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Putting Prima in its place

In a bold, decisive move to establish the authority of the State over exploitative private monopolies and to uphold the public interest, the Government has taken the exemplary decision to divest Prima Ceylon Ltd, of what seems to be a self-assigned sole importer status of wheat flour. With this timely move, the Government has effectively neutralized a decision by Prima Ceylon to increase the price of wheat flour by Rs. 7.50 per kilo.

Accordingly, there wouldn't be any need for public apprehensions of a rise in the price of bread and other wheat-based products. Consumer interests are, therefore, being safeguarded by the Government and a price hike of essentials is being checked.

Thus far, Prima Ceylon rode rough shod over consumers by determining wheat flour prices at virtually its whims and fancies. Though its sole importer status was ended in early 2001, Prima Ceylon continued to don this mantle during the UNP years and it would be in the public interest to find out how it managed to do this. Perhaps someone in the then administration was enjoying a substantial kickback. This aspect of the case would need to be probed.

However, the position currently is that the wheat flour importing sector has been opened to other importers as well, and a reduction in the price of flour could be expected. This development, of course, would have obvious implications for the cost of living.

Trade Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle needs to be commended on this pro-people gesture. We hope that many more such measures would be consistently taken in the public interest.

Besides the immediate positive impact on the cost of living, such decisions by the State help to underscore the continuing effectiveness of State bodies in the running of the economy. It is no coincidence that the Prima deal was initially effected in the late Seventies when the UNP held sway. In its haste to liberalize the economy, the then government chose to turn a blind eye on its obligations towards the people. Those were years when consumer interests were willingly sacrificed on the altar of self-interest and the needs of monopoly capitalistic enterprise.

We need more enlightened decisions like this one by the Government to assert the authority of the State over monopolising forces. While these observations shouldn't be construed to mean that market forces need to be stifled, nothing should be advanced at the expense of the people.

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Singapore's example

Singapore is a Fine City, proclaims one of the most popular souvenir T-Shirts from the City State. Of course, the T-shirt refers to the fines that Singapore imposes for a range of offences from littering to not flushing the toilet. It is also famous for its ban on chewing gum. These may seem excessive measures to a disinterested observer, but Singapore's rise to the top can partly be explained by this tough attitude towards social discipline.

Now, Singapore is publicly shaming and fining hundreds of litterbugs who the government said had been nabbed in a renewed crackdown to keep the city-state clean.

Plain-clothes National Environment Agency officers have caught at least 352 people for dropping trash as part of its 'Litterbug Attack' campaign.

Offenders face being ordered to clean up litter at public places with a "Corrective Work Order" display tag. Fines range from 200 Singapore dollars to 1,000 Singapore dollars. Their photographs are published in leading newspapers.

No visitor to Singapore can fail to be impressed by the fact that it is spotlessly clean. The roads and by-ways are cleaned all the time. The tough penalties have no doubt contributed to this scenario, but Singaporeans have almost subconsciously learned to obey the rules and keep litter in its place. Singapore authorities hope the latest exercise will convince the few wrongdoers also to fall in line.

Social discipline is an essential component of development. It seems to be sorely lacking in our part of the world. Take any street in Sri Lanka and garbage is usually found by the wayside or even strewn all over the road itself. Even in places where trashbins are available, they are mostly ignored.

One of the main factors that contribute to this sorry state of affairs is the lack of accountability. Most local bodies, which are actually responsible for the collection and disposal of garbage, do not fulfil this obligation. No action is taken against them.

Similarly, people leave their household litter wherever they fancy. No action is taken against them, either.

It is time for the authorities here to adopt a tough approach towards these anti-social acts. A system should be evolved to penalise local bodies which do not remove garbage from designated collection points. And why not have Singapore-style flying squads to nab litterbugs in the act ?

These are questions that we must tackle now. Development is not all about high-rise buildings. It is a process, a combination of a variety of factors that lead to a higher plane of living conditions in the long term. Every little action counts - even if it is a matter of putting your bus ticket in a litter bin instead of throwing it away on to the road.

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