The Hon. Eranga Weeraratne - Acting Minister of Digital Economy

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Digital Economy, I answer as follows.

¶ 02 (a) (i) Number of employees serving in Sri Lanka Telecom at present: - Permanent: 5,848 - Contract: 50 - Total: 5,898

¶ 03 (ii) As at today, the total identified external vacancies (subject to change) are: - Technical: 25 - Technical Officers: 20 - IT/Network Officers/Software Developers: 14 - Engineers: 6 - Marketing Officers: 17 - AI Solutions/Architect: 1 - AI/ML Engineer: 1 - Data Scientist: 1 - Software Engineer – AI: 1 - Data and AI Security Engineer: 1 - Cloud Platform Specialist: 3 - Total: 96

¶ 04 (iii) Profit in 2024 (per Annual Report): - Group: LKR 3,120 million - Company: LKR 2,113 million

¶ 05 (Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income excerpt was tabled.)

¶ 06 (iv) Please see the annex for details.

¶ 07 (v) Measures to recover defaulted amounts include: - Assigning recovery to an external debt collection agent: call centre outreach, letters to unreachable customers, and field collectors visiting debtor residences. - Referring cases to the Mediation Boards under the Mediation Boards Act: arrears over Rs. 50,000 in the Metro/Colombo area and over Rs. 100,000 in other areas; amounts over Rs. 1,000,000 proceed directly to legal action. If mediation fails, proceed legally. - Issuing a Letter of Demand (LOD) as a final reminder, generally allowing one calendar month to settle and requiring a minimum payment (e.g., Rs. 10,000). - Following up LODs via email, letters, and calls; if unpaid within 14 days of LOD, initiate legal action. In Colombo, legal action generally for arrears over Rs. 50,000; in other areas over Rs. 100,000. Where orders are made and still defaulted, proceed with writ action. Writ action is generally pursued for amounts over Rs. 50,000.

¶ 08 (b) Not applicable.