The big milk powder scams – cause and effect!

WE MUST determine if it is the Government’s duty to authorize prices for essentials!  Free market will not result in shortages, and may reduce prices.

Taking the milk powder issue as an example, the large distributors of Milk Powder have asked for an increase in the retail price of powder by Rs250/Kg. That works out to more than Rs100 per 400g pack, an absolutely humongous increase. They are playing a game of poker with the Govt. with heads you win! tails you win also!

Apparently with this increase they have created a shortage in the market, and today, a consignment of Rs80M worth of Milk Powder was discovered in a warehouse, with the Govt. maintaining it was purposely hidden from the Consumer. It would be interesting to see the outcome of this as the Consumer Authority seized this. Does it mean they confiscated this?

Have they released it to the market, and received payment for it? There are unanswered questions here, and as usual the public are misled as to the mechanics of the raid, and the real outcome of this detection. Johnston Fernando’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs claims it to be one of their successes. Doe the proceeds from this go to Johnston?

This lack of accountability as to what happens to the milk powder once seized is part of the conspiracy that is never questioned nor answered.

It could have been a set up deliberately to give Johnston some publicity, with the owner of the powder then being able to claim a LOSS in his books and then pay NO tax in his company as it is a definite loss of stock.

Then he shares the proceeds with Johnny and both become rich from the deal, all the time the Govt. in the form of lost tax, (the whole value of the seized powder will be set off against profits!) and both Johnny and Owner share the spoils. Great way for him to curry favor with Johnny and for him not to lose any money either, as he retains what he would have paid in tax from the proceeds.

In this way the people of Sri Lanka instead of believing that they have been saved from the errant trader have actually been fleeced, with loss of taxation to the treasury.

This is an example of how the people of Sri Lanka are being fooled by wily and unscrupulous business men and Governing politicians. 

So LOOK OUT!!! What you hear is not all that it is made out to be, it is completely the reverse. 

Sri Lanka as a country has the most devious people in the world, when it comes to benefiting from the ignorance of the people. The Politicians, as of now it is the Government of the day is out to take us for a right royal ride, and the population permits it with overwhelming votes.