|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 28 November 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Foreign accountancy qualifications are not superior It was interesting to read a letter suggesting that many seek after foreign accountancy qualifications because these qualifications are marketed better than the local qualifications. Every letter of appointment of an accountant securing employment after qualification has a clause containing a period of probation. Anyone who knows the private sector also knows well what happens at the end of the period of probation if you do not perform. You may have the best qualifications in the world but still you get fired. Besides for migrating to a developed country as a professional, a local qualification is not going to help. As an accountant my advice to those seeking an accountancy career in the Sri Lankan private sector is, it does not matter whether your qualification is local or foreign as the syllabi are comprehensive for all, but develop a sound knowledge of English and communication skills. Because it is the superior English & communication skills of the foreign qualified accountants, which make them the preferred choice in the private sector and not that the employers are gullible to believe anything foreign is superior. Nelum Jayadewa, Women's cricket is not something new to Sri Lanka. The first girls Inter-School softball cricket match took place between C.M.S. Ladies' College, Colombo and Musaeus College, Colombo during 1969-1970. The writer was a member of the Ladies' College cricket team which took part in this historical event. Musaeus College even engaged a cricket coach who was well-known at the time Dhanasiri Weerasinghe, to teach them the finer points of softball cricket. Our games teacher at the time, Delita Fernando arranged a friend of hers, to become an impromptu Coach to our team. The match was held (with proper wickets and all) in the back garden of Ladies' College. The result - Ladies' College won the match! Another "first" for Ladies' College! Ramani D. Wickramaratne, It appears that the President's Office suddenly decided to revoke the sentence of death soon after Judge Sarath Ambepitiya was murdered on the day he had passed a death sentence! Is this a coincidence, or not? Are we to assume that the judges are now "safe"? How do the captive prisoners feel: are they inebriated over their success over the "organised society" of humanity? I daresay, this law-giving society is altogether the worst off and the prisoners are tied to them at the post: that's because life imprisonment is opined as much worse than death. Rohan Jayawardene, Death sentence : viable deterrent The bringing back to life that long suspended death penalty by hanging for murder has had wide spread popular consensus. It is hailed as a viable deterrent to try eradicate, if not reduce felonious crimes so rampant in the country. After hanging for murder was suspended the murderer was sentenced to a term of life imprisonment, which usually was reprieved, and, the accused comes back to society with the past forgotten, or at least, not called to mind by society of his credentials at any stage. This laxity on the part of the Administration had led to the utter depravity of society itself to an almost irredeemable extent. Stanley Geevaratne, Several Servicemen and Policemen engaged in counter terrorism and anti-crime operations have been assassinated. The enemy was able to track them down as their identities had been exposed. Sri Lankan Newspapers, especially the Sunday editions carry situations reports on military and anti-crime operations. They carry information which are sensitive and highly confidential. Not only are military movements exposed, but even intelligence gathered is made public, exposing not only the collector of the intelligence but even the sources of information. What more can any subversive organisation ask for. It won't be right to fault only the writers. C. Ediriweera, Once I was travelling on the train from Hatton to Badulla. Not long after the jarring sounds of the starting station diminished, we saw a tiny tot approaching us. The boy was very charming and nobody in the compartment could resist the desire of having the child on the lap and play with him. I noticed a girl who appeared to be a trainee teacher seated beside me. We thought the girl was an arrogant as she seldom cared to look at the child and amuse herself. Sometime later, the child cried and vomited. The dress of the child was spoiled and the compartment became nasty with foul smell. The girl next to me caught hold of the child, cleaned him with her towel, cleaned the compartment bringing water from the toilet and comforted the child. I was not only ashamed of myself but my heart crowned an invisible laurel on her. N. Muthukumar, Late R. S. S. Gunawardane was the MP for Gampola, 1936-1947. Later he was the first ambassador for Sri Lanka to Rome in 1952 and he was the representative for Sri Lanka to the United Nations Organisation. He succeeded to admit Sri Lanka to UNO. He was a prominent lawyer in Sri Lanka. I hope to write his biography and therefore would be very grateful if someone would kindly furnish me with particulars pertaining to his profession as a lawyer and I also hope that, I shall be able to contact some gentlemen with whom he had connection in the legal field. Jinendradasa Silva, The clock has been advanced by half an hour for the past few years causing an adverse effect on the country. School children have been adversely affected, getting up early in the morning, rushing to school with a hurried or no breakfast at all, returning home well after 2 o'clock in the afternoon for a late lunch, loaded with so much home work. Public transport needs considerable improvement. This improvement will certainly come, if the Minister of Transport and all those coming under the ministry use the public transport for commuting. Public servants should be provided adequate housing facilities so as to be able to go to their offices conveniently. Transfers should be effected so as to enable the public servant to work in or close to his/her home town. There is no need to increase existing working hours. What is required is to instill into the shirkers the need to do an honest day's job. S. Thambyrajah, Pensioners thank the government The public service pensioners are grateful for the increase of 15 per cent in their basic pensions in the coming Financial Year. However, senior pensioners who retired prior to 01.01.1997 and are having a big anomaly in their pensions due to anomalies arising from salary revisions effected for public officers from time to time during the recent years. Recently, when the 'National Federation of Pensioner's Association of Sri Lanka met the present Minister of Public Administration they had been assured by the Minister that he would be submitting a Cabinet Paper to rectify the existing anomaly to update the pensions to fall in line with the January, 1997 salary increase given to the present public officers. This decision was given due publicity in the print and electronic media too. So far no positive action appear to have been taken over this decision. Lionel Lekamwasam Leanage, |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security | Produced by Lake House |
