Letters to the Editor
View(s):Bring in solutions to problems faced by senior citizens
I wish to extend my appreciation firstly to The Sunday Times for publishing articles in your people-friendly newspaper (Letters to Editor) and then to the Senior Citizens who expressed their sad thoughts regarding the new laws introduced by the Government which has led them to a situation which can be described as ‘from the frying pan to the fire!’
How can a progressive Socialist Government coming to power mainly on a vote from the public servants (who are or will soon become elders and dependent on their own meagre savings deposited in the banks) and the elder population of this country who have voted this government into power, now mislead them?
The population of elders which is around 12-15% now is estimated to grow towards 20% or 1/5 of our total population in the country by the next decade. They all have voting rights.
I wonder whether the Govt. is aware that Sri Lanka has the 3rd largest population of elders in Asia, coming after Japan and Singapore.
Most of these facts point towards a need to formulate a reasonable package offering our elders (over 60’s) a firm rate of interest at least for a period of five years, plus reasonable discount schemes on health needs such as drugs, health care apparel and equipment, hospitalisation, lifesaving surgeries and also food and living conditions as found in some other countries, as a priority welfare facility.
Highlighted here are some of the main things the Govt. should consider urgently as solution/s to the problems faced by our elder population:
1. Restore the 15% interest rate given hitherto, to all existing elders’ fixed deposits upto Rs.1,500,000 (or Rs. 1,000,000 as proposed in the Budget). How does one expect a Senior Citizen (SC) who had been receiving an interest of Rs.18,750 pm on his own savings, to live when that sum is reduced by half to 7.5% or 8% which will bring him only an amount of only Rs.9375 pm.?
2. Withdraw the Withholding tax (WHT) introduced recently, the 5% and the complicated system of asking elders to request the Inland Revenue Department to refund any excess monies charged from non tax-paying Elders Accounts, as proposed in the budget?
(How can a Government get banks to impose WHT on elders who have already declared to their banks that they are ‘non tax payers’ on existing accounts? One cannot understand this complication and increasing it to 10% is really unjust. Can you expect a Senior Citizen to go to the Inland Revenue Department (climbing so many floors and meeting so many officers) to get his/her own money back?)
3. The Govt. should initiate a comprehensive study through the banks to find out what proportion of all Fixed Deposits in all commercial banks belong to elders and what is the profit generated by the banks on such FD’s?
4. The Central Bank and the commercial banks who are well aware of the fluctuation of interest rates in the past between 20% – 6%, should take a forward looking suitable approach towards elders’ Fixed Deposits in our country as one cannot compare our situation of elders with that of any developing country, or developed countries such as UK and USA. Or Scandinavian countries such as Finland rated as the ‘Happiest Country’ to live in the world?
5. Instead of discouraging elders to save for a better life out of their own deposits, why not initiate new schemes and bring in an elder assistance packages for the benefit of the elders in Sri Lanka in the near future!
Percy Thenuwara Via email
Review your digital water bills carefully
I was left utterly stunned upon receiving my February 2025 water bill via mobile notification. The invoice amounted to an astonishing Rs. 26,846.80 for
98 units of consumption. However, my actual usage was only 25 units, which should have cost a mere Rs. 3,127.00—resulting in an outrageous overcharge of Rs. 23,719.80!
This serves as a strong warning to all consumers to carefully review their digital water bills, as errors can occur due to faulty meter readings or data entry mistakes. With printed bills now discontinued, such discrepancies may go unnoticed, leading to unnecessary financial stress.
Upon contacting the NWSDB toll-free service (1939), I was assured that the issue would be investigated and corrected. However, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) must exercise greater caution when issuing bills – lest they find themselves liable for medical expenses should an unsuspecting recipient suffer a myocardial infarction (heart attack) from such shocking errors!
Mohamed Zahran Colombo
Traffic police and imposing fines unethically
Self-employed three wheeler drivers complain that in certain situations the Traffic Police artificially create long queues in certain junctions by controlling traffic lights. Small vehicle drivers such as motorcyclists and three wheelers are then under intense stress from having to wait for long periods. It is said that Traffic Police wait till they squeeze through other vehicles and impose fines.
Many feel the method of manually imposing fines is outdated. For an example if a fine is Rs. 25,000, drivers prefer to pay Rs.10,000 to the police constable and avoid the full fine.
Also paying a commission to the relevant Police Station for imposing such fines is not a proper method since it encourages the Police to impose more fines than necessary.
Rohan Wickremasinghe Via email
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