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No way, say industry groups to passing on fuel cuts benefits
Consumers will be denied the benefit of the government’s decision to reduce fuel prices as industry groups ranging from bus owners to bakers lined up to declare that deeper cuts were needed to lower their charges.
Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne said the association would not reduce bus fares despite the fuel price reduction. The price of diesel should be cut by Rs. 15 at least, not by Rs. 3, for bus owners to introduce a bus fare revision, he said.
Mr. Wijeratne criticised the government’s move to cut prices of petrol by Rs. 5.
“All diesel-run vehicles use 1900 metric tons of diesel annually while petrol-driven vehicles only use 755 metric tons. Even though diesel consumption is high and the users are ordinary people such as lorry drivers and three-wheeler drivers, the government took the move to include a petrol price cut,” Mr. Wijeratne said.
He said if the government approved the budget proposals submitted by bus owners, those savings could be passed onto commuters in the form of lower fares.
“We have asked forduty-free engines for buses that are over five years old, a duty-free travel card system and the removal of the tax on tyres,” the LPBOA president said.
The President of the All-Island Three Wheeler Drivers’ Association Lalith Dharmasekara said trishaw drivers would not reduce fares as the fuel price cuts were too small. He said drivers were working with marginal profits and the announced reduction would make no appreciable difference to their incomes.
The School Van Drivers’ Association President L. Mal Sri de Silva also ruled out a reduction in fare charges in response to the fuel price cuts. He said irrespective of the cut the prices of engine oil, tyres and spare parts had dramatically increased during the past few months.
“This is only a political gimmick. After the elections the prices of fuel will increase again. The government increased the prices of fuel on several occasions and the reduction of diesel is only Rs. 3. They can reduce even further because the world market prices have reduced too,” Mr. Silva said.
Bakery products will also remain the same prices as the bakery owners also complain that the industry is not turning enough profits to pass on the benefits of the fuel price cut to consumers.
Bakery Owners’ Association President M. K. Jayawardena said the prices of flour, eggs and other food products had rocketed over the years and that baker had been pushing for increases in the prices of their products.
“The only this we can do from the latest price reductions is not increase the food prices. There is nothing else we can do,” he said.
“Fishermen have been asking for kerosene price reductions for a long time but the President introduced it when he found relevant and not when we wanted it,” said the President of the All-Ceylon Fisher Folks Trade Union, Anura Roshantha. “This was a move to gain publicity for election campaigns. We were used.”
He said business was so difficult that fishermen did not encourage their children to get into the industry. “In another five years there won’t be small-scale fishermen,”Mr. Roshantha said.
“The government should immediately resolve these problems or else our children will end up doing hard labour on Chinese ships.”