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• Undelivered letters cards dumped
  
  
• An injustice to Kelaniya science undergrads
  
  
• Pensioners

Undelivered letters cards dumped

I refer to an article in a Sunday newspaper that a resident in Mt. Lavinia found a heap of undelivered letters/Greetings Cards and foreign mail thrown into her premises. The Moratuwa Post Office is no exception, as such mail has been found dumped on the roadside and complaints regarding non-receipt of mail have fallen on deaf ears.

In the same article, it was stated that when the Postmaster-General was asked for his comments on the above, he had said that his Department was understaffed and most of the Post Offices did not have trained staff and delivery peons to handle letters, especially during the festive season.

If this is the situation, then it is the Postmaster-General's duty to put up notices before hand requesting the public to refrain from sending Greeting Cards. This will enable the general public to save money on greeting cards and postage stamps!

L. DE SILVA-Moratuwa.

An injustice to Kelaniya science undergrads

Our children are undergraduates who have finished two years of academic studies n science stream in the University of Kelaniya. They offered Biochemistry as a subject in the second year and were intending to follow the rest of the course in third year. (They could not study Biochemistry in the first year, as they were not allowed to do so, according to the guidebook which was distributed among students).

According to the aforesaid book, they were allowed to do Biochemistry in both first and second semesters in the third year each providing 4 credits aggregating to 8 credits.

However, a notice has been put up in the main notice board of the science faculty dated 30th October 2001 signed by the Dean of the Science Faculty informing that the students are allowed to follow the Biochemistry course units (with 8 credits) only in the second semester of the third year.

What our children saw appearing on the time table given by the Dean's Office of the Science Faculty was none of the above.

They were allowed to do Biochemistry only n the second semester of third year and for only four credits rather than 8 credits. We think that this type of changes will lead to student frustration.

Therefore, we as parents, kindly request the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Vocational Training to take up this matter and to give a reasonable solution.

Thilak Perera-Kelaniya.

Pensioners

It is regrettable to note that pensioners who are solely depending on their pensions, have been in-humanely taxed on their pensions with the PAYE and SNC tax. The pension is actually an award given to the employee who has been retired by fixing an arbitrary age as a compensatory payment for loss of employment, and therefore should be exempted from all taxation.

However, pensioners who are re-employed could be taxed on the income they earn from their new employment. As the PAYE tax is a tax on earners, and as the pensioners are not earners, it is not justifiable to levy this tax on non-earners.

The previous government realised this folly only after the dissolution of Parliament. Hence it is in-humane to levy the SNC tax not only from the pensioners, but also from the employees. However, the employees in service are enjoying many privileges which the pensioners do not enjoy, hence this tax which was imposed on the pensioners, should be refunded from 1.4.1996, the date this tax was imposed.

The previous government promised to restore peace at its election manifesto, and therefore has no moral right to impose this tax, for its failure to restore peace. None of the other promises made viz; the abolishment of the presidency, to reduce the cost of living, to eliminate poverty, bribery and corruption, were not fulfilled. Further they have already a tax on national security levy, it is redundant and also overlapping to induce another tax, for the same purpose.

As the voters have rejected the former government and elected the new government, hope the new Finance Minister will rectify this injustice done, by refunding this in-humane tax. The people change the government to rectify all blunders committed by the previous government, and not to continue the same blunders.

Hope the new Minister of Finance, will rectify all the past blunders committed by the previous Finance Minister.

E.P.- Colombo 4.

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