Fighting CoL

The Government must be lauded for taking a series of effective measures to reduce the Cost of Living. There has been a rise in the CoL mainly due to factors beyond the Government’s control, but that has not deterred it from seeking solutions.

The steep rise in oil prices was one of the prime causes for the upward momentum of CoL as transport costs have to be taken into consideration.

There was a similar hike in gas prices. The prevailing shortage of milk powder in the world market sent prices soaring, until the Government stepped in and stipulated a maximum retail price.

One of the most effective measures taken by the Government was the scrapping of taxes and duties including VAT on more than 10 essential items. The Government incurred a loss exceeding Rs. 10 billion in doing so, but public interest came first.

This measure resulted in a considerable drop in the prices of many of these items including sugar, canned fish, potatoes and dhal. These ‘tax holidays’ have now been extended in view of the festive season.

Nevertheless, the Government was mindful of the impact on local producers in the case of some food items and it was made clear that any tax relief measures would not affect their crops as duties are re-imposed during the local seasons.

One of the lasting ill effects of the open economy was that Sri Lanka began to import every food item, regardless of whether it can be grown here or not. Thus the country spends millions of dollars for importing foods every year.

The answer, as enunciated in the Government’s the Let us grow more food to build the nation campaign, is increasing local production of food items so that certain imports can be eventually phased out.

The complementary Ganna Apey De (Buy Sri Lankan products) campaign will also be a boost for local food items.

Another issue that has to be addressed by the authorities is the massive wastage of perishable foods in the form of post-harvest losses.

Some fruits and vegetables are so abundant in their respective seasons that the prices plummet to unbelievable levels leaving farmers unable to make a profit. Most stocks go waste as a result.

A mechanism should be evolved to export surplus produce and preserve fruits and vegetables for out-of-season use.

The Government has already exported rice consignments in this manner and hopefully the programme can be extended to other food items. Such innovative strategies are vital in the fight against CoL.

Extra-terrestrial life

It was just one week ago that science fiction guru Sir Arthur C Clarke listed three wishes on his 90th birthday. Among them was making contact with aliens. Now Japan’s Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba has entered the debate, expressing a firm belief in Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and even speculating on how Japan should respond to aliens.

Does life exist on planets outside Earth? This is a question that man has been trying to answer for millennia. Is Man alone in the universe? Or are there are other life forms out there? Either way, it is an exciting prospect.

There are billions of stars in our own galaxy as well as in other parts of the universe which could be harbouring life-bearing planets.

Scientists have already discovered several planetary systems outside our solar system and even some Earth-like planets (at least in terms of size). Chances are that conditions for life could exist in one or more of these celestial bodies.

Scientists have a fairly good idea of how life arose on Earth and these conditions could by no means be unique to Earth as similar chemical structures have been detected elsewhere in the universe.

The discovery of life, even in microscopic forms, in our own solar system would clear any doubts on this issue. Perhaps the numerous robotic probes surveying the outer planets and their moons would yield a clue.

There is another school of thought that mankind is still at a very low level of advancement in celestial terms and that far superior extra-terrestrial beings are watching our progress. Their argument is that these beings could be inspecting us from the vantage point of their UFOs without making ‘contact’.

Making ‘contact’ is a hot issue. As Sir Clarke points out, making contact with aliens is a life-long wish for many people, scientists and laymen alike. This is exactly the aim of the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project undertaken by scientists around the world.

The logic is simple: We have been broadcasting radio, TV signals for the last 100 years or so, which could have been intercepted by aliens. They could be sending messages to us. So far there has been no success, but scientists are not giving up hope.

Man’s other dream is exploring space for life-bearing planets and planets which can support life. Man will someday have to settle down in other planets when a dying Earth cannot support them anymore. That day is still millions of years away. In the meantime, Man would be delighted to meet counterparts from elsewhere in the universe.