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| Friday, 28 February 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.
Are the Professionals also 'traders'? A new Consumer Affairs Authority Act has been enacted. When the definitions of "Trader" and "Services" given in this Act are read together the Accountants, the Bankers, the Lawyers, the Doctors, the Surveyors, the Architects, and the Engineers are also "traders" within the meaning of this new Law. It is unfortunate that the Consumer Affairs Authority Bill which was stated to have been gazetted on 28th October, 2002 reached the subscribers of the Bills only on the 21st, January 2003. But in the meantime, the Bill was taken up in the Parliament and passed on the 9th January 2003 according to the Hansard of that date, copies of which the subscribers received only in mid-February 2003. It appears that most of the Professionals do not still realise the serious repercussions of this law. The Officers of the Consumer Affairs Authority who may be competent to function as "Price Control Inspectors" are going to have the power to decide on the professional conduct of the Professionals. Is this warranted, particularly when there are separate mechanisms available to regulate the professional conduct of the respective professionals? For example, the Supreme Court and the Bar Association regulate the professional conduct of lawyers; the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Sri Lanka Medical Council, the Institute of Architects and other Professional Organisations have their own professional conduct regulatory bodies. The Bankers are supervised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. If any such mechanism is not sufficiently effective enough, suitable measures should be taken to rectify that situation instead of empowering government servants who cannot be expected to be familiar with the rules of conduct of various professionals to judge on their professional conduct. It appears that these Government officers will decide on the reasonableness of fees charged by the Professionals! Can they do such an exercise? I urge that important legislation like this is published in newspapers long before these are presented in the Parliament, for public discussion. Furthermore in view of the new Section 27 Introduced at the third reading (Committee Stage), the Professionals are required to obtain annual licences under this Act paying Rs. 2000.00. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka and certain other bodies have already taken up with the Government the problems which the professionals will have to face if the new Law is implemented. I urge that all the professionals should familiarize themselves with this law and request the Government to make appropriate amendments. KANDIAH NEELAKANDAN
A message that blew across a desert During the Second World War, when the allied troops were retreating into the desert, following a German offensive, one of our Sri Lankan soldiers saw a tiny piece of paper being blown by the wind towards him in the desert. He promptly blocked it by his foot and in that piece of paper found the following message. The author was unknown. 'All thy seekings wisdom seek, Learn well-what, where and when to speak. Then, Let thy words be few and sound, For, life and death in words are found.' Good advice to all Sri Lankans especially our politicians! DR. W.B. WIJEKOON
The Ministry of Rural Economy recently opened a centre for the display and sale of consumer items at Meegoda at reasonable prices. This was opened with much fanfare and many Ministers attended the opening. However, it is regrettable to note that this is another project to cater to the rich businessman to make him richer at the expense of the consumer. At the commencement we all thought that the Govt. was concerned with the high cost of living and was attempting to sell consumer items to the lower and middle class at reasonable prices. On the first two days after the opening, anybody was able to purchase his or her requirements from this centre. However, now it has been transformed into a wholesale market. Co-operative Societies, retail sellers, traders, house-to-house sellers, tourist hotels and wholesale buyers only are entertained. However, the wholesale trader will buy the goods at the low prices and sell it to the ordinary consumer at very high prices. So is this a way of bringing down the cost of living? This centre in no way will help the consumer. Why can't this centre be for retail also? Another case of high prices is the CWE. After this Government came into office and made the CWE open day and night, I have observed that the prices of goods are very much more expensive at the CWE than in the supermarkets. The Jawatte Superstore is the most expensive. If you compare the prices of consumer goods in the supermarkets you will notice that it is almost half the price of that in the CWE. Earlier people used to patronize the CWE as the prices of consumer goods were very much lower than the outside market but now it is the reverse. All CWE shops are open 24-hours a day. How many customers call over after 10.00 p.m.? Is the profit on sales made between 10.00 p.m. and 8.00 a.m. the following morning on any day sufficient to cover the overtime paid to the staff, light bills and other expenses. This is simple calculation. I feel that this move to open 24 hours was made to accommodate the excess staff that had been employed at the CWE and not to help the consumer. Anura Peiris
There was an advertisement in a Sunday English newspaper about a Chinese Hospital. This advertisement was about a Chinese Hospital (situated in a town close to Colombo) where the Chinese doctors treat the diseases such as: moles, pimples, wrinkles, rough and black skin, impotence, premature ejaculation, arthritis, headaches, diabetes, loss of hair, slimming etc. There is a description with 'Health massage - eliminating fatigue' etc. There were three photographs of three doctors, attached to the advertisement, two of them were of two young lady doctors. While such advertisements appear in our newspapers, I have with me a paper cutting of a news-report appeared in an English newspaper which says: "Police investigation of a schoolgirls' death showed that she had a history of asthma. This was all the information the pathologist had to work with when he commenced the autopsy. The condition of her skin indicated chronic dermatitis - a form of skin inflammation suggestive of long-term arsenic poisoning. Samples of the girl's hair, nails, blood and stomach contents were taken and analysed for heavy metals, particularly arsenic. The pathologist's suspicion was subsequently confirmed. The school girl had died from long-term arsenic poisoning. Had she been poisoned over a long period? The parents were closely questioned, and investigations showed, that she had been taking a certain kind of traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate her asthmatic attacks. The medicine contained an abnormally high content of arsenic." ANANDA WIJAYAWEERA
This refers to a news item in the Daily News about Sri Lanka opening an Embassy in Vietnam. It is unfortunate Sri Lanka is not taking any steps to open an embassy or a consulate in Bahrain, where thousands of Sri Lankans are employed. There is also a market for trade and tourism among citizens and other expatriates such as Indians in Bahrain. The Foreign Employment Bureau forces workers leaving for Bahrain to pay up registration fees, without realising that workers have to spend a large amount of money to obtain consular services from non-resident Lankan Ambassador for Bahrain, resident in Kuwait.It is time that an embassy is opened in Bahrain. If it is not possible, the FEB should be advised to exempt Lankan workers leaving for Bahrain from registration fees. S.VIPULANANDA
I have been married 46 years now and have never got a domestic from an Agency as I am totally against Agencies, but sheer desperation led me to an Agency in September 2002. My youngest daughter was also in a desperate situation and we both decided to resort to an Agency through sheer compulsion much against our wishes. This was one in Ambagahawatta and we followed the normal form and paid 2 months wages to the Agency and got 2 girls - Shanthi aged 20 years - and Devi aged 19. However, we were told that both would have to be sent for Deepavali which was 2 months away. To this also we said okay as we were so desperate at that time. Well we brought the girls to our different homes and within just one week we were told that they had decided NOT to go for Deepavali. What a "Happy Shock" this was. This meant that both of them were very happy and satisfied with us. Just at this same time my eldest daughter was badly in need of a domestic and believe it or not, my girl's father brought his own sister for my eldest daughter. This woman is 44 years of age and she too is now working. They said they would not go home until Sinhala New Year in April, 2003, but there was a family wedding in February and they all went for the occasion, but all of them came back and they are now happily working in our three houses. Of course all these people meet very often as we all live close to each other. For Deepavali they were taken to worship in their temple. As and when we can they are taken out. All in all they are extremely happy and so are we - I do not know what to call it but since this was my first encounter with an Agency I call it 'Gamblers Luck'. Call it what you wish - It has worked and I thank God for that. YVONNE F. KEERTHISINGHA- |
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