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| Friday, 4 April 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.
Mother's plea of an employable disabled daughter The moving and heart-rending and harrowing experience of a Mother (SMF of Colombo) as highlighted in the (D.N., Mar. 26) was read with interest and the callous attitude of the experience her daughter (a qualified accountant) underwent at a selection interview, she was discriminated only on the grounds of her slight-disability while assuring that it will not in anyway be an impediment and will not impede the performance of her duties. This is a matter of serious concern and a challenge to the authorities concerned like the Ministry of Social Welfare and the National Secretariat for persons with disabilities. A Parliament Act was passed (Act No. 28 of 1986) that 3% of employment both in the private and public sector be reserved for persons with disabilities. There is also a National Secretariat for persons with Disabilities that functions under the Ministry of Social Welfare. What benefit has accrued to the disabled of this country in spite of all these laws and regulations and a National Secretariat to upkeep the rights of the disabled and to implement the 3% employment provision legalised by law, is never put into action as the ones concerned are themselves 'disabled', dumb, blind and deaf. The only solution is that strategic action be taken by the disabled themselves and the management should be by the Disabled of the Disabled and for the Disabled, and let them handle their own welfare (employment included) as non-disabled persons handling these issues, will not bring about any beneficial results. This strategy has been fully realised by several countries in the Asia and the Pacific region and in the West and a classic example is David Blunkett (a blind) who is a Minister in the British House of Commons and a host of other examples from the Asia Pacific regions who are themselves the architects of their own future, which is never given an opportunity in Sri Lanka. The timely remarks of your correspondent (SMF) is worthy of serious thought "the disabled themselves may be asking 'where are the equal opportunities' spoken so much about and why this callous attitude - apart from depriving employment and why are they humiliated and embarrassed". This is a challenge to the authorities concerned as they themselves are groping in the dark' as the disabled themselves have not got their due place here. The Secretariat for persons with Disabilities is groping in the dark due to absolute mismanagement. THERESE DE ALMEIDA, Wattala. Resumption of judicial executions I write to express my dismay at the proposal to resume judicial executions. The justification for this move appears to be the horrific scale of violent crime in this country. But no attempt has first been made to identify the causes of such crime and why the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. The deterrence argument is seriously flawed. It never been shown to work in any country of the world. Moreover if all we are concerned about is deterring crime, we can simply take an innocent man and execute him. That would put fear in everybody's hearts. But that would also be an act of blatant injustice and cruelty, and a government that encourages such acts loses its legitimacy. Crime is widespread in our society. But may it not be because it is encouraged from the top downwards? Not a single politician has ever been indicted for thuggery or corruption, let alone for murder. The signals that every successive government has given is that once you are in a position of power you can get away with anything. The Judiciary and Police have often been silenced and political interference in law enforcement is rampant. The recent Bill, passed rapidly through Parliament without the public's awareness, to cancel unpaid income tax and customs levies (owed by businessmen, often hand-in-glove with politicians) at a time when the Government claims it has no money for the railways or to fight poverty, Only reinforces public cynicism. If the rich and powerful can get away, why not us? Given the corrupt nature of our politics, and the ineffectiveness of our law enforcement mechanisms, isn't it likely that the majority of those who will be executed will be scapegoats? Tackling violent crime must begin with the Government showing its serious commitment to enforcing the law of the land impartially. This will be the most powerful deterrent, not re-introducing the death penalty. Prosecution of all politicians, members of political families, and businessmen known to be guilty of fraud, corruption and violence must be high on the agenda of this Government. The speedy implementation of the 17th Amendment is of relevance here. Your Cabinet Ministers need to set an example in this regard. When Bills are passed in Parliament, without adequate discussion and debate in civil society (are they even debated in Parliament?), we are a democracy only in name. DR. VINOTH RAMACHANDRA, Colombo. Enforce moratorium on car imports Time is most opportune now to impose a temporary moratorium on import of motor cars into the country for an appropriate duration. Our city roads are now bursting at the seams during the peak hours. The situation is getting worse day by day with the heavy influx of motor vehicles, both reconditioned and brand new. The logical and the ideal solution to the problem, of course, would be to widen our city roads or build skyways, flyovers etc. But our country's available resources do not permit us to implement these logical and ideal solutions. In these circumstances, we have to go for the next best solution, i.e. to suspend importation of motor cars until the country is in a position to improve the city's road network to accommodate more vehicles. This suggestion is very likely to arouse protests from the protagonists of the concept of free trade or the "Laissez Faire" doctrine. This economic doctrine was found to be unacceptable during the early years of its introduction in Europe. Therefore, it has to be adapted to suit the needs of the situation. Any sane person would agree that a country with depleted foreign resources and a heavy burden of internal and international debt like ours should be able to manage with the present level of vehicle population. PREMADASA PERIYAPPERUMA, Maharagama I am disillusioned with the way the present Administration has been mishandling the subject of education in their tenure so far. First they introduced this highly complexed and bureaucratic scheme for school uniform distribution. With the intention of saving a few million rupees they compelled parents who wished to apply for uniforms to: (a) fill several forms and submit them to several offices (b) Collect the cards of different colours from another office (c) Go to the Grama Niladharis to collect the uniform All this hassle is to collect the uniform material they got within the school premises previously. Surely the amount of money spent on forms and cards could have been set off against the millions they are supposed to have saved. Secondly, the primary reforms in Gampaha finished its complete cycle in December 2002. This means that in January 2003, the children who went through these new changes in the curricula should have entered the Grade 6 class rooms that were ready and prepared to accept this 'reformed' child. But no such preparation was made. In fact, the money allocated for class room development etc. have been severely pruned. i.e. an investment of five years in grooming children and developing them in a wholesome way, has come to naught. Moreover, unless the Grade 6 classes and the teachers are prepared comprehensively this year, the children completing Grade 5 this year (i.e. 2003), in the entire country will face the same fate as their peers in Gampaha. Similarly, the Navodya School Development Program has been halted, the new changes that were to come on board in 2002 in relation to IT and English, never happened. Nor did the School Based Management Program that was planned for, and many other new schemes that convened in the recent past. To cap it all, even the text books haven't reach the children, at the tail-end of the first term. W. RAJAPAKSE |
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