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| Sunday,13 November 2005 |
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Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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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.
The 3rd quarterly report of John Keells Holdings was released to the shareholders last week. Whenever the results are good, a high net worth individual in concert with his other family members buy a substantial quantity of JKH shares. This time too this family purchased 1.5 million shares. This trend had continued for the past 2-3 years. Naturally, the investors wonders whether this is a case of insider dealing. It is the interest of everyone for the Securities and Exchange Commission to inquire into this matter. The manipulation of our stock market by some high net worth individuals is no secret. The SEC is helpless over this matter. Small investor, I refer to the letter appearing in the "Sunday Observer" of October 2, 2005 under the above caption. The writer, a contractor, claims that as a result of certain actions taken by the Architect and the Quantity Surveyor, the contractors are facing severe difficulties in completion of construction projects. My comments in respect of each of his complaints are as follows: The Architect and the Quantity Surveyor are the Employer's representatives who act on his behalf to have the facility completed in accordance with terms of the Contract entered into by the Employer and the contractor. Therefore, they play an important part in the execution of a construction project. There is no provision under the powers delegated to them by the Employer to squash the contractor. They must maintain a good relationship with the contractor for the successful completion of the project. The contract rates are agreed between the Employer and the contractor prior to signing of the agreement. As such, neither party is entitled to change the contract rates. In accordance with the Conditions of Contract, the contractor is entitled to receive payment for additional cost incurred by him due to the changes in the scope of work. The Architect has the powers to grant extension of time for completion of the project if delay occurs as a result of additional work as instructed by him but not through any fault on the part of the contractor. Most contracts provide for payments to the contractor the additional cost incurred by him due to price escalation. A sum of money due to the contractor shall be retained by the Employer from each interim payment certified. The first half of the total retention shall be returned to the contractor after the practical completion of the project. The second half shall be returned to the contractor after the expiry of the defects liability period. The purpose of retaining money with the Employer is not to cause any harassment to the contractor but as a security for the Employer against default by the contractor. At the same time, it will also be an incentive to the contractor to complete the works quickly. In conclusion, I would like to point out that if construction works are carried out by contractors without entering into formal contract agreements with the employers, then the contractors may suffer the losses at the hands of unfaithful employers. by R. A. L. Gunasinghe, Scrutinising public examinations This is to contribute one of the experiences I gathered from abroad in Oman as a service to my motherland. In contrast, it is different to how the papers are being scrutinised at present in Sri Lanka i.e. handing over the whole paper to a single marker. Instead of having panels formed to scrutinise question by question, that particular panel corrects the relevant question. Panel Chief also has a sub-panel to recheck. He passes by signing the relevant paper. Finally the paper is passed onto the next panel. That panel can start their relevant question and keep on passing to the respective panels. Final steps is totalising. Totalising groups and rechecking groups are also there. If this method is introduced locally in future examinations, marking will be very efficient the marker will not go wrong at any cost. The number of papers in each centre can be multiplied with the amount to be paid allocated per paper and distributed equally among the markers. Re-scrutinising can also be done away with. by D.J.M. Munaweera, As one who listens carefully to the current political speeches at some gathering one cannot accept with alacrity all that is said by a certain Presidential candidate in public, even recalling the so-called bungles of the kings of old. Perhaps friends and well-wishers will understand or even tolerate, while others will not endure at all. Hence, the commotion among the public at large. Indeed a public, spirited politician of whatever capacity must never litter in the streets. Will not one led to appeal to divinity for this wilful slander to put the kibosh on that particular speaker? by Stanley Geevaratne, The opinion poll or the 'Matha Vimasuma' telecast over electronic media should be stopped forthwith. It is the expression of the personal view of an interested and probably a biased few which is causing embarrassment to the presidential candidates in particular and their political parties in general. It does not deserve the publicity it is given as its belittles the presidential candidates and resembles the opinion poll on a 'school boy cricketer of the year' contest which will have nothing to do with Sri Lanka's cricket and its future. The opinion poll i in no way a measurement of the pulse of the majority of voters in Sri Lanka and if allowed to go ahead might cause a dangerous precedent. For instance if the next opinion poll is going to be the poser "will the LTTE would achieve eelam or not?" how will the armed forces and the Defence Ministry respond. I hope this would catch the eye of the Elections Commissioner before it is too late as it appears to be much more harmful than pasting posters and exhibiting cutouts. by Herath D.C. Mervyn, The premier accountancy body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka at its national conference on November 10 is to discuss, where is Sri Lanka placed within the global matrix? But the question that should be asked is 'do these co called top accountants have common sense?' The reason being there is a presidential election and the two main candidates have two contradictory visions of the future economic policies for Sri Lanka? Lately a former president of this institute has come to realise that our country had been hitherto adopting wrong economic policies. Should not participants at these conferences discuss issues relevant to the Sri Lankan economy? This being the case why could not the conference be postponed in the common interest of the members so that the membership should spend their time on topics which are relevant in the Sri Lankan context. Or are these conferences meant to showcase the talent of individual members of the institute? Will the Chairman of the conference committee care to give his point of view please? Economic student, The voters have a great responsibility as the outcome of the election in the end will affect them and the whole country more than the candidates. Hence they should keep themselves calm and not get emotionalised or allow themselves to be misled by others and decide for themselves whether the candidates who are promising all sorts of things are capable of delivering them, even half of what they are promising, and whether what they are promising can be delivered considering the political, financial and social conditions. The priority for the voters in this matter should go to the solving of the ethnic problem - at least to some extent if not entirely. The other pressing problems like the cost of living, employment, housing, law and order, personal benefits and so on should take a secondary place as all these matters are, at present, dependent on solving the ethnic problem. Hope the voters will give their serious thought to this matter and decide on their own judgement and not be swayed by the propaganda of the candidates and their propagandists or by pressures brought upon them and cast their votes to elect a president who is capable of pulling out the country from the mess in which it is in today. by Arul, I write this letter with much regret and concern believing that this become the eye opener for slumbering government officials, who are directly or indirectly connected with the tsunami relief works. Some disgruntled politicians talk out foolishly like that they are the saviours of this poor masses, just for the sake of cheating them. They failed to check the price on market, even one of the items that the peoples use in their day to day life. Knowing this fact, all traders eventually make mints out of this situation. This is an example: Couple of months after the deadly Asian tsunami the so-called government relief agencies entered into an agreement with six cement manufacturing companies to reduce the price of cement sacks in the tsunami affected areas. They made a pomp and pageantry advertisements through all print medium and that by all the electronic medium of this good gesture agreement signed between the govt. relief agencies and the cement companies to reduce the price of cement for the tsunami affected areas. But for our dismay and concern of the affected people, the price of cement had been increase instead by Rs. 85. In January 2005 it was priced in Batticaloa at Rs. 500. But now the price of a bag of cement is Rs. 585. Are the govt. agencies local as well as the top notches in Colombo aware of this? On Saturday Oct. 29, 2005, I saw a dead bird by the side of the Diyawanna Udyanaya Road in the bare land next to No 23/6. It had the appearance of the picture, of the bird that had died of Avian-flu, in the Sunday Observer of the previous week. I did not know what procedure to adopt in handling the carcass or whom to inform in the authorities, to clarify my suspicion that this bird may have died of avian-flu. My fears were roused after reading the article that appeared on the Sunday Observer of the Oct. 30 'Avian-flu-threat to humanity.' I was wondering of the consequences of a domestic cat or dog at the flesh of this bird. It may bring the avian-flu or its modified form (antigenic stiff) to the house. Many migratory birds perch on the banks of the Diyawanna Oya. In addition to the mosquito menace due to blocked drains, stagnant water courses, improper garbage disposal where the authorities continue to ignore, this new menace will effect population, unless some action, such as awareness, investigation, whom to inform, disposal procedures are organised. This should not confine to Diyawanna Oya, but to other places where migratory birds perch. by F. M. Perera, |
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