentioned on July 2, on which date Deputy Solicitor
General P.A. Rathnayake is to submit the specific instructions that
is received from the Minister regarding this matter. Four petitioners,
the Chairman of the Ceylon Association of Ships' Agents, Pushpa
Amarasekera, Managing Director of McOceans Shipping, J.R.Upali de
Silva, Director Shipping of Malship (Ceylon) Ltd., Faizer Hashim
and Managing Directors of JBS Shipping Ltd., and Monsell International
(Pvt) Ltd. J.B. Sethupathy and Mohammed Sameem, in their respective
petitions state that the Bill is inconsistent with Article 12(1)
of the Constitution which guarantees the right to equality. The petitions
cite Clause 11 which stipulates a shipping agent is required to
pay a levy on commission earned by such agent on export freight
as determined by the Minister and Clause 12 which sets out that
the fund shall have the power to call for written information from
every shipping agent relating to his business and require him to
furnish returns. They state these clauses impose a discriminatory
and mandatory levy on agency commissions which is not imposed on
others in similar circumstances. Stating that both clauses also infringe their right to engage in a lawful occupation, the petitioners request a determination that the Bill or Clauses 11 and 12 require to be passed by a special majority of 2/3 of the whole number of Members of Parliament. Consumers
tempted by pre-VAT sales Instead, dealers
continue with their 'pre VAT sales' as scheduled, in an attempt
to provide consumers a final opportunity to purchase goods before
VAT comes into effect. Many wholesale
and retail dealers are expected to hold pre-VAT sales during the
coming weeks fearing that many of their products listed as 'luxuries'
under the VAT scheme will have poor sales. "Prices
of our products will increase by 20% once VAT is implemented. So
we want to give the public a chance to purchase our products before
that," officials at AMTRAD which manufactures paving blocks
said. The company is offering a 50% reduction on prices of its products,
as a result. Abans too have
put out many of its items including microwaves, refrigerators and
other electrical appliances at sale prices. "Prices
of most of our items will shoot up once VAT is introduced, while
production costs will increase as well. So we will make goods available
at a lesser price to the public and hope that after VAT is introduced
sales will not go down," an Abans official said. Sales of computer
accessories are also on at present. For instance, E-pact International
Pvt. Ltd. in Nawala has put on sale a variety of accessories such
as monitors, printers, keyboards, mouse, port hubs and casings.
Most sales
are being advertised by manufacturers and dealers dealing in 'luxuries'
listed in the 20% category. The list of such items is over a hundred
and includes newspapers and processed meat. According to
dealers, in addition to the 10% and 20% that will be added to the
price of goods, additional taxes that manufacturers would be compelled
to pay at manufacturing and raw material level will also be included
in the price. As a result,
the price increase will be more than 10% or 20% in practice, according
to dealers. On the other
hand consumers fear that some dealers may add the VAT to the existing
prices which may include GST and NSL, instead of subtracting these
taxes from the existing prices. However, the risk of consumer exploitation under the pretext of pre-VAT sales to sell outdated or damaged goods is also a possibility, as certain dealers have warned. COPE
wants report on highway tender COPE has been
awaiting the AG's advice to decide whether the contractor who has
been awarded this tender should be allowed to go ahead with the
project or a fresh award should be made. The COPE investigation
into the controversial awarding of the tender for the ADB-funded
section of the Colombo-Matara highway to a Japanese company led
to the Attorney General's advice being sought in this connection.
While the selected company was not even prequalified by the Technical
Evaluation Committee, it is alleged that it was later admitted to
the pre-qualified list prior to another company being rejected,
even though it was implied that a vacancy had already emerged. Questions were
raised as to how the Technical Evaluation Committee Report and ADB
guidelines had been flouted by the authorities and RDA officials
in awarding this tender. Fears were expressed that due to the flawed
selection procedure and resultant delays Sri Lanka would lose the
ADB funding which is due to expire on October 31. From among
29 tender applicants, the three tenders initially selected on the
observations of the Technical Evaluation Committee were China State
Nopawong Civil Joint Venture which scored 79 points, Hanjung and
Daewoo Consortium which scored 95 points, Hyundai Engineering and
Construction Company Ltd. which scored 75 points. However the
company which was later selected had received only 54 points, and
was placed 21 points below the lowest of the three prequalified
tenderers. The Technical
Evaluation Committee report states that this company scored only
54 points and did not reach the overall minimum score of 60 and
hence that this applicant is not recommended for prequalification. Furthermore despite the guidelines specifying that any conditional bidders should be rejected, it is alleged that the selected tenderer had submitted a conditional bid and been informed by the authorities that they should reapply without the conditions and thereby become eligible for selection. SL
doctor honoured by Queen Elizabeth Dr. Pearl Hettiaratchy
was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen
when she announced her Jubilee Birthday Honours on June 15. Since Dr. Hettiaratchy
began her career in 1968 in the UK after being qualified in 1965,
she has held many high consultancy posts. In 1975 she was appointed
consultant in psychiatry in Portsmouth after which she developed
the concept of 'travel day hospital'. She has been
the first Sri Lankan to be elected to the General Medical Council,
the regulatory body governing the registration of doctors and has
served on may committees giving her the opportunity to be the first
overseas doctor to act as a 'screener' for complaints. Dr. Hettiaratchy
was also the first Asian to hold the post of Vice President of the
Royal College of Psychiatrists where her work has spanned a period
of 20 years. Coming from
a family of medical practitioners, Dr. Hettiaratchy is the sister
of Dr. Clarence Muttiah and Dr. Sugi Canagaretna and wife of Consultant
Psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Hettiaratchy. Now retired, she hopes to actively participate, on an advisory basis, in the work of Sri Lankan organisations. SLAS
wants top Customs job "The post
of Director General of Customs is a scheduled post under the minutes
of the SLAS. Therefore, it cannot be filled by other officers. If
the Finance Ministry Secretary and the Prime Minister fail to take
correct action, we will take up the matter in court," President
of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association, S. Rannuge
said. Last week,
in a letter to the Finance Ministry Secretary and the Prime Minister's
Personal Secretary, the Association stated that at present over
400 SLAS Class I officers who have served over 25 years have been
deprived of promotions and salary increases. Therefore, an irregular
appointment will not only be a violation of the SLAS Minutes but
a further deprivation of SLAS officers, it said. "There are
qualified administrative service personnel available for the post.
When an officer in the department itself is appointed to such a
crucial position transparency is under threat and maladministration
is also possible," Mr. Rannuge said. The Association
further said that the Customs Department is an important institution
where frauds and maladministration can take place. Therefore, the
appointment of a staff officer is not in the best interest of the
Department. According to
Mr. Rannuge, since the UNF government came to power a large number
of political appointments have been made depriving senior and able
SLAS officers of promotions. "Junior
SLAS officers with political backing have been appointed to senior
positions in Ministries and government offices. At least 20 Divisional
Secretaries have been appointed on political grounds so far,"
he said. Earlier, in an interview with The Sunday Times, Minister of Public Administration Vajira Abeywardene justified political appointments by saying, "we will not do away with such appointments as it allows the government to employ skilled and experienced persons who may not be SLAS officers." IMF
deal blamed for rising prices A senior Treasury
official said that the PA government has entered into this standby
agreement to obtain SDR 250 million and to qualify for a similar
loan of an equal amount. The official explained that the PA has
obtained SDR 130 million through this agreement during its last
lap while the UNF government has obtained the remaining SDR 120
million. The source
added that the original agreement was to provide SDR 200 million
which was subsequently increased to SDR 250 million. Authoritative
government sources explained that the MoU between the PA and the
IMF was entered into in March 2001, which committed the Sri Lankan
government to the privatization of at least eight public institutions
and a series of conditions that would directly add to the cost of
living. The MoU on
economic and financial policies was entered into last year by President
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Central Bank Governor A.S. Jayawardene
and Managing Director of the Washington-based International Monetary
Fund Horst Kohler. Under the structural
reforms to be carried forward in 2001 and 2002, it was agreed that
restructuring and privatization plans would be introduced in the
Ceylon Electricity Board, Ceylon Shipping Corporation, Ceylon Wholesale
Establishment, Petroleum Corporation, State Pharmaceuticals Corporation,
Building Materials Corporation, Ceylon Plywoods Corporation and
the National Livestock Development Board. The agreement,
which was somewhat open-ended, provided for subsequent amendment
and later included the Insurance Corporation as yet another public
enterprise to be restructured. According to
this agreement, the government was required to fulfill three 'prior
actions'. One was the shift to a flexible exchange rate regime,
which was done in January 2001 with the floating of the rupee to
help preserve the level of official reserves. Another condition
was to increase administrative prices of transport fares and energy
in order to eliminate operational losses of public enterprises.
It was further stated that in addition to the administered price
increases, further price increases will be made on diesel by Rs.
3 per litre and fuel oils by Rs. 2 per litre. The third condition
was to announce revenue and expenditure measures in the 2001 budget
to achieve fiscal targets, including commitments on privatization
of public corporations which had been listed. The source
explained that under the suggested structural reforms, seven conditions
were listed including the reduction of dependence on the National
Security Levy (NSL). He said that this condition recommended a significant
reduction in the NSL rate and a compensatory increase in the GST
rate in the 2002 budget, with its full integration by 2004 end.
This measure was adopted when the new VAT was introduced integrating
the NSL. The introduction
of a new management for the Bank of Ceylon and the adoption of an
automatic petroleum pricing method to cover up operational losses
were among other conditions. In this backdrop,
the Prime Minister has called for the provision of immediate relief
to the masses who are burdened by regular price increases. UNF spokesman
Gayantha Karunatilleke said the UNF wished to explain the precarious
economic situation created by the imprudence of the PA regime when
entering into this agreement and also its mismanagement of the economy. " However, the government will take effective steps to relieve the people. But the country's economic situation prevents us from abrogating this MoU and entering into a more favourable agreement" he said. Madhu
expects record crowd Special arrangements
have been made to avoid inconvenience to visiting pilgrims, Bishop
of Mannar Rev. Fr. Reyappa Joseph said. "Arrangements
have been made to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Madhu on a
grand note, after 20 years and security checking will be minimal
so as not to inconvenience pilgrims visiting the Shrine", the
Bishop said. He said that
facilities such as food and other items would be provided at reasonable
cost while drinking water would be available in plenty. The area
around the shrine can be used for camping and pilgrims are asked
to bring necessary equipment to erect camps, the Bishop added. Pilgrims travelling
to Madhu have been permitted to use the normal route from the Madhu
Road junction to the Shrine between 7 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. from June
20 to July 4. While pilgrims
visiting the Shrine are expected to carry with them their identity
cards, those who travel in vehicles should have their vehicle documents
and a list of names of the passengers with identity card numbers
to facilitate their movement at the Madhu road check-point. On the instruction of the Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement Dr. Jayalath Jayawardene, the Gampaha Bus Association has provided a special transport service to assist pilgrims travelling to Madhu. Dengue
reaches peak in June He said most
number of cases had been reported from the surroundings of the Lady
Ridgeway Hospital in Borella, Kompannaveediya and Dematagoda. Dr. Kariyawasam
said the Colombo Municipal Council had intensified efforts to curb
the epidemic with legal and education measures being implemented. He said more
than 50 people had been prosecuted under the Mosquito Borne Disease
Act for their alleged failure to maintain a clean environment. The council's
Public Health Department has also launched the 'Green Star Home
Project' whereby people are encouraged to maintain a clean environment
in and around their houses. Meanwhile,
the Flying Squad appointed by the Dengue Task Force continues to
inspect schools and public places to identify mosquito breeding
grounds and suggest measures to eradicate them. On Thursday
and Friday inspections were carried out at Hindu College, Muslim
Ladies College, Visakha nursery, Thurstan College and the Nurses
quarters in Borella. Except Visakha nursery, all other places posed a potential dengue threat, officials said. Wildlife
probe focuses on two The probe follows
recent raids conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Department in
the Tissamaharama and Weerawila areas. The flying
squad recovered a large quantity of venison in the possession of
a private secretary of a PA politician who had crossed from the
UNP when they raided his house at Tissamaharama. The squad also
took into custody a deep freezer. In the second
raid on a bungalow within the Weerawila sanctuary, the flying squad
detected two unlicensed guns and explosives. The bungalow is owned
by a former retired naval officer. Their cases will be taken up before the Tissamaharama Magistrate next Friday, the official said. |
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