CMC groping in the dark
According to the Competent Authority of the Colombo
Municipal Council and former Mayor Omar Kamil the CMC is owed a
massive Rs.3 billion as unpaid rates and taxes during the past
decade. But what is surprising is the CA's remark that they did
not wish to take stringent measures against the defaulters.
Addressing a press briefing the CA said it was the duty of the
ratepayers to pay their dues in time without delay so that it
would in turn be possible to provide a better service to the
people. This alone mirrors all that is wrong with the country's
premier Local Government institution.
No wonder the city is in the mess it is today. Or is it that
the CMC is guilty of the shoddy service it provides the
ratepayers of Colombo that it is reluctant to force people to
pay taxes.
Among the defaulters are both State and Private sector
institutions with the Government share being a massive Rs. one
billion. What measures has the CMC taken over the years to
recover these sums. Surely it cannot spare the Private Sector
establishments who earn fat profits and are thriving with the
help of all the CMC facilities. Why has it kept mum over the
default by State sector institutions who owe it a staggering Rs.
one billion. Aren't all this at the cost of city development and
citizens' welfare? What happened to the much trumpeted tax
collecting system launched by a former Deputy Mayor where the
collectors went to homes of defaulters accompanied by drum
beaters?
The CA also states that only 200,000 city dwellers pay taxes
and that there are around 400,000 shanty dwellers who enjoy the
facilities provided by the CMC but do not pay taxes. Ditto for
500,000 outsiders who come to city daily and avail themselves of
CMC facilities.
It looks like the CMC has been lending itself as a fat milch
cow to be milked dry by all and sundry. No wonder the premier
Local Government institution is being hamstrung by a perennial
lack of funds to carry out its important programs for the city,
when it remains idle with tax collection similar to its other
services for the city.
Today the Colombo City which was once known as the Garden
City of Asia is a veritable eyesore with garbage mounds dotting
the landscape inviting disease and pestilence. Even a minor
downpour causes the inundation of roads due to the derelict
sewerage system which is of colonial vintage. True, many factors
have contributed to the run down state of the city. Today there
is floating population of around one million people in the city
on any given day taxing the resources of the CMC to the limit.
The rapid expansion of business and commerce and the attendant
increase in the number of service such as the mushrooming hotels
and eateries, the chaos caused by the heavy traffic volume have
all transformed this once picturesque city into chaotic mess.
All these challenges could have been met had proper planning
been done at the outset to accommodate the changes. But the CMC
is still groping in the dark and it is an indictment on this
foremost Local Government institution in the country that it is
today run by a Competent Authority similar to the various
Interim Committees appointed to local sports bodies with the
resultant chaos and disorder.
It has come to a state that it is unable to collect the rates
and taxes due to it and is virtually apologising on behalf of
the defaulters. This type of message is bound to leave a bad
precedent with ratepayers emboldened to continue defaulting
while enjoying all the facilities provided by the CMC. It is
therefore incumbent that a higher authority steps in to ensure
all dues to the CMC are met and the defaulters dealt under the
law. Measures should also be taken to ensure the rate payers
receive value for money and that the CMC gets its act together.
Above all, the Colombo City should now be redeveloped and
recast as a modern city in line with other world capitals where
the city is divided into zones for various purposes. This, while
ensuring an orderly city would also help reduce congestion. As
mentioned the City today cannot withstand the massive influx of
both the teeming humanity and vehicular traffic and is in a
chaotic state.
Steps should also be taken to rid the city of shanties which
is sticking out like a sore thumb and alternate housing made
available to accommodate these segments, so that the city would
be more habitable and tolerable. Colombo needs a massive shake
up and a overhaul from its present derelict state enabling it at
least to recapture even a semblance of its glory days. |