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Sri Lanka has bottlenecks right around her, strangled and suffocating
and breathless is the current situation.
Since we cannot redeem this volatile and complicated system by the
stroke of a pen, I suggest that a long-term plan to serve this nation is
accepted unanimously by all interested parties, political, social and
religious encompassing the entire nation.
Let us begin by separating politics from trade union.
Registered political parties must shed their stranglehold on trade
unions.
Trade unions must cease to call and name politicians or political
parties as their patrons. Legislation must be introduced to make such
associations illegal and punishable. A new era will begin where this
nation can start differentiating their priorities.
Political parties will have to fight for their political survival by
thinking and working hard only as politicians, with sound proposals.
Trade unions will have to fight and justify their positions, which
will eventually be economically viable for their respective trades.
Student unions should be compelled to shed their official political
affiliations. Their demands should be within the scope of their
education and nothing more.
At the moment we are in a jumble of ideologies, all the time
overlapping our actual needs and necessities, which is draining our
meagre economy. In many progressive countries, Governments are trying to
reduce taxes or give better facilities to the general public. In Sri
Lanka we have a unique type situation.
The disparity of the taxation system is flawed at its very core.
Why would the Government Servants (now, Government masters) be
exempted?
They are the least exploited and worked, enjoy the most amount of
holidays, enjoy total immunity from being sacked?
If the argument is that they are underpaid, then they must resort to
trade union action and rectify this anomaly.
WALTER FERNANDO – Ratmalana
The purpose of a police check point is to check the people entering
the security zone to ensure public safety.
The police man has the rights and authority to check whatever he
thinks appropriate to make sure that the public security is not
compromised.
It is very correct to check for the driver’s licence when someone
drives a vehicle to make sure that the individual has a valid licence
and the legal owernership of the vehicle.
It is the duty of law abiding decent citizens to cooperate with the
police respectfully who provide a very risky public service especially
under the current circumstances in Sri Lanka.
ARIYADASA YAPA
I fully endorse the views expressed by Kanchana Perera in the Daily
News of October 30.
In fact, I too have made representations through the media that the
members of the public and the employees working in the public and
private sector should be educated to give priority to the senior
citizens calling over at their respective work places on production of
their Identity Cards issued to them by the State.
I think this could be done by the Information Department through the
print media and TV.
LIONEL LEANAGE – Ambalangoda
At the beginning of this year, a law was introduced to punish those
passengers who travel without a valid ticket.
Most of the private buses exhibit a notice in their buses that it is
an offence to travel without a valid ticket and those who are found
guilty will be liable to a fine of Rs. 100 plus double the bus fare. The
very same buses in which this notice is exhibited do not issue tickets
at all.
A few buses which issue tickets are all bogus because when a
passenger pays Rs. 20 as the bus fare they will be issued with a ticket
for Rs. 10.
A few buses use ticketing machines from which a passenger will get a
valid ticket. It is very essential to make it obligatory for all private
buses to issue tickets through a ticketing machine.
There is no purpose in introducing laws if the authorities concerned
do not enforce such laws. I suppose there are checkers under the
National Transport Commission. I have seen them on the roads wearing a
uniform. But I have never seen them inside a private bus checking the
fraudulent activities of the private bus crew.
The Minister in charge of transport is making an earnest effort to
improve the quality and quantity of passenger transport.
I hope that this letter will catch the eye of the Minister concerned
and he will institute suitable action to check and punish those
conductors who violate the laws laid down.
T. J. VICTOR SILVA - Ja-Ela
The Government has to seriously consider the implications of
uncontrolled price hikes made by importers of milk powder.
During the last few months, the price of a 400 gm. milk powder
increased over one hundred rupees. If this trend continues, the down
trodden masses may not be able to bring up their children in a healthy
atmosphere. We know for sure that some wise Minister may advise mothers
to go for breastfeeding.
It is left for us to find out whether the poor mothers themselves are
healthy enough to provide adequate amounts of milk due to the poor
nourishment they are exposed to, due to high Cost of Living. What about
fate of the children who have weaned off from breastfeeding?
If there is a possibility of importing cows from India, the
Government should take immediate action to do so and encourage the local
dairy farmers to produce more cows’ milk or go for an alternative
solution like Soya milk which could be produced in Sri Lanka without
much hassle.
P. MUTUKUMARANA - Thimbirigasyaya
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