Import tax on Big Onions increased
Posted by Editor on August 21, 2016 - 10:50 am
Import tax on Big Onions has been increased from Rs 25 to 40 per kg with immediate effect, the Finance Ministry said.
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So what? Don’t these highly qualified Sri Lanken’s have anything better to talk about.
I am sure this happened after traders stocking Big-unions. Hope thin will have a positive impact on local producers.
I think its high time to stop imports of big onions, Potatoes and what ever that can be grown by our own farmers thereby the country will not loose foreign currency and our local farmer will also benefit not forgetting the consumer.
Concerned !
it is sad when people like you and me have to point out to these leaders that any thing that can be produced locally need not to be imported. If they can not understand such basic stuff then what chance do we have to expect them to tackle the more complex issues.
Onions, potatoes what else? Haven’t we got anything better to discuss like corruption and fraud etc.
importing onions and potatoes also is a way of corruption too if you look at it well think about bribes paid to import them when we could grow them here isn’t that corruption
Dear Ranjith, Yes, Onions, potatoes…but let me add Salt. There is exported Salt pkts from India in the market. besides, we came to know 8 ears old exported Tuna fish in a Cold-store belongs to fisheries board. Furthermore, unfortunately all these things are linked to corruption and Fraud.
Dear Mr Amarakoon. You are only talking about the imports. Do you know that all your good quality fish, crabs , vegetables are exported leaving us and children to consume sub standard food.
Well it all come to education. When our parents want us to be rocket engineers , brain surgeons and executives, who wants to grow onions.
When British handed this country it was a rich paradise. They didn’t want to build Volkswagen here. They went to for plantation such as Tea, Rubber, and Coconut.
You cannot keep blaming the goverment all the time. If these items are going up in price it is opportunity for you to grow these.
So please let me know if you are the President or the Prime minister , how you going to run the country. What is the first thing you going to do. I asked this question from Mr Fonseka. I am still waiting for a answer.
concerned. So why are you waiting. why don’t you grow these. Please excuse my ignorance and answer this question.
Mr S Fernando . Sir have you decided to grow these things in your back garden now.? Here is your opportunity. Japan is a agricultural country. United Kingdom is a agricultural country but we are a industrial giant trying to produce cars and ships, but getting no where.
Dear Mr. Ranjith, Normally when we export we get foreign revenue. When you import we have to give away. Some years ago, Sri Lanka used to sell our Grade 1 dry chilies and buy low quality chilies from Pakistan. You are right we consume low quality stuff for example we drink sweeps /dust tea in SL and export high quality BOP. WE batered our tea to ME and sent our Rubber to China. British had a master plan for its colonies. And made colonies inter dependent. E.g. SL should produce Tea and Rubber. Burma produced rice. WEs produced, Rum, Sugar Tobacco, cotton. These raw materials fed huge British industries in Manchester and Birmingham. See our road net work. Main roads from upcountry lead to Colombo harbour. They bought a act called Bare-land act and confiscated our land. Cut rain forests, took our valuable timber to Great Britain and imported cheap Indian labour to grow coffee and subsequently tea. They introduced chemicals for tea plantations and killing local fish dwell in creeks. This has negative affect on our eco system and contributed to Maleria and floods (resulted in Soil erosion). When they gave independence after the 2nd WW power was handed over to Colombo educated Kalu Sudas. Up to now, SL is govern by Colombo Educated Kalu Sudas (except Dhanayake studied at Galle Richmond & DB Wijeyathunga studied at St. Andrews, Gampola). It was not a paradise they handed over a ticking Bomb. You asked me if I become the president of Sri Lanka what I am gonna do.? Well Ranjith, I will appoint you as my chief advisor!
Well done Mr Amarakoon,
Your ranting about British Imperialists, much appreciated.
When I was in Pera Uni, it was a Sat afternoon pastime to walk to Kandy, throw a rope around the majestic statue of of the British King (or someone important) near the Kandy Bus-Stand, and attempt to pull it down to eradicate the traces of imperialism.
This act only earned us the wrath of the cops in Kandy, who sometimes locked us up in the cells (they were a luxury, BTW) in the Kandy Cop Station.
I believe the statue of that colonialist still stands, maybe hidden under layers of crow shit, which did justice to our anti-imperialist views.
Hi Thuleepan,
I too remember that statue overlooking the lake in the Esplanade.
It was a statue of Governor Henry George Ward (1797-1860), governor of Ceylon from 1855 to 1860; it’s been relocated to the museum grounds and in the process has lost its plaque, which included this excerpt from Ward’s speeches: “In semi-civilized countries it is with material improvements that all other improvement begins. My conscience tells me that to the best of my judgment and abilities I have tried to do my duty by you, and it is my hope that you will think of me hereafter as a man whose whole heart was in his work.” Previously the editor of the Weekly Chronicle, Ward had been a journalist in London before being appointed ambassador successively to the Ionian Islands, Mexico, and Spain. In Ceylon during the years of the Indian Mutiny, he worked to restore ancient irrigation tanks. He also established telegraph lines and the Galle Face promenade in Colombo. He was promoted from Ceylon to become governor of Madras but died there of cholera almost at once. The statue was erected in 1868.
Our good friends of the JVP pulled down that statue in the 1977 uprising and since then, the statue has been located in the Museum Grounds.
Mr Amarakoon . I know the damage British did for its colonies. They paralyzed them. History cannot be re written. But there are few good things they did also. So we have to improve on them.
At last you had a very good idea. That’s the best I have heard from you so far. If that happens first thing I do is to stop taking foreign hand outs , never borrow money from other country. We have to live by our means, What you say to that’
And any parliament minister. President or Prim minister should work without a salary but in special hard ship salary up to Rs 30.000 is allowed.
No cars, He should travel by public transport, but if he decided to cycle to work he should bye his own bicycle.
Prohibit (specially children) not to go down on there knees and worship these people, after all they are our servants.
Ah! about our Universities. I will tell you later.
What do you think Mr Amarakoon
My dear Ranjith, What about stop cricket altogether. Use all cricket grounds to grow crash crops? Then close all the universities and keep a one where our cream of bright students study the state of the art with out memorizing. Well, just kidding.
I agree with you Mr. Ranjith let us also impose a minimum qualifications for politicians. If you take developed country such as Sweden, Holland or Germany 98% of the politicians have at least a Msc.
Mr. T. Somasundaram thank you very much reminding us about the statue in Kandy. And, a special thank for My. Yakada master for shedding more light into it. Well, like Romans, British rulers erected statues in their colonies. It is also worthwhile to remember on 9 July, 1776 after declaration of independence from Britain, soldiers of George Washington’s army and civilians pulled down a huge lead statue of king George III of Britain in a park in Manhattan, NY, USA. Subsequently, lead was melted down to make musket balls, or bullets to fight for independence. According records, 42,088 bullets were made! We have to thank our JVP brothers because in Kandy, SL they never made any bullet but we have the statue of Sir Henry George Ward intact. That said, in Colombo we still have Ward Place!!!
Mr Amarakoon . The most successful president USA had was Mr Ronald Regan. The most successful Prime Minister we had was Mr D S Senanayaka. What qualification they had? Now Donal Triumph. Started selling watches in a park and became a multimillionaire.
After D S Senanayaka we had highly qualified MR S W R D Bandaranayaka, Two stupid brain less idiots called Mr N M Perera and Colvin Silva, They ruined Sri Lanka.
I am not against higher education as long as there is some productivity. We don’t want SL graduates collecting money in buses and trains for the education of less well off children. I asked them why are you begging. Why aren’t you working with such good qualification. There was no answer. Then there were some selling pens for the same reason.
Only thing the goverment should give people a good honest justice system, They should not give jobs for the sake of giving a jobs and definitely should not subsidy any food etc. The politicians must be 200% honest. What the purpose of handing a corrupted country to your children. You will built a big house but your children will leave SL and will be quite happy to live in a un- corrupted even with a humble life.
Every person I bump in to want to leave SL. I am not making up these. One highly qualified girl for a SL university told me even to wash plates she is ready to go abroad.
Until these simple things are implemented, Sri Lanka will be the same for ever.
What surprise me is been a Buddhist country and from morning till night we here Buddhist Sermons but no body act accordingly.