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Morning Spice by Ginger Another bomb blast at Telecom Exchange in the Batticaloa district. These bomb explosions are more than a mystery — they are a joke. Whoever is doing this appears to be doing it with greater facility than a shop lifter steals fruit from a super market. In this instance there has been two security guards who apparently had bolted from the scene when they heard the explosion. It showed good horse sense though it actually did little to make them heroes. They would much rather be alive than hearing glowing tributes they could not have heard at their funerals. Now it is not the dedication to duty or its dereliction on the part of these two officers that Ginger is talking about what really baffles is how those saboteurs are able to sneak up to these Telecom stations and plant their bombs. It may puzzle the police but the public may have some idea of how it is done despite the fact that there are security men on the spot. That means that whoever gets close enough must have someone who would help that individual or that there could be men willing to do an inside job. There may be something that may be hard to buy in this country but one doubts whether there is a shortage of those willing to sell their motherland. Actually it should be commercially organized and listed in the stock market. Heart attacks and sex At least this is not what Ginger feels about it all but what certain researchers have discovered about the whole business. They say that the chances of sex causing a heart attack in someone who has already got one is one in 50,000 which is the same risk you take when you get out of bed. Luxury detention His life in detention while under investigation for taking money from drug barons in 1994 while directing his party's campaign was certainly the talk of the town. He was in a military training centre, where he jogged, played tennis, entertained his visitors and played with his dog. He also had a private secretary his own chef a yoga trainer and a physio. I was rather saddened to read the contents of Dr. Rohan H. Wickramasinghe's article — "Kandalama revisited" (The Island, 23. 5. 98). Dr. Wickramasinghe, by his own admission (to quote), "... was recently invited by the (Kandalama) developers to visit the finished product as their guest ...." His positive comments can therefore be construed as an obligatory response to the 5-star treatment he had received at the hotel. In 1992, I made some comments on the development of two hotels at Kandalama (The Island, 28. 07. 92) where the main issues were analysed in detail. The central concern was the building of hotels within the protected catchment of a major irrigation tank in direct violation of the Irrigation Ordinance. This was contrary to all principles of environmental conservation. This major issue has nothing to do with the other factors such as environmental pollution and cultural degradation of the area, which were the main concerns of the protesting groups at the time. In fact, pollution can occur anywhere and cultural degradations goes hand in hand with tourism whether at Kandalama or elsewhere. We see this today at Hikkaduwa and other areas along the southern coast. The catchment of a tank is protected for scientific reasons. The irrigation ordinance was created for this purpose. Once such a national policy is accepted, it is obligatory on the part of the government not to ‘bend’ the law to accommodate some people, especially when amply alternatives exist. Today, the question is asked whether anyone can get permission to build a house, a guest-house, a shopping complex or anything else, in a protected catchment even with guaranteed environmental safeguards. There is no question that a bad precedent was created with Kandalama and today, other protected areas are gradually being ‘developed’. The protest against the two hotels at Kandalama was due to this very valid reason. There is absolutely no objection to hotels or other buildings outside such protected areas. In fact, there are thousands of acres of land in and around Kandalama, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Habarana etc., where such hotels can be build overlooking tanks but falling just outside the protected catchment areas. These sites are just as fascinating. There was absolutely no necessity to go slap-bang into the protected catchment and break the law in the process. The argument that the Kandalama catchment was eroded, degraded and encroached by chena cultivators and that the hotel had actually enhanced such a degraded environment by planting trees etc., is not a valid excuse. Safeguarding the catchment of a tank is the duty of the relevant government agencies such as the Forest Department. Just because the authorities are not doing their job does not mean that government (under whom these agencies operate) should ‘bend’ the law and allocate such protected areas to private developers for purposes of ‘environmental protection’ through hotel construction. It is granted that the private sector should be encouraged to take part in conservation activities where possible. In the case of Kandalama, the developers should have been allocated land outside the catchment and then requested to reforest the catchment under supervision of the Forest Department as well as put up nature trail etc. The tourists could then make use of the catchment for bird-watching and other wildlife activities. If such a course action was taken, there would have been no harm done to tourism and the law would have been protected as well. What is important to note here is that all benefits of hotel development and tourism could have been obtained by shifting construction to a side just bordering the catchment proper. The Kandalama hotels are beautiful complexes. These have provided many benefits to the people and the country by way of enhancement of the tourist industry. But, a bad precedent was created and the law was broken by building within a tank catchment. Let us keep this fact in mind and act more prudently in future. Cecil D. Dharmasena In this country not much of respect is given to pensioners and other elders who are treated more or less liked squeezed oranges. When the late Mr. T. B. Illangaratne was the Finance Minister, he established the principle of giving the pensioners the same increases in pensions as given to serving state officers. But this principle was violated when the incumbent government gave only 10 per cent to pensioners while the serving officers received an increase of 40 per cent. On the other hand the National Savings Bank, where most of the pensioners have deposited their commuted pensions and other savings, began cutting its interest rates gradually, from 21 per cent to 10 per cent. What an injustice to pay sterling pensioners only Rs. 22. 50 per pound sterling when the value of a £ is more than Rs. 100. In developed countries, besides various other concessions, seats are reserved for elders in public transport. But in this country when an elderly person boards a bus or a train, able bodied young men pretend not to see him by turning their faces the other way, while it is left, once in a way, for a young girl to get up and give her seat to him. It is suggested that lessons be introduced in school test books to show the young how they should respect the elders and help them in every way to make their last days on earth happy. Geo Perera, GST on newspapers and periodicals It was after persistent agitation by scholars, journalists and students that the former Minister of Fianance responded, some years back, to exempt newspapers, magazines and periodicals from Business Turnover Tax. This situation remained unchanged till 31.3.98 GST is said to be a taxation that would be more equitable and fair and the government expects to remove the cascading effect inherent in the BTT. How far this is effective is to be seen. Perhaps with time the aim of the government would be achieved to the benefit of the consumer. With the introduction of GST the Ministry of Finance perhaps unwittingly brought newspapers, magazines and periodicals, which were hitherto free, under a Tax of 12.5 per cent. Print media unequivocally plays a major role in educating a nation. It is an accepted fact that in-depth analysis of current affairs, and information on scientific and technological developments reach the people through the print media. Our comparatively high literacy rate in South Asia is partly due to the availability of prestigious international newspapers and periodicals. To find sufficient revenue to meet the enormous burden of fighting terrorism is undeniable. But the quantum of revenue government expects to receive by taxing newspapers etc., is negligible. We sincerely hope the Deputy Minister of Finance who himself is a highly respected academic will reconsider this issue and exempt the newspapers and periodicals from the GST. I. M. Fernando, I regret to mention that Prof. Rohan Samarajeewa, DG/Telecom Regulatory Commission in his reply in The Island of May 2, 1998 in response to my letter published on April 26, has only evaded in giving an appropriate reply. In the interest of the Telecom users he should give an acceptable reply to all the points raised in the letter for allowing the Telecom and the government to heap additional burdens on the consumers and also should take appropriate action to reduce the telecom charges. The public is not interested in the propaganda activities of regulatory commissions, telecom or by the government, or in the irrational excuses given for increasing the charges, reducing the duration of a call-unit, adding GST and defence levy on the final amount. What they want is a quality service at an affordable price. But what is disgusting is that the numerous letters that have appeared in the national newspapers requesting to reduce the Telecom charges have only fallen on deaf ears. This apparently creates more suspicion in the minds of the public on the activities of Telecom and on all those concerned. Prof. Samarajeewa mentions that the Telecom was placed under a new management in August 1997 and the government had decided to allow a 25 per cent increase in SLT's domestic revenue to continue to expand the network. Any right-thinking person will not accept this explanation as a change of management or privatisation does not mean to allow a 25 per cent increase of the consumers bill. The management and the foreign investor should pump the necessary funds to expand or develop the Telecom and also encourage the subscribers to use the telephone more often to boost their revenue and to make a reasonable profit. In business traditions when there is a change in ownership or management, the prices are lowered to attract more customers and thereby increase the sales and make the money. But the TRC and the Telecom apparently believes in bleeding the consumers to fatten themselves. Hope the fate won't be that of a broiler chicken! The Telecom and the TRC should not raise the bills of the present subscribers to give new telephones for those in the waiting lists. Why should the consumers pay for the development of the network after privatisation, as they are not made shareholders of Telecom? In that case, enroll all subscribers as shareholders of Sri Lanka Telecom and pay them also annual dividends, bonuses etc. If the government has sold the 35 per cent shares of the Telecom to a foreign company and quietly told the company "You buy the shares now and get your money back by increasing the telephone bills by 25 per cent, then the 351,900 telephone subscribers in the country have been deceived and the national wealth plundered. Is this the Sri Lankan style of privatisation? The Telecom revenue has been Rs. 10,486 million in 1995 and has gone upto Rs. 13,428 million in 1997; which is an increase of Rs. 2942 million earned by raising the charges and reducing the duration of call-units and also by eliminating the cheap rate (but substituted by the standard and economy rates which are higher than the cheap rate). Then what is the reason to drastically increase the charges within a few months again..." The Telecom has raised the rental and call charges and now spending millions of rupees on advertisements in both the electronic and print media requesting the public to use their facilities; although they are unable to give connections to the thousands who are in the waiting lists for several years. Hence, one wonders whether there will be another increase to recover the huge advertising costs. One Telecom advertisement encourages the consumers to call off-peak hours and have a huge saving on the telephone bill. Once the consumers have made use of this facility, at the end of the month they have been taken for a ride by billing them at the higher rate for all the units consumed as it has exceeded 200 units per month. In the past, this type of advertisements is unheard of in a statutory institution or in a reputed company. The Telecom should also provide full details of all calls taken per month. Like for IDD calls, the number dialed, the duration and the charges for each call should be given in the bill. I wonder what the legal opinion is, if the consumer says, "I don't accept the Telecom bill as no details of the calls taken are given in the bill". No Telecom meters are installed for the consumer to check unlike in the case of water or electricity? I would appreciate very much if a lawyer could answer this question. Unfortunately there is no scientific definition of a ‘unit’ in telecommunication usage like for electricity etc. (e.g. one unit of electricity equals 1kWh). By this, the authorities are deceiving the consumers by having an arbitrary unit and reducing the duration of the unit every now and then. There should be a statutory definition of a unit and Telecom operators should not be allowed to change the duration of a unit. Like for the IDD calls, the duration of a unit should be only 6 seconds and the charges should be proportionately reduced. e.g. upto April 14, 1998 the duration of a unit for an economy rate local call was 240 second and that for the peak rate call was 86 seconds and the charges for each unit was Rs. 1.38. On this basis, the charge for a unit of six seconds will be only Rs. 3.45 cents at economy rate and Rs. 9.53 cents at Peak Rate Charges. By reducing the duration of call-unit for six seconds and the charges proportionately, the consumers will benefit immensely as the Telecom presently charges for the full duration even if one speaks only for a few seconds. According to the new rates, if the duration of a unit was 180 seconds and if the consumer speaks for only 12 seconds, still the consumer is charged for the full unit i.e. Rs. 1.65 plus 20.6 cents (12.5 per cent GST) plus 8.4 cents (4.5 per cent defence levy on the final amount); i.e. a total of Rs. 1.94. If the consumer is charged on the proposed basis it will still cost him only 13 cents. The government and other regulatory authorities responsible should be very mindful of what happened in Indonesia and the ultimate supreme political sacrifice which had to be made by the Indonesian President: all because of jacking-up the prices without being conscious about the hardships that fell on the consumer. The Indonesian situation and the ever-increasing cost of living in Sri Lanka should be an eye-opener to our politicians and some of the politically appointed bureaucrats who are only concerned in increasing the revenue to satisfy the politicians and perhaps for their existence. Dr. A. R. Mohamed, In the course of an interview given to a weekend newspaper the Commissioner of Motor Traffic has said that measures would be taken soon to introduce the renewal of driving licences every five years as a remedy to traffic offences. One tends to wonder how this kind of remedy would help solve the problem. From our experience on the road we know that the vast majority of accidents occur owing to careless and often fast driving and not for any other factor that can be offset by consistent renewal of licences. Renewal of licences can only prevent drivers with weak eye sight or bad health from taking to the road. What is vital is to take stringent measures to track down speed fiends who invariably cause most of the mischief and also deaths on our roads. From the number of private buses involved in accidents one can safely surmise that lack of education too is behind such outrages. Police may be led to be extra vigilant about these undesirables and bring them to book. The new enterprise for renewal of licences might give the department a plush new unit with an expensive computer network plus the concomitant 'fringe benefits' to the deserving individuals, yet going by the state of affairs currently prevailing in this place in discharging a hundred and one tasks related to motor vehicles, it is hard to imagine there can be any improvement of services. The Motor Traffic Department is well-known for corruption and inordinate delays. The issue of driving licences is done mostly for 'considerations' which is only unbeknown to higher officials. Anyone can get a driving license without being a competent driver many are instances in which we have heard. He/she has the licence – only some practice is needed! It will definitely be a Herculean task for the commissioner to do away with this menace which is no doubt the main cause of indiscipline on our roads. Vijaya Jayasuriya, Telephone bills are soaring high ever since the Telecom increased its tariffs. Subscribers are served with monthly bills on which only the number of units used the rental and the amount due are indicated. These bills appear to be heavily padded despite great economy being exercised in the use of the telephone, mostly on domestic telephones. There are many instances where subscribers have reported that despite non-usage of the telephone for long periods they have been exorbitantly billed. There is now a well founded fear that with the collusion of Telecom employees the telephone calls of certain subscribers are surreptitiously added on to another's bill. In this age and era of rampant corruption from the very highest to the very lowest this allegation lends credibility. Under the Consumer Protection Act a customer is entitled to a detailed description of the goods purchased by him and the price paid. It should be made mandatory on the Telecom authorities to provide its subscribers a detailed statement of the calls taken, the duration of the calls and the numbers called. This may be relaxed in cases where the bills do not exceed Rs. 200. The subscriber should be afforded the right to challenge and dispute any incorrect billing. When such detailed statements are provided it will ensure transparency (though now a much abused word), prevent corruption and fraud, avoid harassment to subscribers and prevent arbitrary billings. I trust all telephone subscribers will join in pressurising Telecom to give heed and give effect to this suggestion in their own interests and that of the country which (though still to be proved) is committed to the dogma of transparency, rooting out corruption and waste. T. Samath, The cascading tax, is it legal? There appears to be an almighty confusion within the department of Inland Revenue itself as to how GST and NSL (National Security Levy) ought to be calculated on any business transaction. The Inland Revenue's 'Guide on GST' shows NSL calculated on the GST inclusive price. This is the cascading tax, where you end up paying tax, in effect, thrice, ie. once the GST on the original transaction (OT), secondly the NSL on the OT plus the NSL and finally the NSL on the GST itself. In the booklet 'An Introduction to GST' also published by the Inland Revenue, the NSL is calculated on the OT only, excluding the GST. This I believe is the correct method as the NSL is here based on 'taxable supply' as opposed to 'taxable turnover'. Only the precise wording in the relevant Finance Act could establish which method is the correct and legal way of collecting NSL from the hapless consumers. 'One is not averse to paying the NSL as passed by the Parliament. Yet it should not be calculated in a manner not authorised by the Parliament as embodied in the relevant Finance Act. This would tantamount to an illegality committed by the Inland Revenue. Let me illustrate what I mean by two simple examples:
Thus under the cascading tax calculation the amount of NSL is no more 4.5 per cent of the original transaction. It is, infact 5.06 per cent of the original transaction. Is this legal? Is the question I have for the Inland Revenue, the many Tax Practitioners in our country and the Director General of the Telecom Regulatory Commission, especially as the Telecom has publicly announced that they would adopt the cascading method of calculating the NSL. An urgent public explanation by the Government is certainly obligatory. Perhaps would a tax law expert consider taking the Inland Revenue to court? Durand Appuhamy, |
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