The Hon. (Prof.) A.-H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government
The Minister responded to questions from Hon. Rasamanickam on public-sector graduate recruitment and Provincial Council vacancies. He said recruitment under the Government’s 35,000 graduate employment programme is being reviewed by a committee chaired by the Prime Minister’s Secretary, with appointments to island-wide, education, departmental, authority and Provincial Council posts to follow relevant procedures. He reported that about 1,000 recruitments have already been made under his Ministry, approval has been obtained for nearly another 1,000, and Provincial Councils had 61,835 vacancies out of an approved cadre of 463,369 as at 30 June 2025. He added that preliminary steps for Provincial Council recruitments have begun, the absence of elected Councils is not an impediment, and elections will be addressed in due course.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, the answers to the questions raised by Hon. Rasamanickam are as follows:
¶ 02 1. As stated in the Government’s policy statement, under the programme to recruit 35,000 graduates to various posts in Government service, the Recruitment Review Committee chaired by the Secretary to the Prime Minister is considering requirements and granting approval as appropriate.
¶ 03 Through these recruitments, it is expected to appoint officers to island-wide services, services under the Ministry of Education, various authorities and departmental services, as well as posts under Provincial Councils, subject to existing service conditions and recruitment procedures for graduates, by conducting competitive examinations or structured interviews as applicable.
¶ 04 Accordingly, under the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, nearly 1,000 recruitments have already been made for six island-wide services under its purview, and approval has been received to recruit a further number close to 1,000, for which necessary steps are being taken.
¶ 05 2. Provincial Councils — Approved Cadre, In-Position, and Vacancies as at 30.06.2025:
¶ 06 - Western Province: Approved 89,182; In-Position 72,531; Vacancies 16,651 - Central Province: Approved 62,435; In-Position 52,049; Vacancies 10,386 - Southern Province: Approved 54,970; In-Position 52,851; Vacancies 2,119 - Northern Province: Approved 41,387; In-Position 32,035; Vacancies 9,352 - North Western Province: Approved 55,811; In-Position 50,359; Vacancies 5,452 - North Central Province: Approved 33,368; In-Position 29,367; Vacancies 4,001 - Uva Province: Approved 38,693; In-Position 34,773; Vacancies 3,920 - Sabaragamuwa Province: Approved 43,223; In-Position 39,443; Vacancies 3,780 - Eastern Province: Approved 44,300; In-Position 38,126; Vacancies 6,174
¶ 07 Total: Approved 463,369; In-Position 401,534; Vacancies 61,835
¶ 08 3. The preliminary steps required to proceed with recruitments according to the needs of Provincial Councils have already been taken, and the absence of Councils is not an impediment to such recruitments. Steps necessary to conduct Provincial Council elections will be taken in due course.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 11 September 2025 ·No. 1758278142029989 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Prof.) A.-H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 11 September 2025. No. 1758278142029989. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/1528