Fighting CoL

The statement made by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva on Tuesday imploring the authorities for serious measures to bring down the present cost of living is perhaps an unprecedented step that would give the public a degree of hope.

Declaring open the first Consumer Court in the country at Hulftsdorp the CJ made the point that the prime duty of the authorities is to protect the consumer and bring down the increasing prices of goods.

That this plea came from no less a personage than the Supreme Head of one of the three pillars of Governance, namely the Judiciary (the others being the Executive and the Legislature) it is hoped would carry weight with those concerned to do their utmost to address this grave situation confronting the public.

There was a time when the ruling party Parliament backbenchers formed themselves into a "Mulberry Group" whose task it was to keep the Government in the know of the problems and difficulties faced by the people and suggest remedial action.

Such a group may not exist any longer, but the gesture on the part of Chief Justice to raise this issue should be acknowledged and appreciated by all.

The CJ of course conceded that the conflict was the chief contributory factor to the rise in inflation and resultant soaring CoL. The solution, as any economist would agree, he said lay in increased production and he went on to lament the non-utilisation of the abundance of resources in the country.

In other words what he was lamenting about was the vast potential of the country's economy which has gone untapped. If these areas were developed the results would have been shared by all whilst also providing a solution to the COL issue.

This is the ultimate aim of the Government which has already liberated the East, freeing up vast areas for cultivation, and is aiming to liberate the North, with equally good agri resources.

In this respect the CJ's thinking is in tune with that of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who loses no opportunity to emphasise on the need for integrating the North into the common economic veal which in turn would go long way in easing the economic burdens of the population.

It is towards realising this goal that the President had lost no time in forging ahead with his ambitious development drive in the liberated areas through the "Reawakening" programme. The current military thrust in the North it is hoped would achieve its objective before long of bringing all land under the terrorists under Government control and put into productive use in keeping with the President's objective.

It must also be said that President Rajapaksa who is not unaware of the CoL burden has taken several measures to cushion its impact on the ordinary masses.

The various concessions granted to Pettah merchants by way of reduced levies and the recent steps to pass on the benefit of an anticipated drop in world gas prices to the consumers and the recent pledge not to increase electricity rates for the poorer sections are some of the measures being taken to ease the CoL burden on the public. It is a demonstration of the President's concern in this regard.

Steps should also be taken to effectively deal with waste and corruption in most of our State institutions which too have a significant bearing on the current CoL.

The public on the other hand should appreciate the constraints under which the Government is trying to keep the economy afloat in the face of a costly war to salvage the country from the separatist threat whilst also battling rising prices of commodities in the international market.

Instead the public can cooperate to redress this condition at least to some extent by small measures such as doing away with non- essentials in their daily living and by the simple act of switching off idle electricity bulbs in their homes.

These minor measures collectively could add up to an enormous saving to the national coffers at a time every rupee will have to count.