Sarath Wijesinge  – President’s Counsel, Solicitor in England and Wales, President Ambassador’s Forum (UK/Sri Lanka), former Chairman Consumer Affairs Authority, and former Ambassador to UAE and Israel

Rice and coconut are not directly and traditionally  price controlled items

 Rice and coconut are not price controlled items in Sri Lanka as the traditional price control act is abolished under act no 9 of 2003 by (at) the establishment of the Consumer affairs authority act thereby the power to control of certain consumer affairs were taken to S /19 onwards to the CAA act where only certain consumer items and services could be price controlled for the maximum price only on certain circumstances with the involvement of the ‘Line Minister’ under special circumstances of special and unusual necessity. Does rice and coconut come under this category? Yes ! some category of rice in very special instances, despite the controversial shortages of rice monopolized by few massive rice mill owners flexing the ugly muscle on the government and the poor farmer and the consumer. There is Paddy marketing Board to purchase paddy from the farmer at guaranteed price, with ample storage available and when  the duty of the state employees is mealy to purchase paddy and release it to the market to be utilised by the small mill owners. It is such a simple process and now it is informed the Paddy marketing board has incurred losses to the extent of 20 million which is unbelievable whereby the massive mill owners have been given free hand to play and play out the famer and citizen. Plight of coconut is similar. Once tea,rubber and coconut have been the main income of the nation which is now gone down due to the mismanagement and lack of improvement in infrastructure  and outdated cultivation processes. Currently Sri Lanka is self sufficient on coconut with the need to import soon due to mis  management of the estates and destruction by the wild animals and pests destroying most cultivation. If managed well with the most inefficient and infective  coconut board all parts of the coconut tree can be made productive to make it a treasure tree in the modern world of digitalised and AI age.

Aspiration of the consumer

The aspiration  of the consumer is  described and defined at the CAA act no 9 of 2003 ( which is the main legislation in force in Sri Lanka in addition to many subsidiary legislation) as a citizen or a citizen intended to use the items and services at a reasonable price ( consideration) in Sri Lanka leading a reasonable hard life due to the high cost of living ever increasing world over due to unavoidable circumstance where the governance appointed is expected to provide relief to the citizen/consumer  for the existence of the consumer and the extended family. Cost of living is ever increasing with propionate increase in developed economies, but not in Sri Lanka which is economically unstable. Every citizens consumes consumer items and services for a consideration which is defined in different ways world over mainly in the British jurisprudence due to the development of trade within and outside the country due to naval power  colonisation and active external trade with the western world dominated the trade with naval power. Aspiration and the demand of the consumer ( citizen) is for consumer items and services of quality at the reasonable price is mostly a dream than a reality when the country is embroiled  in an economic turmoil with the citizen fighting to make ends meet with fast rising of cost of living world over in Sri  Lanka citizen with a limited and static income. Rice and coconut are main consumer goods that are in short supply many due to the mismanagement and lack of vision and strategy and it is the duty of the young and educated to take these matters for rejuvenation.

Consumer,Trader, and the Regulator  to play together for a better atmospheres on consumerism

The communication with the consumer, trader, CAA that is the main regulator is fast disappearing which is not a satisfactory situation on consumerism in Sri Lanka that needs rejuvenation on the introduction of the modern international platforms, effective presence of Artificial Intelligence and process of digitalisation changing the outlook of consumer and consumer with sky rocketing the prices of almost  all consumer items and services. It is for their own benefits that they must identify their parameters and work together for the betterment of themselves and the nation they live in to avoid crisis situations. For example however powerful the trader is if he exploits the consumer that may not last as the end result would be his loosing clientele and the goodwill created that needs for his existence. The regulator should perform his job well impartially and effectively and the consumer has a duty to be award of their rights duties and obligations to excursive the rights as smart and educated consumers for the trader to be vigilant. The legislation (CAA) lacks teeth yet could be made poerful by creating by laws rules and strictly adhering to the regulatory process with the help of  powerful legal team, as any less powerful legal system could eb mad effective by acting with a vision and proper leadership.

Cost of Living

Cost of living is money needed for essentials such as home health food ect. Essentials are a relative term when heating is an essential item in cold climates, and smart phone has become essential even in a remote village in Sri Lanka for the education of the downtrodden children in remote villages with lack of basic facilities who raise above odds quite successfully. Complains of high cost of living is a common occurrence worldover and governments are  accused of rise of cost of living and any part of the world. Price of bread is now over one pound in the United Kingdom when it has been 6 (six) pence sometime back which is the stable food in UK when  rice in Sri Lanka too is  sky rocketing, and bread too is a controversial issue in UK and Sri Lanka with the existence old Bread Ordinance which is still in force in both countries. Same applies to the other consumer items and services. Consumerism is the mechanism is the process and the behaviour of the consumer, trader, industrialist and the regulator in regulating trade, protecting the consumer and the trading patterns such as competitive law and trade practices with modern platforms at this AI and digital age in the fast changing world. Therefore cost of living is a key factor in day to day with  world economy and world politics affecting the citizens worldover irrespective of where they live. In Sri Lanka and developing world cost of living is a key factor in governance and developments that has a ripple effect worldwide economical politically and globally that trickles down to the villager in ‘’Hambantota ’’ in a debt ridden nation with limited resources and pressed with poverty due to lack of resources .

Who  are  responsible and answerable for the high cost of living?

Generally the government is power, trader, industrialist, manufacturer, are accused of the high cost of living and exploiting the consumer (citizen) in all parts of the world. Reduction of the cost of living is a joint effort/ venter  by the consumer/citizen, trader, manufacturer, industrialist and of course the regulator that is the state which has the executive and legislative power and the legal systems incorporated to conduct the administrative and legislature mechanism and in Sri Lanka it is monitored and controlled by the Ministries of Trade, Health, Finance, many other Ministries and statutory bodies and incorporated  Consumer Affairs Authority established by the act no 9 of 2003 established replacing the traditional legislation Consumer Protection act no 1/79,  Fair Trade act no 1/87 and control of prices act of 1950 still in force successfully in the United Kingdom to date. CAA act formulated is a mixture of many systems such as Canadian, Australian, British and EU with a new system of directions in place of price control and direct application promoting competition, consumer education and establishment of consumer organizations for the implementation of the new system still in force with no changes at all since the inception. In the circumstances the responsibility on the smooth consumerism regime is on the shoulders of the CAA the governance and the consumer itself and you are expected to be active and organized as an educated and effective consumer who is expected to act in par with the CAA governance and the Consumer Organizations with ample powers on the CAA which the media sometimes say a toothless lion due to the ineffective and inefficient nature of the conduct of  bushiness.

Food shortages and ‘’hoarding of food’’ now known as ‘’Food mafia’’ with sub titles ‘’Egg and rice Mafia’’ in Sri Lanka

Due to the mismanagements and non implementation of the legitimate powers of CAA and many other statutory bodies dishonest traders , producers, manufactures, and traders in general tend to Store/Hord consumer items  illegally by creating artificial shortages for excessive profit’s  at a later stage is not uncommon in Sri Lanka which is illegal and unethical under the provisions of CAA other legislation and norms of good trade practices on illegal and unethical exploitation of the citizen/consumer. Rice is the stable food in Sri Lanka imported and also locally produced yet on short supply due to monopoly of few traders monopolizing the entire rice trade against concepts and aspirations of the consumer and the governance to be in terms of competitive law as clearly directed in the CAA act and trade practices, yet it is happening due to the conduct of the greedy monopolistic traders in the shields of shady politicians and strength of black money. This is happening in open which is difficult to control with the limited staff of the Consumer Affairs Authority hereafter called CAA at the cost of the consumers and the practices on consumerism traders accumulating enormous and dipropionate profits regularly all the time in all kinds of consumer items such as eggs, vegetables and other. There is rarely a situation will arise on the basis of impossibility, on the possibility that there is a solution for any issue however difficult it is. Identify the solution and culprits behind the backtracking and find the person to lead the battle with honest experienced and committed dedicated and educated leadership. (Sarath28dw@gmail.com today is the world consumer day on topic digital market place  15/3/2018 Mirror by the author/ Digitalization and marketing 12/4/21 Colombo Telegraph/ SL on the path of Digitalisation Lanka Web/ case for a Consumer Ombudsman26/1024 Lanka Web/ World Consumer Day Lanka Web 14/3/24/)