The Hon. Ruwanthilaka Jayakody

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today we are discussing Health and Mass Media. I will focus my remarks on the postal service. While we think of mail delivery as its main function, many special services are carried out — telegrams, parcels, various payments, remittances, pensions, elders’ allowances, cancer and TB assistance payments, and public assistance — all via the postal service. Postmen render a unique service. Every day, in every city, village, street, and home, the only State representative who travels is the postman — first on foot, then on bicycle, and now by motorbike. Despite this, their living standards have not improved and the same allowances continue.

¶ 02 The Postal Department was established in 1796. The Postal Ordinance of 1908 was last amended in 1973 — 52 years have passed without amendment or modernization. In the past, some politicians almost gave the postal service a sudden, natural death. You may recall the incident in Nuwara Eliya where then President Ranil Wickremesinghe tried to sell the Nuwara Eliya Post Office to a hotel. We understood its historical value and decided to preserve and develop that building while maintaining the post office and leveraging it for tourism.

¶ 03 We believe the Ordinance must be amended, and we are proceeding with that. Countries like Switzerland, Japan, France, and Austria have highly developed postal services. We need to elevate ours similarly through three pillars: developing human resources, physical resources, and digitalization, as our Deputy Minister of Mass Media also advocates.

¶ 04 Regarding human resources: currently 19,694 are in service, with 7,651 vacancies. We aim to recruit 3,279 necessary officers and recruitment is underway. We are increasing the bicycle allowance from Rs. 250 to Rs. 2,000, and are discussing changes to the motorbike allowance.

¶ 05 On estate workers: much has been discussed about increasing daily wages and allowances. However, historically, even providing addresses to estate workers was neglected by those political leaders. We have now provided addresses, and next we will recruit some workers to operate postal services in those areas as well.

¶ 06 On infrastructure: though we planned 14 post offices in the 2025 Budget, we are now constructing 25, some completed — at Galewela, Mahawela, Balapitiya, Bandagiriya, Kaluwanchikudy, Mulaniv, Dodamgaslanda, Nagollagama, Jayanthipura, Achchuveli, Pokunuwita, Haladungamuwa, etc. We upgraded Dambulla as a regional exchange. We are developing the historic Nuwara Eliya Post Office and building a tourist bungalow and staff quarters. In 2026 we expect to build eight more — Puthukuduirippu, Maskeliya, Silawathura, Devinuwara, Mirijjawila, Meegaswewa, and Pinnawala.

¶ 07 We plan to procure 30 vehicles to improve the service. Some sub-post offices bring in as little as Rs. 1,000 income; we are studying how to improve them.

¶ 08 On digitalization: the Postal Ordinance dates to 1908, amended in 1973. We have completed work to amend it again to suit the modern world. We have facilitated a payment gateway for departmental payments. We are introducing HRMS software to manage transfers and related HR functions for drivers, sub-postmasters, and others. We plan to develop an EGCS data management system for investigations and live tracking to improve quality.

¶ 09 Our vision is to become the best connectivity partner through innovative multi-service delivery, aligned with Universal Postal Union standards and Sri Lanka’s policies, maximizing stakeholder satisfaction. We are transforming the postal service from past neglect into a revitalized, digitally enabled, everyday essential for the public. Additionally, regarding journalists, we will ensure fair access to training and facilities not only for Colombo-centric media but equitably for regional journalists across the country. Thank you.