{"id":155337,"date":"2026-03-25T16:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155337"},"modified":"2026-03-25T16:30:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:30:07","slug":"weve-paid-our-dues-its-time-for-accountability-not-austerity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/03\/25\/weve-paid-our-dues-its-time-for-accountability-not-austerity\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve Paid Our Dues\u2014It\u2019s Time for Accountability, Not Austerity."},"content":{"rendered":"

Sasanka De Silva<\/strong> Makumbura.<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

For three decades, I worked overseas, sending hard-earned foreign exchange home during some of this country\u2019s darkest hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those remittances weren’t just personal savings; they were a lifeline for a nation embroiled in a civil war, a war we eventually won decisively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in retirement, I haven’t sat back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve taken steps to reduce our carbon footprint and ensure our own energy security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We bought a hybrid car and invested in solar panels for our roof. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we don\u2019t owe the electricity board a cent; in fact, we produce what we need and sell the excess back to the national grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when I hear calls for us to “switch off” our fans and lights to save the system, I find it hard to heed such requests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our household is already a net producer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn’t the late ’80s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are long past the era of “curfews by chit” and living in fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of asking citizens, who have already tightened their belts for a lifetime, to sacrifice more comfort, perhaps it\u2019s time to look at the “why.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are we constantly shifting from coal to expensive diesel? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is there a lack of transparency in energy tenders? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to hold the decision-makers accountable for these “fishy” dealings rather than penalizing those who have already invested in the country’s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are in the evening of our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have done our part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s time for the system to do theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sasanka De Silva<\/strong> Makumbura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Self-education builds wealth; formal education earns a wage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@kingsexploits<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sasanka De Silva Makumbura. For three decades, I worked overseas, sending hard-earned foreign exchange home during some of this country\u2019s darkest hours.  Those remittances weren’t just personal savings; they were a lifeline for a nation embroiled in a civil war, a war we eventually won decisively. Now in retirement, I haven’t sat back.  We\u2019ve taken […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sasanka-de-silva"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155338,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155337\/revisions\/155338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}