| Letters
to the Editor |
|
|||||
|
Purse and peace
run dry while prices soar high Six months
into governance by the UNF, the nation is yet to come to terms with
the soaring cost of living. Every essential commodity including
electricity, water, gas, petrol and diesel, food, medicine etc.
has gone up in price while people's income level has remained stagnant.
While the previous
regime is certainly to blame for the precarious economic state the
country is in, one may well ask what the current government has
done up to now to at least contain the cost of living. All it has
done so far is to blame its predecessors and talk of adopting high
flung economic policies, of which the ordinary man on the streets
has not an inkling. In short, we have seen a lot of impressive talk,
but very little action. Indeed, we are a nation of talkers! Take the high
cost of electricity. This has affected trade as it relies heavily
on electricity and the additional cost of production has been passed
on to the consumer. The consumer, while paying fifty per cent more
on electricity bills, has to pay more for all goods, particularly
bakery products and other food items. It appears that the public
is paying for the sins of those who were responsible for the electricity
crisis and the colossal debts of the CEB. As it is to
be expected, those public officers who plundered public money have
gone scot-free while the consumer reels under the burden of higher
electricity prices, which include the 25 percent surcharge introduced
last April. Similarly,
the soaring gas prices in the name of higher international costs,
have affected the consumer no less. In less than three years, Shell
has increased its charges by 60%. Once again, the public is forced
to bear the sins of corrupt politicians. However, we do acknowledge
the sincerity of the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in
attempting to ease the people's burdens. Nevertheless, how many
people can afford to buy new gas cylinders even if a hundred new
gas companies selling gas for much less than Shell are formed? The nation
is likely to be in for another shock by way of VAT. The medicines
hitherto exempted from tax will have 10 percent VAT from July. This
means that the currently exorbitant drug prices will rise further.
Although the government promised new legislation in order to import
drugs by generic name from nearby countries, the cabinet paper for
this process is yet to be prepared by the officials concerned. If
that is the case, why isn't the government taking action against
those officers who have failed to produce the document concerned?
Is the public expected to grin and bear the consequences of state
lethargy? Should the
want of state formalities heap more burdens on an already burdened
public? The people of this country gave a mandate to this government,
not only to pursue peace, but also to bring economic relief. While
the peace initiative appears to be at a stalemate, the much expected,
good economic management of the UNF is yet to see the light of day.
The government must remember that no euphoria lasts long and people's
patience runs out and the country will be back at square one. God
help Sri Lanka, then! Monitor
mushrooming private schools The school
management emphasised that its aim was to have a well-equipped educational
institution and provide education based on the national curricula
in the English medium. However, after three years and a student
population of nearly 1,000, the parents, to their surprise and dismay,
find that the institution does not have even school premises of
its own, leave alone other facilities. Classes are conducted in
about five scattered houses without a proper environment for the
students to engage in studies. The management appears indifferent
to students' or parents' needs or its obligations towards them.
With such glaring shortcomings can anyone be satisfied with its
standard of teaching? It is imperative
that the parents take serious notice of these shortcomings and take
up matters with the school management or higher authorities. Private schools
teaching the curricula in the English medium are mushrooming all
over the country. The education authority is duty bound to monitor
and supervise these institutions and render assistance and advice
where necessary to prevent a deterioration in the standard of education. Publicity
needed It would ensure
better participation if the authorities concerned could give adequate
publicity in Sunday newspapers . Questions
about ETF 'bribe' If a payment
of Rs. 1,000 is made, the claim will be treated on an express basis
and dispensed within two days (The Sunday Times, May 12). One cannot
understand how the same staff could expedite claims in two days
if Rs. 1,000 is paid which would otherwise take between one and
six months. It is also reported that at present there are about
10,000 outstanding claims. It is not clear
how the ETF chief could impose this arbitrary condition without
Cabinet or Ministry approval. I sent my claim
in early February and since then, four registered reminders by my
last employer, but todate they have not even been acknowledged.
The Minister
of Labour should reconstitute the present Board and appoint persons
who will serve the public without seeking 'voluntary' payments to
get their own money refunded. The Board members and the staff are
paid out of ETF funds to serve the public and the ETF Board is not
a passport office!
Since you will
not be still- Until the tree Ratepayers
dumped The officers
claimed that alternative arrangements would be made for the garbage
cart to come to the houses. This does not happen. When the cart
is full, it goes off without collecting garbage from other houses.
The men who bring the cart demand money to collect the refuse. If
money is not given, they do not pick up the rubbish. It is a well-organised
game. People leave home early for their offices and cannot wait for the garbage cart to arrive. It was due to all these that a garbage dump was set up, so that people could dump refuse at their convenience. Garbage cannot be kept in small houses for long periods. If the site
opposite the market is not suitable, an alternative site should
be found or the municipality should collect the garbage in the morning
and evening both. Garbage bins
could be placed at suitable spots. I appeal to
the Mayor to consider the practical aspects of this matter and provide
some relief to the long-suffering ratepayers of Dehiwela -Mount
Lavinia. Let's
put the clock right The day starts
in a rush. Schoolchildren are ordered out of bed before dawn to
catch school vans and driven in the dark. As for the office-goers,
too, it is no boon either. Frayed tempers and steaming tea to gulp
down. These workers take no mid-day meal from home and despite the
escalating cost of living, have to eat from outside. It will be
beneficial if the present government could set the clock back to
5 1/2 hours in relation to the GMT as before. Incidentally, the
GMT could be checked by looking at the watch upside down. The popular
belief is that the advancing of the clock has not brought much advantage. The Norwegians
have a different system to assist business establishments in their
shorter day given by nature - man- made efficiency in the output
of work. They do not have a mid-day meal. The offices there open
at 8 a.m. with what may be considered a coffee break. Everyone,
irrespective of status, has his sandwiches while at work. Work continues
till 3 p.m. To put this
country on a better financial footing, will this system not be advantageous? Stanley
Geevaratne 'Letters
to the Editor' should be brief and to the point.
Address them to: 'Letters to the Editor, The Sunday Times, P.O.Box 1136, Colombo. Or e-mail to steditor@wijeya.lk or stfeat@wijeya.lk Please note that letters cannot be acknowledged or returned. |
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
