But newspapers here publish the price of crude oil in the world market and we see that prices have dropped when compared with a few months back. The Chairman of the Corporation says that although world prices are coming down, the prices of diesel and kerosene cannot be brought down because the Corporation has suffered big losses in the past. The Corporation has a large staff. Bowser drivers in outstation depots have only about two to three days of work a week, because there are more drivers than bowsers. Not only the head office but also other depots and regional offices too are overstaffed.
Many employees are party supporters.
The Corporation appears to have become the dumping ground of this government and consumers have to pay the price. We consumers kindly request the President to appoint a commission similar to that appointed for the Ceylon Electricity Board and put a stop to the unnecessary wastage of public funds. I was aghast to read the news item regarding the wounding of an American journalist by Sri Lankan armed forces. Should the American woman journalist working for the British Sunday Times have died as a result of the incident, one can imagine the fury this would have given rise to in sections of the world's press. One may, perhaps, be excused for wondering whether this incident was, in fact, unintentional or whether it was stage-managed for propaganda purposes.