Ceylon Today Editorial

CEBEU are ‘untouchables’

09 September 2016
 

State-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) cannot be touched even with a barge pole, inferred Primary Industries Minister Daya Gamage on Wednesday (7 September). Gamage was responding to a question asked by a reporter when he was asked as to why he was scared of trade unions? "CEB can blackout the whole country, then we will become unpopular," the Minister in reply had said. What he didn't say, but the insinuation of his statement was the power wielded by the CEB Engineers' Union (CEBEU) which is virtually a law unto themselves, which Union even Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), seemingly, doesn't want to upset. The occasion was the Sri Lanka-Greater Mekong Sub-region Business Council AGM which took place at a leading Colombo hotel on Wednesday (7 September). Preceding this 'question and answer' session with the floor, Gamage said it was with the greatest difficulty that he got CEB approval to fix solar panels on his house to generate electricity independent of the grid.

To be independent of the grid, for one's power supply is something that should be applauded. This is because this public sector body is loss making. It creams off billions of rupees in taxpayers' money to stay afloat. This is reflected by the mountains of debt that it owes the Treasury.

Part of the reason for this state of affairs is not necessarily its selling electricity below cost. If that may also be the cause for its current losses (which, however, is not in the present case, according to Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy due to the prevailing low oil prices, with fossil fuels being the main source of electricity generation), there are also other causes to be considered.

Of those other causes, corruption may stand high on the list. And, as far as corruption is concerned, politicos alone cannot be blamed, other CEB staffers, not least the CEB engineers too may also have to take their share of the blame. Corruption, vis-à-vis the alleged involvement of CEB engineers may not be that pronounced in the centre, but in the periphery, in the provinces, their actions or inactions, or acts of omission and commission, especially when it comes to procurement, may not necessarily be all that squeaky clean.

Unionization in the Sri Lankan context may not primarily be formed to protect the rights of one's fellow workers, but their wrongs. And the CEBEU may not particularly be absolved of this allegation.

There was only one minister who dared to 'break' the back of the CEBEU and that was the controversial Power and Energy Minister Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte who was also the Deputy Defence Minister. This happened 20 years ago in 1996, in the backdrop of the LTTE attack on CBSL Headquarters in January 1996 that was followed by a drought, that led to islandwide blackouts, due to Sri Lanka's dependence on hydro electricity to meet its electricity requirements. In the midst of this turmoil, the CEBEU struck work to obtain certain demands from the GoSL, virtually holding the State and the masses to ransom. The spectre of LTTE terrorist attacks on public places was very real during those times as reflected by their attack on CBSL Headquarters in January of that year. When negotiations with the CEBEU failed, Ratwatte, 'virtually at gunpoint', got the engineers to call off their strike and resume electricity supply to the country.

In these times of climate change and rising public debt, efforts to find alternate sources of energy such as solar energy that would alleviate these twin malaises need to be applauded. The fact that this recent exercise was seemingly opposed by the CEB as insinuated by Gamage on the basis of his long wait to obtain their approval to install solar panels to generate clean energy, which at the same time would have had alleviated the cost that otherwise would have had to be borne by the CEB to produce the energy required, shows that there is something wrong with the State electricity agency.

The government in power, such as the current regime where Gamage serves as a minister, was elected by the people of this country and not by the CEBEU.

It was knowing the havoc created by unions since independence in 1948 that made President J.R. Jayewardene to sack 40,000 public servants in July 1980 for being involved in an illegal strike and yet win the presidential election held two years later in October 1982 convincingly by garnering 52.9% of the popular vote, whereas his closest rival Hector Kobbekaduwa was able to muster only 39.1% of the vote.

Gamage and his government should know not to be afraid of doing that which is right on behalf of the masses who elected them to power, rather than seemingly be allowed to be held in ransom by unions striking for that which is wrong, not least the possibility of the CEBEU too falling in to this genre.

Daily News Editorial

A commendable move

09 September 2016
 

The decision taken by the Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Athukorale to fix a minimum wage of US dollars 300 for all Lankan expatriate workers should be commended. All job agencies registered with the Ministry will henceforth send Lankans for jobs which carry a minimum wage of Us 300 dollars (approx. Rs.43,000) per month. No doubt the sum is still inadequate given the hardship and sacrifices that have to be endured, particularly by our female domestic workers toiling in alien lands cut off from their families and loved ones, sometimes returning home in coffins.

But at least a start has been made and for this the Minister will no doubt receive the heartfelt gratitude of all Lankan expat workers. It is small consolation though for that section of our countrymen who earn the highest foreign exchange for the motherland. They are often ignored by governments who nevertheless tide over their economic woes with the collective paltry remunerations remitted to the country by these women, toiling under hazardous conditions. Various concessions though have been offered in the national budget to our expatriate workers such as enhanced duty free allowances. There have even been talk of pensions. But it is agreed that much needs to be done for this segment, given their contribution to the national economy.

The exodus of our housemaids to the Middle East began immediately following the Non Aligned Summit in Colombo where the government used its good offices with friendly Arab countries to facilitate the move. That was a time when employment had virtually dried up in the country and the people made to undergo severe economic hardships. The opportunity was seized upon with glee that saw a headlong rush to emplane for the various destinations in the Middle East. Many made their proverbial pot of gold, relatively speaking. Families who lived in hovels in far flung villages suddenly found themselves in well furnished brand new homes. Most commenced their own businesses and prospered. On the other hand, mass migration of females to the Middle East seeking employment also had its down side. The absence of the female spouse led to alcoholism, philandering, sexual abuse of children and broken homes. There were also the cases where females in jobs in the Middle East settling down with other partners causing the disintegration of home and family. However, generally speaking, the Middle East job boon in the late seventies brought riches and prosperity to a large segment of village families who otherwise would have been condemned to live their hand to mouth existence.

Be that as it may, the Minister has not disclosed how she is going to persuade prospective employers at the other end to comply with her request. To begin with, the Middles East job boom is all but over. In addition, the prevailing slump in the oil prices have also adversely affected the economy of Arab countries. True, the Minister recently visited some of the countries where Sri Lankan expatriate workers abound and extracted certain concessions on behalf of our workers. But will these be binding on the employers, most of whom who are known to mistreat our female domestic workers in their employ.

Besides, having assumed the status of a middle income country Sri Lanka should now strive to live up to this tag and stop exporting cheap labour to other countries. Leave aside the female domestic workers slaving in the Middle East, the country is also fast losing its skilled workforce at a time when it is set to embark on a massive development drive. Every effort should be made to retain our skilled workforce to be put to use in the development effort. With prospective overseas job seekers now being offered employment skills and expertise under various programmes initiated by the Foreign Employment Ministry it would indeed be a pity to lose them to other countries. Today South Korea has become a popular destination for youth seeking highly paid jobs.

True, job creation is still to get off the ground at the required pace and we are losing the youth who have acquired the skills and expertise courtesy the Sri Lankan government. It is ironic that these skills are being taken to other countries instead of being deployed where they ought to be.

On the other hand, the government cannot match the emoluments offered in countries such as Korea and Italy. The youth have no other alternative but to look for overseas employment opportunities to better their lot. Hence the government should think of ways of retaining this manpower within the country by creating attractive prospects. Because, if this trend continues we will lose the cream of our workforce to other countries. Hence the groundwork should be prepared for providing gainful employment to our youth. Employment opportunities should be created with foreign investment that would offer fruitful dividends to our youth, making them remain in the country.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has already announced plans for employment generation. The Volksvagon car manufacturing plant in Kuliyapitiya is often mentioned. Hopefully this project will get off the ground soon offering opportunities to our skilled youth.

The Island Editorial

A solution ‘burning’ in the sky

09 September 2016

 

The government has embarked on an ambitious project to tap solar energy as part of its strategy to avert a looming power crisis. Addressing the media at the Sri Lanka Foundation in Colombo, Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said, the other day, that the government project, Surya Bala Sangramaya, would convert one million rooftops to solar power plants and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) would buy the extra solar power generated by each and every household. This kind of strategic planning is long overdue.

Our experience, however, is that many a pair of shoes is worn out between saying and doing where politicians and their promises are concerned. We hope this particular ministerial pledge will be carried out.

Even before the government launched its solar power project to encourage the public to opt for clean energy, they must have been wondering whether the CEB was doing its damnedest to promote that option, given the frequent blackouts and brownouts throughout the country. In some areas of the Colombo District, power cuts are slapped haphazardly and the customers are kept in the dark as to the real causes thereof. A couple of months ago all generators meant for domestic use were sold out thanks to prolonged, countrywide power cuts. The CEB is notorious for being swayed by various lobbies promoting different types of power generation. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament on Wednesday he was informed that some CEB engineers preferred coal to LNG in generating power. So, the possibility of a section of the CEB technical staff promoting commercial interests on the sly through frequent disruptions to the power supply cannot be ruled out.

The CEB strategy of meeting the national power requirement reminds us of what the late President J. R. Jayewardene, unable to ensure national security, once said. He shifted the onus of ensuring public security to the people themselves by declaring they had to look after their own security—thamunge arakshawa thamunma bala ganna one.

Power and Renewable Energy Deputy Minister Ajith Perera has told the media that the public will have to buy solar panels and inverters without depending on the CEB or the government. There lies the rub. The state has to make a meaningful intervention to incentivise the public to take to solar power generation if the government project is to reach fruition.

Everything associated with solar power generation needs to be exempted from taxes at a time the government is struggling to cope with the increasing demand for electricity. There is no way any technology can be popularised, however clean and favourable to the country it may be, unless it is made affordable and freely available. The solar energy installation costs remain prohibitive. True, private and state banks have come forward to offer loan facilities and the CEB customers are in a position to buy solar panels and pay their loans through the additional income they receive through the supply of extra solar power they generate to the national grid. But, the government ought to ensure that the interest rates on loans for solar panels are slashed to encourage more and more people to wean themselves from the consumption of extremely costly and harmful thermal power.

Meanwhile, the solar power generation project, which, we repeat, is the way forward, is still at nascent stages due to various factors including the high costs and people’s reluctance to take risks. It will be years before the country is in a position to unleash its full potential to tap solar energy. Therefore, the government’s pursuit of this goal through its Surya Bala Sangramaya should not be at the expense of the CEB’s short and medium term generation plans if the power crisis is not to be precipitated.