|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 26 March 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Letters | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Sports Obituaries
|
Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
The Basel Ban and follow up; the role of Sri Lanka At the Conference of Parties to the Basel Convention (on Control of Tansboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes as their disposal) in Geneva on March 25, 1994 it was decided by consensus to ban all shipment of hazardous wastes from the 24 countries of OECD to the non-OECD countries, i,e. to stop rich industrial countries dumping their wastes in poor countries. The unlikely unanimity on the Basel Ban Resolution was the outcome of unprecedented unity and determination on the part of G77 countries led by the Sri Lankan delegation, which adopted a clear strategy, built up and consolidated a winning coalition, and progressively wore down the powerful and equally determined opposition. The tenth anniversary of that historic event fell on March 25, 2004. Who are the intended beneficiaries and what will they gain from the Ban? Clearly, the primary beneficiaries will be poor countries, most of which do not have the administrative and technical capacity to avoid becoming victims of dumping. Even where there are comprehensive regulation, these are frequently circumvented, with or without the connivance of local officials, by countries and corporations using their sophisticated technical know-how and ample resources to get rid of their wastes as cheaply as possible in developing countries. Being in conflict of regulations in the country in which the waste is dumped is much less a deterrent to them than being in breach of international law as set out in the Basel Convention. In the former case, the responsibility would be primarily with a few officials in the developing countries. In the latter case international law would be contravened even before the offending waste is shipped, the country of export of that waste, the party exporting, and the shipper will share responsibility. The corporations generating waste and the developed industrialised countries in which it is generated may oppose the Ban because they would be compelled to spend more resources in reducing of quantum of ways and in disposing of their wastes within their borders or in other developing countries. But in the long run the Ban will lead to more research worldwide to evolve technologies to reduce quantity of waste as well as to reduce the content of hazardous substances in waste at lowest possible level. This will benefit everyone. Unfortunately, the follow up to-date has not matched the success of the Basel Ban Resolution. The Basel Ban Amendment needs ratification by 62 countries for entry into force. Sri Lanka was among the first to ratify but, upto January 27,2004, only 44 countries had ratified the Amendment. Happily, the European Commission, which once led the opposition to the Ban, has not only ratified but also backed it with binding legislation. Several OECD countries that did not find it possible to block it at the COP in March 1994, have refrained from ratifying it. However the Ban could yet come into force if an adequate number of non-OECD countries choose to ratify it. Effective lobbying among non-OECD countries by a few OECD countries has stalled ratification. Vigorous and concerted counter lobbying by concerned developing countries and their allies is necessary. If this effort is to succeed, Sri Lanka may again need to play a lead role. L. Padmini Batuwitage, Director/Environment, Free media and manufacturing consent in Sri Lanka Much hype is being made about the role of the state media by the government at various forums and through private media which are clearly aligned to the United National Party: Much emphasis is laid on the responsibility of the media, which as the Prime Minister himself has said must be self-grown by the media itself. It is clear that these utterances are based on the false pretext that private media apart from being free, provide the readers, listeners and viewers unbiased, balanced, impartial reportage and comments, and acts in a responsible manner. If so, good. However the fact remains that Sri Lanka has never had a responsible free press or media as such. A closer look at the role of the press in the golden era of freedom and golden pens is succinctly given by D. B. Dhanapala, who had this much to say about the coverage S. W. R. D. had from the press. "No politician ever had so bad a press and so consistently in any part of the world for twenty-five years as Bandaranaike. He was consistently maligned without mercy, libelled this side of the law more than any other man in the island. He was called a "drummer boy" and other stinking epithets in respectable newspaper editorials. For years he was the butt of journalistic political prophets who deserved reboring if only they had not been boring enough already. He never had what is called a "build up". In fact for twenty-five years he had a journalistic demolition squad working overtime on him but unable to finish the job. The wonder was not that Bandaranaike took so long to arrive but that he survived at all. He fought the Press of Ceylon single-handed with a contempt that astounds us. With each campaign of attacks the stature of Bandaranaike grew. It almost seemed he battened on the bludgeon. His career was an experiment in the crucible of criticism. The "sword" of the nation, that he claimed he was, was forged like a Damascene blade tempered with the cruellest of journalistic savagery. Bandaranaike had to be thankful for all this civilized thuggery. For the people whose imagination he once fired could thus never forget him. To them, he was always Diyasena, the Prophet Ruler of the future, who would usher in a new era in the green and pleasant land. During Mrs. Bandaranaike era the press sank to the worst level it can sink in a civilized world. The Brown Sahibs amidst whom were the holders of the golden and silver pens were hell bent on discrediting not only her government and policies but her personality as well. The infamous cartoons apart from biased reports and articles published by the so called free press speaks for volumes of then newspaper barons and their impartiality and the quality of the press we had. One only has to consider these along with the malicious campaign against the President from day one when all the media (state and private) came under the control of the government the former by ownership and the latter by class and party allegiance. The fact that when the Prime Minister called in his media troops for a dressing down after the dissolution among those attending, were moderators of political talk shows, political columnists (gossip writers) of Newspapers and tele presenters of News and Newspapers. This clearly shows the level of the so called free media in the country and their impartiality. The more they raise their voices against the state media the fact that emerges is their failure to nobble them, as was done by the Prime Minister's Media Unit during the last two years. The third episode of His Master's Voice is a continuity of infamous journalism, begun during the era of five star democracy and continued unashamedly and brutally during the era of the common man's executive. P. B.N. Drought - Kandy suffers too... During the past week, the mass media as well as many politicians have been very concerned about the acute water shortage in Colombo. However it is sad to notice that when Kandy is facing a similar acute water shortage such a concern about the plight of the Kandy residents has not been made. Thus the less privileged Kandy residents suffer silently. Here in Hantana where the National Housing Scheme has about 350 houses, the water cut has been imposed since July 2003. This regular water cut was lifted only for about a week or so in December 2003 with the little monsoon rains received. Currently, the residents of the scheme gets water once in three days and that too, only for about two hours. If the current drought continues, it is warned that the water supply will be further reduced. Though the existing water scheme is hardly sufficient to supply water to the residents of the scheme, the politicos and bureaucrats want to allocate more land from the area for the construction of new houses. The Kandy city faced a water problem during December too. Many restaurants had to be closed down during this period. University of Peradeniya, too faces the effect of the water shortage. Yet the attention received by lucky Colombo residents is never offered to us, those living in Kandy. Moreover, there does not seem to have any plan at all to overcome such situations in the future. I wish that the politicos will give priority for this acute problem in their respective manifestos by stating what they plan to do about this national problem of water shortage. Dr. A. S. ABEYRATNE, National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) is the successor to the National Apprenticeship Board, the brainchild of the late T.B. Subasinghe, the then Minister of Industries in the SLFP/LSSP/CP United Front Government (1970). Although Special Reports - (even by foreign experts) - have been prepared regarding the youth problems with important recommendations for harnessing the youth in the development of the country whilst providing them employment, the uprising of 1971 would have been the actual eye-opener for the Minister to move in the direction of setting up the National Apprenticeship Board (NAB). With a special Parliamentary Act (Act No. 49 of 1971) passed, the way was wide open to the unemployed youth of the country - some with secondary education, and many who had no such background; both categories lacked any knowledge (not even "basics") of any trade/skill whatsoever. The country badly needed craftsmen, mechanics, carpenters, masons, plumbers, electricians, at the time, and even computer-operators and those with knowledge of electronics, sometime later. The failure of the State to gear its educational policy towards the above, created unemployment and this led to youth - frustration leading to suicide or fasts - (and that, unto death!) The Minister of Education of course introduced practical training in vocational subjects to the school curriculum only to be rejected by the elite parents in the towns. However NAB and now, NAITA plays a vital role in this respect through its establishment-based apprenticeship training and by offering attractive courses in its Institutes (the Apprentice Training Institute at Katubedda, the Automobile Engineering Training Institute at Orugodawatte, the Technician Training Institute at Katunayake). A monthly stipend and a CTB Season Ticket were provided to every Trainee, which served as an inducement too. The private sector too responded most favourably in providing "placements" in their workplaces to youth who were directed by the NAB/NAITA for training in different trades; and since the inception of the NAB, more than 500,000 skilled youth of the county trained by this establishment are either employed (here as well as abroad) or engaged in self-employment by running motor repair garages, refrigeration and air condition repair centres, manufacturing steel products or furniture or even working as self-employed carpenters, masons, plumbers and electricians (in the building construction trade). In addition, those who graduate from the TTI, Katunayake are awarded the National Diploma in Engineering Sciences and they are assured of employment in the private and public sectors. NAB/NAITA also introduced a national trade testing programme to test those craftsmen who have not followed formal training in the trades but successfully employed. On being successful in the test, these craftsmen were awarded a certificate of proficiency. On recruitment of youth for training they follow courses, all designed according to training standards drawn up by qualified personnel representing the different trades in the public and private sectors and the staff of NAB/NAITA, and the regular visits to the private sector workplaces by the Inspectors/Training officers of NAB/NAITA to check on the progress of the trainees carry much weight, in that, the employer being aware of their visits, strictly adhere to the "Training standards". Of, late, NAITA has withdrawn the payment of the stipend and the issue of the CTB season ticket to many trainees. Trainees following the personal secretaries' course and the printing trade course are now levied a fee. The Hotel School started in collaboration with the Galle Face Hotel, and many other training centres have been closed down. On enquiry we find that Budget allocations have not been increased and as such, the Management has been compelled to implement the above measures however much they are unpopular. NAITA with an efficient and experienced team of Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, Training Managers, Training Officers and Inspectors have for the last 30 years been partners in a new sphere of education, viz. apprenticeship and vocational training. A parallel organisation which started operation in the same field under a different Ministry much later, receives higher allocation of funds, and as such, it is not inappropriate to ask why NAITA is getting step-motherly treatment. If the State appreciates that apprenticeship and vocational training is a part of the education system, much emphasis with sufficient funds should be given without any discrimination as far as the organizations are concerned. WIMALASIRI DE MEL, |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
