CMC groping in the dark

According to the Competent Authority of the Colombo Municipal Council and former Mayor Omar Kamil the CMC is owed a massive Rs.3 billion as unpaid rates and taxes during the past decade. But what is surprising is the CA's remark that they did not wish to take stringent measures against the defaulters. Addressing a press briefing the CA said it was the duty of the ratepayers to pay their dues in time without delay so that it would in turn be possible to provide a better service to the people. This alone mirrors all that is wrong with the country's premier Local Government institution.

No wonder the city is in the mess it is today. Or is it that the CMC is guilty of the shoddy service it provides the ratepayers of Colombo that it is reluctant to force people to pay taxes.

Among the defaulters are both State and Private sector institutions with the Government share being a massive Rs. one billion. What measures has the CMC taken over the years to recover these sums. Surely it cannot spare the Private Sector establishments who earn fat profits and are thriving with the help of all the CMC facilities. Why has it kept mum over the default by State sector institutions who owe it a staggering Rs. one billion. Aren't all this at the cost of city development and citizens' welfare? What happened to the much trumpeted tax collecting system launched by a former Deputy Mayor where the collectors went to homes of defaulters accompanied by drum beaters?

The CA also states that only 200,000 city dwellers pay taxes and that there are around 400,000 shanty dwellers who enjoy the facilities provided by the CMC but do not pay taxes. Ditto for 500,000 outsiders who come to city daily and avail themselves of CMC facilities.

It looks like the CMC has been lending itself as a fat milch cow to be milked dry by all and sundry. No wonder the premier Local Government institution is being hamstrung by a perennial lack of funds to carry out its important programs for the city, when it remains idle with tax collection similar to its other services for the city.

Today the Colombo City which was once known as the Garden City of Asia is a veritable eyesore with garbage mounds dotting the landscape inviting disease and pestilence. Even a minor downpour causes the inundation of roads due to the derelict sewerage system which is of colonial vintage. True, many factors have contributed to the run down state of the city. Today there is floating population of around one million people in the city on any given day taxing the resources of the CMC to the limit. The rapid expansion of business and commerce and the attendant increase in the number of service such as the mushrooming hotels and eateries, the chaos caused by the heavy traffic volume have all transformed this once picturesque city into chaotic mess.

All these challenges could have been met had proper planning been done at the outset to accommodate the changes. But the CMC is still groping in the dark and it is an indictment on this foremost Local Government institution in the country that it is today run by a Competent Authority similar to the various Interim Committees appointed to local sports bodies with the resultant chaos and disorder.

It has come to a state that it is unable to collect the rates and taxes due to it and is virtually apologising on behalf of the defaulters. This type of message is bound to leave a bad precedent with ratepayers emboldened to continue defaulting while enjoying all the facilities provided by the CMC. It is therefore incumbent that a higher authority steps in to ensure all dues to the CMC are met and the defaulters dealt under the law. Measures should also be taken to ensure the rate payers receive value for money and that the CMC gets its act together.

Above all, the Colombo City should now be redeveloped and recast as a modern city in line with other world capitals where the city is divided into zones for various purposes. This, while ensuring an orderly city would also help reduce congestion. As mentioned the City today cannot withstand the massive influx of both the teeming humanity and vehicular traffic and is in a chaotic state.

Steps should also be taken to rid the city of shanties which is sticking out like a sore thumb and alternate housing made available to accommodate these segments, so that the city would be more habitable and tolerable. Colombo needs a massive shake up and a overhaul from its present derelict state enabling it at least to recapture even a semblance of its glory days.