Letters to the Editor
View(s):We survived, we worked, now we are struggling
Yet today, we feel trapped, burdened, and unfairly punished.
In Sri Lanka about 18% of the population – around 3.96 million people – are aged 60 and above. Of these, roughly 13.5% (2.97 million) are between 60 and 75, and about 4.5% (990,000) are over 75. We are part of this growing group, a generation that worked hard and now faces rising costs and less security.
Everything we earned through hard work is now being taxed. Capital Gains Tax on property we have owned for many years. Taxes on rental income or small jobs we still do. Property values have gone up, and so have the taxes. Electricity, water, labour, and maintenance costs have increased sharply. Even a small repair has become a burden. Selling property may seem like a solution, but a large part will go in for taxes, and any money we put in the bank is taxed again. After a lifetime of saving, it feels like the system is taking away what we worked for.
We live simply. Many of us never had pensions. Some never formally employed. Some are dependent spouses. We are independent and responsible. Yet rising costs hit us hardest. Ten stringhoppers that once cost 15-20 rupees now cost over 100 rupees. Groceries, medicine, rent, electricity – everything has multiplied. We ask ourselves: Quo Vadis? Where is this going?
We see it happening already. Bills rise. Maintenance cost rise. Prices of food and medicine climb. Income is not enough. We struggle quietly, as we always have. But the stress is real. Fear of losing our homes. Fear of running out of money. Fear of losing our dignity in the last years of life.
After decades of life, work, and sacrifice, we deserve peace. We should not have to go behind anyone to plead for relief. No one should have to justify a lifetime of hard work. We are tired. We are scared. We are upset that, despite surviving everything, we are being forced to carry more than our share.
We only ask to live the rest of our lives with security, dignity, and peace, without worrying about the next tax, the next utility bill, or the next impossible cost.
Senior Citizen Via email
An open letter to the PUCSL on the proposed electricity tariff revision
Although the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has appropriately invited public consultation on the proposed electricity tariff revision from February 27 to March 18, the online submission portal appears to contain a non-functioning submission tab. If this technical issue persists, it risks undermining the integrity and effectiveness of the entire consultation process. Consequently, I have chosen to present this letter openly for public consideration, including by the PUCSL.
Current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East underscore the urgent need for Sri Lanka to minimise its dependence on imported fossil fuels and prioritise the development of domestic renewable energy resources, including solar, hydro, and wind power. Such a transition is essential to securing a stable and independent energy supply. Regrettably, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) appears to be moving in the opposite direction.
Promoting solar-powered electric vehicles supported by home-based renewable charging systems would strengthen national energy security and reduce pressure on imported fuel supplies. The fuel queues witnessed during periods of crisis, most notably in 2022, serve as a stark reminder of the risks associated with excessive dependence on external energy sources and the national anarchy that can follow.
As a small nation operating within a volatile global economy, Sri Lanka must remain as non-aligned and self-reliant as possible. Strengthening self-sufficiency in strategic sectors is critical to avoiding collateral damage amid escalating geopolitical rivalries among major powers. India has made steady progress along this path; Sri Lanka would be well-advised to do the same.
Raising electricity tariffs — a measure repeatedly adopted over the past decades to offset the high cost of fossil-fuel-based power generation — places an unfair burden on debt-ridden households and struggling businesses. Resorting once again to tariff increases, rather than addressing structural inefficiencies and fuel dependency, reflects a failure of long-term planning. The nation must instead pursue sustainable energy solutions that reduce costs over time.
As a debt-burdened country, Sri Lanka urgently requires pragmatic, forward-looking strategies that ease the pressure on citizens while strengthening resilience in times of geopolitical instability. Energy pricing is not a peripheral issue; it is a central pillar of economic stability and national security, demanding serious and immediate attention.
Established on November 1, 1969, the CEB was entrusted with the responsibility of generating and distributing electricity across the island while promoting social and economic development through the optimal use of national resources.
Recent developments suggest that the Ceylon Electricity Board has fallen short of these foundational objectives. Over the past two decades, electricity tariffs have been increased repeatedly under various justifications yet supply reliability has not consistently improved. The current proposed revision appears to perpetuate the same pattern: continued dependence on imported fossil fuels, directly contradicting the principle of optimally utilising national resources. This trajectory risks returning the country to recurring crises, including the prolonged fuel shortages and power cuts experienced in recent years.
Energy is not an ordinary commodity confined to a single sector; it affects every dimension of national life. High energy costs increase the cost of living by inflating expenses related to food production, transportation, manufacturing, and consumer goods. Ultimately, these costs are borne by citizens.
Moreover, elevated energy prices undermine national competitiveness by discouraging foreign investment and constraining local entrepreneurship, technological advancement, industrial expansion, and job creation. High-cost energy impedes national development.
Low-cost energy should therefore be formally adopted as a national policy objective. The CEB must adhere to its original mandate of optimising national resources for cost-effective electricity generation. Any deviation from this principle must be fully transparent and supported by clear, evidence-based justification.
Even in the sphere of renewable energy, concerns arise about the apparent preference for large-scale solar and battery storage projects that require substantial public funding. Previous claims of “grid instability” attributed to household rooftop solar generation were used to justify policy shifts. If electricity generated by rooftop solar during daylight hours was considered problematic, how would significantly larger solar installations differ in principle? Without systematic and transparent grid modernisation, such projects risk becoming costly stopgap measures rather than sustainable long-term solutions.
Poorly planned initiatives could once again expose the country to high delivery costs, reflected in elevated tariffs. They may also increase the risk of power disruptions due to battery limitations, spare-part shortages, infrastructure weaknesses, or maintenance failures. Sri Lanka has previously endured six- to ten-hour power outages, with severe economic and social consequences. The nation cannot afford a return to such instability.
It must also be recognised that rooftop solar installations, financed by homeowners — often through personal loans — have provided a crucial safety net for many families. By purchasing surplus energy from these “prosumers,” the system has functioned in a mutually beneficial manner for both households and the nation. Rather than discouraging decentralised generation, Sri Lanka should modernise its grid and meaningfully integrate citizen-led energy production. Short- and medium-term grid improvements could be facilitated through structured private-sector participation, including by prosumers themselves.
Globally, affordable energy underpins economic growth. Countries such as China, the United States, Norway, Brazil, and Canada have leveraged domestic energy resources to produce cost-effective power and accelerate development.
Sri Lanka must adopt a clear national policy centred on low-cost energy, fully utilising its natural endowments — solar, hydro, wind, and emerging technologies. Proposals prioritising imported fuels should be considered secondary and strictly transitional.
A nation that endures long queues for essential energy supplies cannot reasonably expect its citizens and businesses to remain productive and resilient. These realities are fundamentally incompatible.
Encouraging decentralised energy production would:
Reduce the cost of living
Improve national resilience
Attract foreign investment
Create employment
Enhance export competitiveness
The people have entrusted the government with this responsibility. The time has come for a decisive, transparent, and forward-looking policy shift.
Chula Goonasekera Via email
Proper education reforms should address inequality of schools
What are education reforms? Is it the same as curriculum revision? In my view, what we see today is curriculum revision, not education reforms.
The term education reforms has a broader meaning than a mere curriculum change. They should consider many things more than just the curriculum, mainly the current situation of the education system in this country, where there is a very clear inequality of schools.
There are still schools without Science and IT lab facilities, smart boards, teachers for the required subjects, electricity and internet facilities etc. Then there are drawbacks like the lack of proper teacher training, transport facilities, quality textbooks, and so on.
Proper Education Reforms should cater to all these aspects. The poor quality of the modules introduced for Grades 1 and 6 shows that we are unable to prepare quality materials.
The main fault is that, like in many other fields, those who are assigned such national projects are unqualified for the task, although they may have such titles as Professors and Doctors. There are very qualified persons outside the NIE for such responsible tasks, but the problem is that the relevant authorities do not have any interest or desire to get in such people.
Even in these modules, there are complications in many aspects other than language issues. Illustrations for textbooks are used to make the reader, the student, get the idea of the text easily, not to complicate learning. For example, the illustration on page 18 of the Grade 1 English Language module has a section titled Family Members. The tags of ‘grandmother’ and ‘grandfather’ have been placed wrong.
Not only that, children may also find it difficult to distinguish between the ‘mother’ and ‘grandmother’. The grandmother looks younger than the mother, some may find.
All in all, the authorities should create pools of quality intellectuals for all the subjects and planning curricula. There should be also be qualified editors and proof-readers. Although we see panels of writers, editors and proof-readers in textbooks, these books don’t seem to have been either edited or proof-read properly.
Such a national project requires much time. Finally, there should be a pilot project before implementing it island-wide.
Ivan Kiriella Wennappuwa.
Genuine users of “Weli Park” should not be charged
Since 2013, I have been a frequent visitor to “Weli Park” – the urban wetland park in Nugegoda. Until the country shut down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I would come in the mornings at least five days a week to jog. Over the past five years, my visits have usually been in the afternoon around 3.30 p.m. I park my car, walk for about an hour, and then return home.
In those days, entry was free, and parking was complimentary. However, about a year and a half ago, someone was stationed at the entrance to collect parking fees, and all exits were closed. However, he didn’t collect fees from genuine visitors who came for walking or jogging but gathered information to issue a car pass. No such passes were issued though.
Recently, either the UDA or the Municipality set a schedule and started collecting fees. This walkway and recreation space offers Nugegoda residents especially seniors a place to walk, jog, and do exercises to stay fit. But charging parking fees on their vehicles seems unfair. If someone parks there to visit nearby shops or attend to private matters, charging a fee makes sense. Genuine users generally have no objection to that.
I trust the authorities will look into this and take steps to ensure genuine users of the park are not charged.
Rohan Abeygunawardena Nugegoda
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