Let the true spirit of democracy prevail

Daily Mirror Editorial

Minister Maithripala Sirisena’s reiteration of the government policy of finding a political solution to the national problem through a process of power devolution, at this stage, raises some hope for the country to come out of the present predicament.

The General Secretary of the SLFP and Agricultural Development Minister Sirisena has made the assertion when he addressed the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Government Information Department Auditorium in Narahenpita on Thursday.

He has said the government’s commitment to the policy of devolving power and implementing the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) proposals remains unchanged. He has said that on the directives of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, APRC Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana is expected to present the APRC proposals to the President on January 23. The proposals would thereafter be presented to the Cabinet and party leaders. And after the appropriate amendments where necessary, the final proposals would then be placed before the people, he has said.

This demonstrates that the government is determined to go ahead with the implementation of its policy despite pressure exerted on it by certain parties and groups that oppose these moves. The JVP, which is for total vanquishing of the LTTE has asked the government to scrap the APRC and refrain from presenting any kind of political solution to the problem.

Apart from the obvious pressure brought to bear on the government by the international community, there is the compelling factor of the concerns of the vast majority of the people in the country about the disastrous impact of the ongoing conflict on them, that has prodded the government into expediting the formulation of a political framework.

Although much is said by the parties that want the war to be waged to a finish about the people’s readiness to undergo any hardship or inconvenience for safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, integrity and independence, the majority of people who are at the receiving end of the present conflict do not seem to be in a mood to tolerate their misery any longer. JVP Leader Somawansa Amerasinghe of course says that if the people are not ready to undergo hunger for the cause, the party will ensure that they will respond to the nation’s call. Some among these groups say that the people are not yet compelled to eat ‘bagiri’ as they did when the country was involved in an imperialist war.

It is unfathomable why the JVP has changed its earlier policy of being prepared to go with the majority decision as long as it did not jeopardise the country’s interests. Apparently, the JVP now thinks that the LTTE could be completely wiped out. But the preponderant opinion here as well as abroad is that even if the forces succeed in completely vanquishing the LTTE, the Tamil grievances and aspirations will remain temporarily submerged to surface later. The JVP’s own history substantiates the correctness of this assertion.

The JVP was ruthlessly decimated and suppressed following their armed struggles. But their mission and concerns could not be eliminated that way. They remained dormant under oppression, but came alive later in a different form to sponsor the same cause for which their departed comrades made the supreme sacrifice. So, it is really the JVP, more than other political parties that should empathize with those having grievances though, of course the JVP is justified in revolting against the LTTE’s use of arms to promote their cause.

The JVP now advises the government to carry on with preemptive attacks on the LTTE, avoid any talks with them, refrain from resorting to constitutional reforms and dissolve the APRC. They have every right as a mainstream political party to express views and make suggestions. But what is deplorable is that their exhortations often, if not always, are accompanied by threats and warnings. They are so presumptuous as to claim absolute perfection for their policies and actions and attempt to project a façade of being the exclusive guardians of the country’s interests.

Although the party claims to have come to the mainstream of democratic politics and substantiated this claim in certain respects, yet they seem to be lacking in the democratic spirit. Discussion, debate, compromise and respect for majority decision are some of the tools of democracy the use of which is expected from its practitioners. The JVP needs to develop these qualities.

Source : Dailymirror

A timely move

Daily News Editorial

Fuel prices are up again. Motorists are feeling the pinch, but it is an inevitable fact of life in these times. A price rise was a foregone conclusion in the face of a steep escalation of crude oil prices in the world market.

Amidst this somewhat gloomy scenario, one news item gives us hope that the authorities are taking an enlightened, positive approach to the issue.

Environment Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka has proposed that duty concessions be granted to hybrid (gasoline/electric) and all-electric vehicles as an immediate measure. We are told that the Cabinet has endorsed his proposal.

This is indeed a groundbreaking decision that was long overdue. We applaud the Environment Minister for taking this measure, in line with the rest of the world. The Daily News has persistently campaigned for duty cuts on hybrid and electric vehicles. Motor traders too had urged the Government to take this progressive step.

Indeed, the rest of the world has overtaken us in this regard. Many developed and developing countries, aware of the need to cut down on fuel consumption and noxious emissions, grant either duty-free or concessionary duty structures for cars such as the best-selling Toyota Prius. Many countries exempt all-electric cars from all duties and taxes and even parking fees.

The Minister has also called for more facilities for local assemblers of motor vehicles. This is also a step in the right direction. They should be encouraged to manufacture more environment-friendly vehicles.

Hybrids and electric are not fancy products that are still in the ‘future’. They are widely available now and the technology is improving all the time. Tomorrow’s hybrids will be cleaner and more fuel efficient.

Car companies and specialist battery manufacturers are working on new batteries that will give a longer range with lower recharging times. A slew of new electric cars will come to the market in the next few years.

Moreover, hydrogen/fuel cell powered cars are likely to enter the market in the next decade. These cars, which emit water as the only by-product, will be extremely environmentally friendly and authorities should keep an eye on the latest developments.

The authorities must also take this opportunity to rethink the entire duty structure applicable to passenger motor vehicles, especially diesels. Diesel passenger cars attract a duties and taxes upto 500 per cent of the car’s value. The idea is no doubt to prevent private users from enjoying the subsidy meant for transport providers.

But this thinking lacks any rationality in the face of rising oil prices and current diesel technology. Litre per litre, today’s advanced diesel engines are far more efficient and frugal than their petrol counterparts.

In other words, diesel cars do more kilometres per litre than their petrol counterparts, whatever the engine size. More than 75 per cent of new cars registered in Europe (where petrol and diesel prices are more or less equal) are diesels. Even in neighbouring India, there is only a slight variation in prices between petrol and diesel powered cars.

Several countries are also taxing cars based on their carbon dioxide emissions, not engine sizes. Lower CO2 emissions attract lower duties. In fact, some of the bigger engines are less polluting than smaller ones.

A more logical diesel duty structure will lead to a higher number of diesels on our roads, which could mean a huge saving in terms of foreign exchange in the long run.

The authorities should also rethink the existing policy on reconditioned cars. Reconditioned and brand new cars are taxed more or less at the same rates.

Reconditioned vehicles have been used either in Japan or Singapore for upto three years and then dumped here. Often, these vehicles have failed to pass tough emissions and mechanical tests in the country of first registration. They often come with second hand parts.

Raising taxes on reconditioned vehicles (or still better, banning their import altogether) and lowering taxes on brand new vehicles is a far healthier option. A lot of foreign exchange can thus be saved on importing second hand cars and second hand spare parts.

Another sore issue the issue of duty free permits. While our People’s Representatives can buy, say, a brand new Toyota Prado for just Rs.3.5 million, others have to pay a staggering 15 million rupees for the same car.

Granting car permits to public servants was a step in the right direction, but we see no reason why the scheme cannot be applied to expatriate workers who bring in more than US$ 3 billion a year, depending on the number of years they have worked abroad.

Finally, if Sri Lanka had good transport links such as subways, fast trains, clean, uncrowded buses, many would prefer to use them instead of fuel-guzzling vehicles. A good public transport system will be the ultimate fuel saver.

Source : Dailynews

Waiting for cheap rice

Island Editorial

The government has promised to import rice to bring down prices. It is planning to release 30,000 tonnes of rice to the market within the next two weeks through state owned sales outlets. Nothing exposes the stupidity of the custodians of this country who have ruined the state sector agricultural and trading institutions more than the predicament of the present government and the public. The CWE was the most potent instrument at the disposal of the State to regulate prices but it was systematically enervated and reduced to an empty shell at the behest of private traders who sponsored political potentates. This government may claim the credit for proposing the revival of the co-operative system but precious little has so far been done on the ground.

The government’s decision to import rice is welcome but the question is whether the stocks to come will be fit for human consumption. President Mahinda Rajapaksa will have to ensure that the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats won’t line their pockets by importing low quality rice which will end up as animal fodder. What the people need is not anything cheap but good rice at reasonable prices.

In trying to distribute the rice to be imported through the State owned outlets which are few and far between, the government may be biting off more than it can chew.

Co-operatives are notorious for inefficiency and corruption and the government will find it difficult to prevent long winding queues forming at those places (reminiscent of the 1970-77 era) and the sale of rice to the private traders through the backdoor. It is hoped that the people won’t have to get ‘chits’ from politicians to obtain rice from co-operatives like in the bad old days.

The need that has arisen for an efficient distribution and marketing network should serve as an eye-opener to the government vis-à-vis the rapid expansion of supermarket chains at the expense of retail traders. The day may not be far off when the consumer will be at the mercy of those super markets with massive overheads to buy his provisions at exorbitant prices. The attractive prices they are offering at present are deceptive. They will lay bare their true faces only after they get rid of the retail traders and acquire monopolistic status. It behoves the government to prevent retailers from going out of business, in the public interest.

Minister of Agriculture Maithripala Sirisena is reported to have attributed the steep rise in the rice prices to a sharp increase in the demand for rice caused by a huge drop in the wheat flour consumption—40 per cent—due to the recent flour price increases. The basis of his pronouncement remains to be statistically proved but if what he says is true, then the country is on the right course. The people must be encouraged to consume less wheat flour. However, if there has been so sharp a drop in the wheat flour consumption, as he claims, then how on earth haven’t the prices of flour based products come down or any bakeries gone out of business? The prices of paan, gal banis, maalu pan and bibikkam continue to rise and bakers are having a field day! We just can’t understand Sirisena’s economics.

Minister Sirisena has offered to resign if that would help bring down rice prices. Price hikes or no price hikes, the people will really appreciate his resignation, which will be some consolation to the irate public bearing the cost of maintaining a jumbo Cabinet. It is the fervent wish of the people that one half, if not three quarters, of the Cabinet will step down. How relieving it will be for a hungry man to have a swarm of parasites feasting on him removed goes without saying!

President Rajapaksa is said to have had a discussion with rice importers and mill owners on how to arrest the increasing rice prices. It would have been more prudent for him to invite Pottu Amman to a discussion on how to defeat terrorism in this country!

The heavenward rush of the rice prices cannot be explained in the light of Sirisena’s ‘piti theory’. Rice prices are being kept artificially high through hoarding by a cartel. We have pointed out in these columns umpteen times that successive governments have placed the consumer at the mercy of a mudalali Mafia, which controls from Colombo even the price of an egg a humble hen lays in a far-flung village. If it is the interests of the consumer that the government intends to protect, then it must act independently of traders who are hell bent on exploiting the public.

There are times when a government has to shed its laissez-faire attitude toward the mudalalis and use the stick instead of the carrot in dealing with them. However, as is the way with this Universe, balance is of great import. Although state intervention is called for to regulate prices in crisis situations, the government must desist from taking the country towards a closed economy which is out of step with the modern world.

The soaring food prices are attributable mainly to the government’s inefficient handling of the essential commodities. The SLFP-led coalitions are usually characterised by the chicanery and shenanigans of conceited pundits in the garb of ministers whose approach to problem solving is replete with hubris and callousness. They remember the people only on the eve of an election. The present government is lucky that it is being challenged by a lame duck Opposition which floats like a bee and stings like a butterfly and the people are desirous of seeing an end to the scourge of terrorism, regardless of their economic woes.

Promises are of little use to a populace crushed under the heavy burden of living. The government ought to go beyond meetings and committees, do its damnedest to bring down prices of rice and other essential commodities and step up the local food production. It must pluck up the courage to deal with the politically backed rice mill owners— including the siblings of the ruling party politicians—who purchase paddy at Rs. 17.00 per kilo and sell a kilo of rice at Rs. 80-90 and drive both the farmer and the consumer to suicide.

Source : Island