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Uncertainty
and bizarre time changes Sri Lanka has lived through uncertain times over the years while bombs go off all over us. The Tamils in the north and the Sinhalese and the Muslims in the east are worst off in what we have seen in the past. Once again business and the private sector are living through uncertain times. The stockmarket this week has been like a pendulum after a solid start in January and economist Dr. Harsha de Silva has rightly argued that the stockmarket – even though it just has 200 companies – is seen as a barometer of confidence in the country by foreign investors and companies. Any uncertainty in the market reflects the state of the country. Are we ever able to separate business and the economy from politics and the security situation? Most unlikely since Sri Lanka is a small island and anything that happens outside Colombo affects us like the latest round of violence and the worrying news that peace talks have been postponed indefinitely. Coming on top of the orgy of violence in which at least 50 people, mostly servicemen, have died in the past 10 days was communal unrest in Trincomalee where Tamils shops were looted and burnt by armed gangs. Some reports said soldiers looked on, a claim denied by the military. Whatever it is, people and business suffered in Trincomalee. Even by Friday, the town was tense with grocery shops only open till noon. Tourism is also bound to be affected by some foreigners being injured in the incidents. What does this mean to business sentiment? Foreigners just have to look at the stock market and know how uncertain Colombo is. Sri Lanka has gone through a crisis of this nature many times over in the past and this time too the crisis will pass. But the uncertainty will always remain and linger on – depending on what the LTTE chooses to do. Will we ever be able to continue business as usual in spite of these ‘minor’ irritations? Your guess is as good as mine. Time-and-time
again If so why in heaven’s name was it changed? Even a 10-year-old kid will tell you that starting offices or schools at 7.30 am instead of 8 am will nullify the decision to turn back the clock by 30 minutes – for it means children get up at the same time as the pre-April 14 time and start school at the same time (today’s 7.30 am by the new clock is 8 am by the pre-April 14 clock). It doesn’t make any sense. Rather than argue logic with our policy makers or government high-ups, including the President, on the hasty decision to change the clocks, we urge the government to at least hold a public discussion on changing work and school times before making another ill-advised decision. Changing the times of offices and clocks may force sections of the private sector to also do the same. Changing the clock changes our lives. The public has a right to be a part of this debate. No one gave that right to the government to decide on an important issue like this. Already, according to some reports, the government is spending millions more rupees on the extra energy consumed after abandoning daylight savings time without a proper study. That cost everyone knows would be passed onto business, and to the consumer. There have been mixed reactions on the time change from the business community. Some argue that it was practical to change the time in line with Indian time because of the amount of business Sri Lanka does there, while others believed it would affect the international business relations. According to some reports, the decision to change the clock may not have been only because children woke up in the dark to prepare for school. There is a widespread belief that it came at the request of sections of the Buddhist clergy and astrologers who always maintained the old time. Be
that as it may in the spirit of give-and-take, we urge the government
to open the issue of changing office and school times to an open
debate and discussion. |
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