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Budget Blues

Shenali Waduge

The much awaited budget now over we next move on to the varied commentaries & await the budget debate. The debate is unlikely to see any major offensives other than perhaps a few tussles which have now become part & parcel of parliamentary proceedings. The SLAF bombing in Kilinochchi & the death of the no 2 in the LTTE has somewhat neutralized the JVP stand against the Government & it is unlikely that they will vote against the budget & thus topple the Government. They too have much at stake to take the gamble of opposing the Government especially since even after the Anuradhapura debacle the Government is now on a better footing.

Sri Lanka’s consumers always end up having a raw deal. Prices soar according to whims & fancies, items are without standards & priced according to the wishes of the shop owner & people end up having to grin & bear it. We have seen the price of flour increasing but then so have the number of pastry shops to cater to the demands. We have seen petrol go beyond Rs.100 & yet even during off peak times the roads are full of vehicles. It makes one wonder who exactly is really complaining. The supermarkets are often full & it takes an effort to enter some of the popular shops in Colombo.

It seems that the bridge between the rich & the poor & the middle-class is widening. The middle class itself has seen a division into upper middle class & lower middle class. The sour losers unfortunately will always be the lower middle-class who ends up having to bear all the costs that Governments heap upon to upkeep their luxurious living styles. The agony over the rising cost of living is echoed by these people who understandably find a tremendous burden in balancing their meager income against the rising expenses. The silver lining is always eluding them.

The needs of the rural & urban town dwellers are very much different. Flour price hikes, gas price hikes are not likely to affect the rural folks as it will the town folk. They would prefer to eat rice over bread. Yet, the prices of essential goods must be kept checked by the Government, though the consumer authorities themselves are unable to do anything about the prices that differ from one shop to the other & the punitive measures to be taken.

Any Government must realize that the pretty projects on paper need to be realized – to improve trade we need better roads, our infrastructure is in tatters & that needs to be addressed. Schools, buildings & public administration itself needs attention & phased out improvement plans.

How many can follow Marie Antoinette’s advice!

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