Sitting of Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 23387 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
Order of business
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- 1 Opening Parliament Opening and Speaker's Certificate 1 speeches
- 2 Papers Tabling of Reports and Papers 6 speeches
- 3 Committee report Committee Reports and Petitions 12 speeches
- 4 Oral question Oral Answers to Questions (Q.1 to Q.7 and Standing Order 27(2) questions) 66 speeches
- 5 Oral question Clarification on Country's Energy Security under Standing Order 27(2) 20 speeches
- 6 Procedural Bills Presented and Points of Order 4 speeches
- 7 Debate Debate: Approval of Remuneration and Service Conditions of CIABOC Officers and Employees 56 speeches
- 8 Debate Continuation of Debate: CIABOC Remuneration and Service Conditions 15 speeches
- 9 Adjournment Adjournment Debate: Status of Development Officers and Parliament Adjournment 12 speeches
- The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development JJB
AI summary Moved the adjournment of Parliament. The Presiding Member then proposed the question for debate.
Parliamentary Procedure Full speech → - The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Chandana Sooriyaarachchi JJB
AI summary Chandana Sooriyaarachchi moved an Adjournment Motion highlighting unresolved service issues affecting around 125,000 graduate public officers, including Development Officers, who remain on the MN-4 salary scale without a structured promotion pathway despite long service. He welcomed the Government’s restoration of pension rights for officers recruited since 2016, but urged immediate measures to define job roles, raise professional status, and create fair promotion channels to higher grades without disadvantaging other public services.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. Ajantha Gammeddage JJB
AI summary Ajantha Gammeddage seconded the Adjournment Motion on improving the professional status of Development Officers recruited between 1994 and 2021. He said graduate Development Officers in public service lack a clear promotion pathway and called for a mechanism to move from MN-4 to MN-5 and higher posts, including proposed roles such as Supervisory Development Officer and Administrative Development Officer. He noted recent government measures for the wider public service, including salary increases, and requested similar attention to Development Officers’ unresolved issues.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB
AI summary Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper supported the Motion on Development Officers, arguing that graduates recruited to these posts were placed in a cadre without adequate legal arrangements, service minutes, duties, grading, promotions, or career prospects. He urged the Government to create a lawful framework, with Attorney General’s advice, to absorb or regularize them and provide at least a basic path for their future. He also offered to assist in developing such a framework, citing the hardship faced by many Development Officers and their families.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna Independent Group 17 - Jaffna
AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna supported the Adjournment Motion, arguing that Development Officers appointed since 2016 remain without clear job descriptions, service standards, promotion schemes, or pathways to permanency. He highlighted cases where DOs and indigenous medical graduates are assigned inappropriate teaching duties, while vacancies and delayed appointments persist in areas such as library services and local government. He called for formal legal frameworks, proper probation, increments, and promotion structures for Development Officers and indigenous medical graduates, noting that some issues could be addressed through revived Provincial Councils.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government JJB
AI summary The Minister said graduate recruitment to the public service between 1994 and 2022, including absorption into the Development Officer Service, was often not based on approved vacancies and had led to cadre excesses and career distortions. He stated that future graduate recruitment would be strictly vacancy-based, while existing Development Officers would continue to have promotion pathways under the service minute or PSC Circular 01/2012. He also noted ongoing Cabinet-approved recruitment to certain executive posts and said salary and pension-related concerns would be addressed through the Wages Commission and Pensions Commission, with the Ministry intervening on long-standing issues.
- The Hon. Presiding Member procedural
- 10 Procedural Written Answers to Questions 1 speeches