Letters to the Editor
View(s):Get priorities right
Just before the Presidential election in 2015, politicians in the current “Yahapalana” government talked about white elephants in the Rajapaksa government. When they talked about Hambantota harbour, Mattala airport, Suriyawewa cricket grounds and Hambantota International conference hall, all of us understood that the last government had built those white elephants out of borrowed money and put the country in trouble. It was an image building exercise for the Rajapaksa government.
Immediately after coming to power this government realized that the country was highly indebted. They also said that there were undisclosed debts and that when debt repayments and interest payments were made, the country’s income was not sufficient to meet the day-to-day expenditure. Therefore they said that they would have to borrow to bridge the gap. When they said to get out of this debt trap, we have no other option, but to increase the country’s revenue and cut down waste, we got the feeling that this time we had got the right people to do the right thing. Alas, within a few months we heard about the biggest robbery involving the Central Bank.
The Yahapalana government saddled with a mountain of debts, should have carefully chosen their priorities immediately after coming to power. They promised a salary increase to Government servants, therefore they had to do it and they did. They know that our staple food is rice and to be self-sufficient in rice the government should continue with the fertilizer subsidy (under the previous UNP government the fertilizer subsidy was removed and as a result the UNP lost the following election. Unfortunately the UNP economic advisers have not heard of “once bitten twice shy”).
Without managing the economy with meagre revenue while taking steps to improve the country’s earnings and attracting foreign investments, the government embarked on the Central Highway project. Do we have funds to do such a mega project? The government that talked about a mountain of debts is borrowing heavily to build the Central highway. Certainly that is not a priority of a country sitting on a volcano of debts.
Our schools in rural areas do not have basic facilities such as desks, chairs, lavatories and drinking water. Teachers have no proper places to reside in difficult areas and hence do not like to go to rural areas. There are many villages without proper access roads. There are no bridges to cross the waterways to go to the villages. These types of difficulties faced by our own people are highlighted almost every day. Are our politicians blind to these things?
At the just concluded election, the opposition brought only three main topics to the voters’ attention against the government. They talked about the Bond issue, the Central highway and the fertilizer subsidy. What the government should do is to expedite the court cases against culprits of the Bond issue and recover the full amount stolen. The government should suspend the Central highway until the country settles most of its debt and the economic situation of the country improves; why borrow money and pay interest on unnecessary image building projects when we cannot reduce the prices of essential items.
The government should give all the assistance to the farmers who produce our staple food. Do not talk about giving tabs to children, give them school buildings, desks, benches, lavatories and most needed drinking water. If you do these things that require no fortune, you will be victorious at the next General Election. Please prioritise your work, because we do not want a highly corrupt, and undemocratic government once again.
H. de Silva Via email
An insightful look at the Wellassa rebellion
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the great rebellion which historians describe as the most formidable insurrection during the British occupation of our country.
The Kandyan kingdom was brought under the British in March 1815. It took only 18 months for it to rise against foreign domination and surprisingly the first shots fired were from the least populated and least developed part of the Kandyan kingdom, Wellassa. It is a creditable feat that within a short space of time the rebels could galvanize the entire Kandyan region and fight against an army better trained and better equipped. The struggle was sustained for over one year and collapsed due to the disunity among the Kandyan leadership and treachery on the part of some of them.
When I was the Government Agent of the Moneragala District in 1967 I came across a book entitled “Manual of the Province of Uva” compiled by Herbert White of the Ceylon Civil Service and published in 1893. It is an informative book covering different aspects of Uva, but what is important is chapter eight on the Rebellion of 1817. Herbert White draws the material from several sources like that of Dr.Davy who took part in the campaign which were not entirely complimentary to the British.
Several years later my attempts to get a copy of the Manual of Uva here failed and I succeeded in getting one from Amazon US ( I provided a copy to the Royal Asiatic Society.)
P.G. Punchihewa Via email
A travesty of what the Buddha taught
The recent violence in Digana should be an eye-opener to the Government. I recently saw a video of an inflammatory address by a young bhikkhu urging the Sinhalese community to attack Muslims.
This is shocking because Buddhist bhikkhus should be preaching calm rather than violence. The blame for the decline of Buddhism in this country must be placed on our politicians who made the initial mistake of giving it a pre-eminent place in our Constitution above all other religions. From a governance angle we would have been better off as a secular state. The form of Buddhism practised here today would have grieved the Buddha. It is such a travesty of what he taught. Much of it is ritualism with a liberal admixture of superstition. Many of our Buddhist citizenry believe in balderdash like cursing their enemies by dashing coconuts, hiring shamans and witch-doctors to cast charms on their enemies, placing their faith in astrologers and auspicious times for important events. Our politicians encourage such folly by their utterances and behaviour that newspapers shamelessly publicize. One of our prominent newspapers devotes a whole page to Astrology. Instead of pandering to superstition it should be doing a public service by giving such space to a weekly page on developments in scientific knowledge and thinking.
Bhikkhus should be urged to devote their energies to preaching on the value of good behaviour instead of involving themselves in economics and politics. Our leaders should stop treating them as pundits. They should be confined to spiritual activities. From the daily reports of cruelty and crime one would be led to believe that our masses are completely uninfluenced by the tenets of Buddhism. Why is it that our Mahanayakes are not vehemently and continuously condemning the violence against Muslims whether it takes the form of retaliation or not?
Chari de Silva Colombo 3
Galle Face green or brown patch of dust?
Going to Galle Face on a Sunday evening was an outing in the good old days, well dressed people, well behaved people and the less privileged came for a stroll to this breezy patch of grass. Those days are gone for good today and we are left with a dusty, brown, sandy patch of land taken over by don’t care, rude people who use the place for their benefit: vendors making unhealthy food while another lot sell cheap plastic gadgets whereever they please.
The CMC should be the first to be blamed for turning this green area into a dusty patch of land. Looking from the breakwater wall towards the land one can see hotels overlooking the Galle Face Brown. The rates in these hotels are not cheap; one day hoteliers will be asked by their guests is this the view we are getting for our money? Monster cranes, earth moving vehicles, dust etc.….
I suggest, the hotel owners should block out this land and maintain duties to be given to the CMC at a cost with certain conditions:
(1) No walking on the grass.
(2) Designated areas for walk- ing and sitting
(3) Visiting hours
(4) Consuming food and beverages near the breakwater only
(5) Collective events such as flying kites to be restricted.
(6) New trees planted which are suitable to the climate and sea breeze
Nihal Dharmatileke Dehiwela
Our plight needs to be told and retold
Thank you very much for highlighting a topic which needs urgent attention through the publication of a letter on March 4, on the plight of senior citizens.
Strictly speaking the children of many of these senior citizens do not live with them. Communications between these senior citizens and their children are mainly by means of telephone conversations. But telephone bills are also heavily taxed. Senior citizens will be in for another rude shock when they go to the bank from next month, when they realize that bank interests have also been taxed under the new income tax law.
Currently senior citizens’ bank interest is tax free.
If as the government says they have a positive balance in the Budget now, why can’t they give tax concessions on the above two items to senior citizens.
The senior citizens do have a vote which can be given to a party which addresses their problems.
Gunasena A hopeful senior citizen