The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna – Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, first, on Seethawaka PS: the council has 23 seats; SJB won 8 – the largest single number, but no party secured a majority or plausible coalition as an alternative. This situation exists in many places, triggering issues. We need a dialogue on this.

¶ 02 On LG electoral reform: at the time, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to proceed expeditiously; we hurried limited amendments to enable polls. The Opposition Leader and party leaders agreed at the time. Now we should work toward a better system. The President asked Parliament to bring necessary legislation; it is Parliament’s responsibility.

¶ 03 On my Anamaduwa electorate: the current SJB representatives now oppose the decisions taken then; that is clear from their own statements.

¶ 04 Let me address what we have done in our 77th year of Independence. From late 2018 through 2022, political turmoil, the Easter attacks, COVID-19, and the 2022 economic and political crises halted recruitments; the public service moved toward attrition; training collapsed; only very limited hiring occurred; all open recruitments stopped.

¶ 05 Upon assumption of office, as a first step in 2025, we commenced essential recruitments to strengthen continuity. We established an Interim Committee under the Secretary to the Prime Minister on “Reviewing Public Service Recruitment Processes and Workforce Management,” whose recommendations are approved by Cabinet. Approvals have been granted to recruit about 76,982 officers across the Public Service, Provincial Public Service, and statutory bodies.

¶ 06 Of these, significant opportunities are for graduates: 12,309 graduate recruits already approved, with more pending. Examinations, interviews and court-related matters are underway; where legal hurdles are cleared, we are proceeding to appoint graduate teachers.

¶ 07 Under the Ministry, for island-wide and unified services: since 2021 no open intakes occurred. We therefore commenced recruitment to fill critical cadres: SLAS, Sri Lanka Accountants Service, Sri Lanka Planning Service, Sri Lanka Engineering Service, Sri Lanka Scientific Service, and Sri Lanka Architectural Service. Already 874 have been recruited: SLAS 194; Accountants 257; Planning 146; Engineers 191; Scientific 86. Further recruitments planned: SLAS 130; Accountants 211; Planning 77; Engineers 100; Architects 13; Scientific 118.

¶ 08 We have also completed recruitment of 1,908 to the Management Service Officers (open exam held on 18.05.2025), including over 700 graduates; we are resolving issues arising from limited recruitments and institutional misunderstandings.

¶ 09 We have called applications for the 2024 MSO open exam (held on 05 October), and for the ICT Service (open and limited) to advance digitalization, and for Government Translators and Librarians. We are filling 1,000 Driver vacancies to address operational gaps.

¶ 10 A key bottleneck in districts and divisions is the shortage of Technical Officers. We obtained approval to recruit 150 Technical Officers to Divisional Secretariats; exams held on 25–26 October, appointments imminent.

¶ 11 For Grama Niladharis, lingering service minute issues have been resolved with union agreement; with PSC and Cabinet approval, effective from 15 October 2025. We have called applications to fill 1,938 GN vacancies.

¶ 12 Registrar Service recruitments had stopped; applications have now been called.

¶ 13 Public sector pay: As per the 2025 Budget, salaries and allowances were increased with effect from 01 April 2025. We issued circular 10/2025 on 25 March 2025, soon after Budget passage on 21 March, enabling payment from April. An allocation of Rs. 110 billion in 2025, and a further Rs. 110 billion each in 2026 and 2027, totaling Rs. 330 billion, has been provided.

¶ 14 We have updated special allowances for sectors like Health, Railways and Postal services per circular 10/2025, and enhanced other duty-based payments. For capacity building, under the MoU with India’s NCGG, 1,500 officers will be trained over five years; 243 officers have already undergone training. SLIDA has launched simultaneous induction programmes across island-wide services for SLPS (108), SLAS (151), Accountants (234), Architects (11), Scientific (75), and Engineers (195).

¶ 15 We are establishing a Public Service Training Institute for non-executive cadres and implementing an HRMIS to digitize end-to-end HR for three unified and three island-wide services. For pensions and post-retirement benefits, Rs. 490.3 billion was allocated in 2025; this year more. A Pay and Pensions Commission is being set up to resolve anomalies.

¶ 16 We are regularizing 9,800 temporary/substitute workers by confirming them in service. We have increased difficult area allowances for teachers, and gatekeepers’ allowances in Railways by 100%. We are addressing issues of sub-degree diploma holders.

¶ 17 Local Government services will be addressed by the State Minister, but we are aligning resources to improve frontline service delivery, including waste recycling initiatives.

¶ 18 On official vehicles: the procurement is to equip Divisional Secretaries and heads of local authorities; over 450 pickups/utility vehicles are required under our Ministry alone. Many officers still travel in dilapidated vehicles. This is to improve service quality, not for party cadres.

¶ 19 We are also strengthening district and divisional administration infrastructure: e.g., allocating Rs. 388 million to construct the Kalutara District Secretariat; Anamaduwa Divisional Secretariat is complete; several more are being completed or initiated. I could not cover even 10% of our 77th-year work due to time.

¶ 20 Thank you.