The government has decided to turn off the power even on the day of the GCE A-level exams.
Because we understand the nature of the government, it is not surprising that the government made such an arbitrary and unkind decision. Even if the minister stated that the electricity bill should be raised in order to provide continuous electricity, this is not an excuse, and one can imagine how anti-people that government is if electricity is not provided even during the crucial advance level examination in which a decision on the future of hundreds of thousands of children in the country will be made.
It’s no secret that this year, children are appearing for the A-level examination amid a thousand challenges more than ever before. These children appeared for the exam when their future as well as the future of the country was facing a challenging situation. On the one hand, the country has become economically bankrupt, and on the other hand, the educational activities of these children have faced huge challenges.
Under Section 30 of the Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 20 of 2009, the Sri Lanka Electricity Board (Distribution Licensee) sought the approval of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka for an 82 percent tariff increase for the year 2022. The electricity bill was increased enormously on several occasions. Although the government should take steps to prepare a relief system without letting the breath of the people of the country who are barely holding on to their lifelines in the midst of thousands of difficulties, the government has no desire to do so.
This proves again and again that the government’s courtroom drama is coming to the fore in accordance with its hidden agenda of selling energy, and this may be what the government is hoping for by cutting off the electricity even during the high school exams. The electricity tariff has been increased on the heads of the people who are barely making ends meet and are drowning in a crisis of life and the future of the country has been cast in the dark by deciding to cut off the electricity even on the exam days, casting the future of the children facing the A-level examination in darkness.
Therefore, we urge the government to withdraw this shameful decision immediately and proceed with the continuous supply of electricity. If it is not so, let us emphasize that the government cannot escape from the people’s curse against it.
Sajith Premadasa,
Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Sri Lanka and
Leader of the Samagi Janabalawegaya.
