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| Thursday, 30 January 2003 |
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Please forward your letters to editor@dailynews.lk in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Vehicles meet with mechanical failures, however much they may appear new. This is one such incident that took place on Galle Road around Bambalapitiya in the busy hours of a week day morning. The vehicle - a car, failed to move on after a brief stop near the busy colour lights moving a few yards forward. The driver of the vehicle was summoned by an officer on duty to pull up and a complaint was about to be lodged in his entry book. Complaint - stopping the vehicle for a tete-a-tete to someone in a passing vehicle in the other lane and causing a traffic jam. Oh, what a judgement - Did his eye catch only the distant car, and not the car in the lane, closer to him - if any such conversation took place there should be two culprits not one. 1. What an embarrassment to a person rushing to work to find his vehicle failing - and 2. An explanation demanded for an act not committed - what a shame - What Police - Public relations can we look forward to If he failed to understand the mechanical failure of the vehicle - how can he ever promote police - public good relations. R.I.P. I was utterly surprised to see writer claims that youths were spoilt and in need of military discipline. By whose doing may I question that they have been brought to this state? Ever since the day a child is born he is taught by the adults to win over another, to lie in another's face (starting from the interview of admitting to school), to run a rat race and defeat one another. The whole idea is don't bother about another, kill if you must but win. With these kind of influences from the childhood I would be surprised if society did not develop such a ruthless trend and there is obviously no chance of bringing up a so called prim and proper set of youths, whatsoever. I also don't see how such a transformation could take place under military guidance. How the uniformed officers yelling commands at a bunch of 'rotten' youths would do the trick. The whole problem with the society is the lack of self-discipline. If we ought to implement anything we should implement self-discipline. We should plant in the child's mind thoughts of loving and respecting each other. I can't see how military guidance with teaching of killing (as the Buddha teaches to forgive even the enemy), teaching of military weapon handling and planting of war thoughts in the youthful mind would actually create a proper society. What I suggest is that the children's discipline should be entrusted to the hands of their parents and teachers who could create saints out of monsters if they would only follow the correct way of doing so, instead of trusting a bunch of complete strangers. If any one could transform this trend of loss of virtue it has to be the adults who bring up their children, and their ways of up-bringing need to change into ways with more morality and feelings. K. G. SHASHINI GAMAGE, Yasapala Karunasinghe has devolved at length (DN 22.01.2003) on the unethical conversion of Buddhists by various mushrooming Christian organisations and calls for a public debate to awaken the conscience of those who matter. We may go back further to 21.10.2002 for the revelations of Mallika Wanigansundera based on the report of The Presidential Commission on the Buddha Sasana. Therein she has reported on the explanations of Dr. (Ms.) Anula Wijesundera specially on "the sections of the Report dealing with forced or unethical conversions of Buddhists by other religionists who are freely carrying on their programs". Several aspects of this subject is dealt in that report. Yet everybody seems to be silent on it. One has to wait patiently to see whether it is going to be another Presidential Commission Report to be shelved or force its implementation. Therefore the call of Yasapala Karunasinghe is very timely and should be supported by those at the helm of Buddhist affairs in the State Machinery as well as NGOs and the Maha Sangha. Membership of the ACBC might recall that several years back the ACBC had it as their prime subject. Discussions were held for several years on measures that should be taken to reverse the trend. But with the change of office bearers at a crucial stage and the ensuing inactivity the whole process fell through. It is time now for the new Management Council of the ACBC to galvanise into action and act on lines suggested very correctly by W. Samaranayaka (26.09.02) and Yasapala Karunasinghe (22.01.03). Like building a ran-veta (gold plated fence) costing millions of rupees funds should also be raised to identify and keep afloat the poverty stricken peasants on the grips of conversionists. After all what use of magnificent edifices with gold fenced housing of sanctified premises if the Buddhist population diminish. All Chief Prelates of temples should be required to make a confidential survey of such people who could fall prey to the unethical conversion and recommend to a Fund Management that will be set up for assistance. Let there be some action soon with a reawakening of public conscience. METTHANANDA WIJEKULASURIYA, Private practice and public service It is learnt that there is a proposal by the Hon. Minister of Public Administration to allow all public servants to undertake professional work for a fee "supposedly" outside office hours. This brings to my mind the Sinhala saying "keeping ladders to jumping monkeys". The Hon. Minister may not be aware that most of the public servants do this blatantly at present not only outside office hours but mostly inside office hours and using government resources. In the days of the former Civil Service, public service was pure, serene and humble. Since then deterioration, degeneration of the service started and today it is at rock bottom level. Bribery, corruption, lethargy and favourism are rampant. The main causes for this decay are - (a) Granting many perks to public servants including vehicles for private travel (b) Granting of political rights, (c) Recruitment to the combined services not being done on a competitive basis (d) Promotions not made on seniority and merit. To add to these, the proposal to allow public servants the right to private practice is an attempt to add another 'cancer' to the service. According to the present Establishment Code the state has a right to a 24 hours service by public servants. Only in very exceptional cases that they are allowed to perform private work and that too subject to a payment of royalty to the state. There is always a conflict of interests when a public officer does private work for gain. It will bring the officer closer to bribery and corruption. Tax Officers will be able to open consultancy offices, Surveyors will mix up private and public work. Customs Officers and Tax Officers will have consultations after office hours, Valuation Officers will be brought in close contact with claimants and loan applicants, building plans for private builders will be done by public officers and will get instant approval, Local authority assessing inspectors will negotiate with rate payers and so forth. Public service and private work are two different things. The excuse that private work will be done after office hours is a myth. Absenteeism in offices will increase. Private work will get preference over official work. Officers who cannot do private work and officers who perform genuine service without doing private work will be frustrated and dissension in the public service will be aggravated. I earnestly appeal to the Hon. Minister to refrain from this step or at least to leave out the sensitive departments from this retrograde exercise. RPS, Public service work at snail's pace It is common knowledge that in most of the Ministries, Government Dept's Boards and Corporations, work goes on at a slow pace. You never can contact an officer over the telephone. The telephone lines are eternally engaged. Thereby you have to call personally at the respective government departments, which is still worse for the officers are not at their seats, to transact public business. In the good old days administration was by officers of the Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) who were in charge of departments. Discipline was maintained at all levels. If an officer found wanting in his work disciplinary action was taken without any fear or consequences, and officers were transferred, interdicted or dismissed from service. Letters were promptly replied, and end the letters "Your Obedient Servant". But today if a head of a department has to take disciplinary action against any officer under him, he has first to protect his job, since he will have to face the consequences and satisfy the politicians, and in many cases the pro government Trade Union officials who interfere in the administration. The Prime Minister should take serious note of the present situation, if the country is to go forward as in developed countries, like our neighbours Singapore, Australia etc. and direct all members of the Government not to interfere in the day-to-day work at ministries and departments. I remember seeing a TV documentary programme some time ago, as to how Government Departments perform their day-to-day work, come late to work and spend most of their time at the canteen and get involved in private business. You never can contact an officer in an urgency over the telephone, always the telephone lines are engaged. I would suggest to the Director of Public Administration to show again this TV documentary, how hard the Govt servants are working, at least once a month, to bring awareness to its employees and the general public. In the meanwhile, the Director of Public Administration should send senior officers very frequently to every Government Department and conduct surprise checks, to see whether the officers are at their place of work. F.A. RODRIGO SATHIANATHEN, This is a reply to the request made by J.V.R. Dias in his letter (DN Jan. 13). Though we traditionally cultivate coconut as a rainfed crop, as an irrigated crop it pays more than most of the other crops. It is highly responding to water, hence irrigated coconut that gives larger and heavy nuts, more nuts per bunch and regular bunching once a month. In addition it prevents premature nut fall and increases the response to fertilizer application. There are three basic methods of irrigation for a large estate. First, collect rainwater in "pathahas" and the entire land act as catchment for each. Second, use shallow water from the ground water table from one or more "agri-well network" dig in selected locations. Third, tap deep underground water through a tube well, which can go up to 200-300 ft deep. There is no impact to shallow water table from a tube well. For an agro-well and especially for a tube-well thorough investigation on availability of water in the land must be done. One can get this investigation through Water Resources Board, 24, Gregory's Avenue, Colombo (697050) or National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Mt. Lavinia (635281). In this report you can find several locations to drill and extract water. The WRB, NWS&DB, CCB and several private-drilling companies do drilling. You can get them from "yellow pages". After drilling the well, the driller produces a "well report" detailing the recharge rates, water quality and pump required etc. You can have a single or three-phase pump and decide possible extent of irrigation. Next a selected company could install a drip system for the crop. Once installed you have to maintain your estate well to get the expected returns. CHANDRASIRI NANAYAKKARA, The news item that the Government had decided to give a salary increase to the government servants and would see that the increase would be given to the private sector employees would have brought down the fever which these employees have been suffering from for some months past. The pensioners whose temperature was the highest would also got their temperature down as the increase to the government servants would bring some increase for them too. As a pensioner, I would rather prefer the cost of living to be brought down. Before the employees and pensioners receive their increase the cost of living would go up by leaps and bounds that the increase would give no benefit at all the recipients. On the contrary, they would be burdened more! For the cost of living to go up one of the major causes is the slow and lethargic functioning of the government service. If the government machinery overhauled and made to function properly the cost of living can be kept down very much. That will benefit not only the Government and private sector employees but also all the people of the country. The Government should embark on the overhauling of the government machinery without any lethargy. And the government servants and the opposition should give their full cooperation as the overhauling of the machinery would benefit all of them in the long run. Arul, |
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