The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, my first supplementary:

¶ 02 Hon. Minister, there is public discussion and a wrong impression about you. The Gazette was issued on 28.03.2024; the eligibility test on 29.05.2024; the exam on 15.06.2024; final interviews on 30.07.2024; medicals on 11.09.2024; drug tests on 24.10.2024; appointments scheduled for 20.11.2024. For 515 SI posts, 18,000 applied; 6,000 were shortlisted for the exam; 3,000 passed and faced interviews by a board comprising a Senior DIG and the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security. The Police spent large sums on interviews. Appointments were to be given in November; candidates prepared and even left other jobs. Now, instead of recruiting 500, only 100 are being taken, and even they have not been appointed. You are said to be cancelling this and issuing a new Gazette for a fresh exam, and calling the previous candidates to reapply—people have been called and told so. This wastes public funds and destroys hopes. As the President’s close representative, this reflects badly.

¶ 03 Please resolve this. Do not cancel and restart; appoint the 100 identified, and if you need more, bring a Cabinet Paper to recruit an additional 400. Otherwise, the public expenditure on the prior process is wasted and responsibility will fall on you and the Police leadership.