CEB Service Charge Hike ?

Recently, the Ceylon Electricity Board has increased their service charge from Rs 30/= to Rs 540/=.

What a monumental increase that was.

We live in Kottawa and we are connected to the Pannipitiya substation.

These days, in addition to the island-wide power interruptions, we experience at least 2 to 3 power interruptions ranging from a few minutes to hours.

It is an obvious fact then that they have no reliable service at the moment, and hence I see no reason why the service charge has to be increased so much.

I was told that a simple meter reader is taking home a six-figure salary, despite the fact that the entity is losing money so much and the treasury has to supplement them for their existence.

Social media is awash these days with details of some of the bigwigs’ take-home salaries.

The interesting question is, why should they be paid so much when they are really not making any profit and are also bleeding the country’s coffers so much?

One of the world's leading lending agency officials once told me that with the money we cough out every year to keep this top-heavy and bleeding entity alive, we could make a four-lane (one direction) highway right around the country and or build 10 rural hospitals every year.

I do not believe that most of the current politicians are keen on taking the issue seriously.

The only capable hand I see among them is Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka.

The reason why is that this electricity mafia has created such a fear among them that nobody dares to burn their fingers confronting them.

And the other reason is that we, the end-users, are so silent and give in to all their whims and demands without even blinking an eye. 

If we want to see results, then we should demand changes.

Like the famous Sinhala saying “අඬන්න ඕනේලු කිරි එරෙන්නත්” (The mother will not feed unless the child cries).

Let us make an effort individually and collectively to demand changes and, sooner or later, some of the politicians are going to take us seriously.

Sadly, I have seen many still have the obduracy to say that they are not interested in politics, but little do they realize that whether they like it or not, politics is going to affect them too.

Look at the present situation in the country. 

You may not have voted for the current regime to come to power, but you still have to be in queues to get essentials.

Stop pretending වැට උඩ, taking a defensive stance and start speaking up about important issues that affect both you and me.