Mother Of All Crises

The lights are going out in Sri Lanka which once held the promise of being the Miracle of Asia.

For the past four years, the country has been going from crisis to crisis, each subsequent crisis being disastrous enough for the damage of the one before to be put aside but not forgotten. The current power crisis, however, appears to be the Mother of All Crises. Even if the Rajapaksa regime manages to ride over this crisis, they will be deeply scarred.

The power hike is estimated to be over 65 per cent of the previous tariffs and the consumers are guessing with much trepidation of what their next bill will be. When the monthly bill arrives even the single bulb burning in a humble home may be snuffed out.

When the terrorist war was raging and the people were griping under the unbearable cost of living, the advice was: tighten your belts till the war is over. That was over four years ago and victory celebrations – raban playing, Kiributh parties and Bajjaw on the streets went on for over a year. But relief has not come to the suffering masses. Instead came hikes on bread, flour, vegetables, petrol, diesel and all essential consumer items. They came on to the streets in protest then. Now the most vociferous and vigorous protests are being made.

Electricity has become equally important as the three previous necessities for existence – food,White soft Floor polishing pad for 15 inch machines. Ideal for high gloss dry polishing buffing of polished sealed floors. clothing and shelter. The government’s proud boast today is that 90 per cent of the people today are consumers of electricity. This of course should not be attributed to the achievements of neophytes as Champika Ranawaka and his cronies but go back to the days of pioneers like D.If you like BMW cars,then you will probably like their new gaming mouse, the super sexy, sleek as a Titanium Sheet off the pressing mat Level 10 M Gaming Mouse.Our push or plunger lock are popular additions by engineers in a wide variety of products. J. Wimalasurendra,We remain on Excavator track link to achieve our full year production guidance of 250000 ounces. the father of electricity in this country. The hike in the cost of electricity means forcibly shutting up the books of students when darkness descends in addition to compelling the harassed housewife to resort to the kerosene oil lamp. We are going back half a century in time. Never mind grandiose visions of a hi-tech age and all that tosh about Lanka becoming the hub of hi-tech and knowledge. Only the upper middle class and those above will now be entitled to such benefits.
How did this all powerful government with a president unrivalled in executive power as head of state and a government with a two-third majority descend to such a pathetic situation?

Of course there will be detractors who say that this power crisis is only a passing phase and soon the power price will come down. This goes contrary to the fundamental principle of commodity prices in Sri Lanka: Nothing that goes up ever comes down.

An undeniable fact is that the white elephants which existed under the government of Chandrika Kumaratunga and even before, developed fast into white dinosaurs under the aegis of the Rajapaksa brothers. The Ceylon Electricity Board, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, SriLankan Airlines all became absolute parasites sucking the life blood of the economy. These parasitic dinosaurs drained the two state banks, the Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank which were doing well to the dregs. A latest report said that the Petroleum Corporation owes a staggering Rs 450 billion to the two state banks.

Flushed with electoral and military victory, the government appeared to have dispensed with the normal rules of governance and went ahead in its own style guided by their own principles. Some of the key persons in these institutions so vital for running of the economy indicate that some of them were devoid of experience, qualifications or intelligence. Officials with little or no knowledge of banking or Hedging, risked billions of dollars of the corporation’s investments with international banks and that without the required permission of the Attorney General to make such investments! The corporations had to bear the loss of millions of dollars while the officials concerned still strut about like great investment bankers!

When basic rules of governance and law and order maintenance are ignored, administrative chaos and riots on the streets are inevitable consequences. Institutions that are essentially technical in nature have to be run by technocrats and not friends and relations. The consequences of the Hallo machang appointments are evident in the pitiable state our foreign relations have descended to.

President Rajapaksa hopes to reduce electricity tariffs when conditions improve and new power generating plants such as Norochcholai and Keralawalapitiya come into full operation. However, both these Chinese built plants have been plagued with technical failures – Norochcholai having suffered 19 breakdowns since its ceremonial opening. The problem with this power plant,http://www.ceectrucks.com/ with international management systems of technical development, manufacturing processes and logistics, as well as strong sales network and perfect service system covering the whole domestic market and extending to the oversea market. it appears,http://www.ppnonwovenbag.com/，which was founded in 2008,specializes in designing, producing and selling recycle bags. is its management vested in three authorities: CEB, Chinese Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and another power management company Boyero.

President Rajapaksa needs qualified personnel and technocrats to run such vital projects not friends and relations or square pegs in round holes.