The Hon. Upul Kithsiri

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I address this question to the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government.

¶ 02 According to Circular No. 14/2022 issued by the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government dated 2022.06.22, a large number of public officers have gone abroad on local/foreign no-pay leave without prejudice to seniority and pension. If an officer intends to go abroad, leave must be applied for three months in advance and obtained accordingly. However, for foreign employment, dates are often obtained at short notice, making it difficult to secure leave within the stipulated timeframe.

¶ 03 Due to the severe financial crisis in 2022, many, including public servants, struggled to live daily. Many decided to go abroad, and under the above circular, public officers were also given the opportunity. However, due to weaknesses in the leave-approval process, many were unable to secure leave before departure. Consequently, due to economic hardship, they chose foreign employment and had to forfeit their local employment.

¶ 04 Hon. Minister, I ask the following: 1. Under the relevant circular, how many public officers have obtained local no-pay leave? 2. Under the relevant circular, how many public officers to date have obtained foreign no-pay leave and gone abroad? 3. As of now, how many have gone abroad without leave approval under the circular? (i) If so, why were the leaves not approved? (ii) What action has been taken regarding those officers? 4. Do you accept that there is a discrepancy between the procedures under this circular/institutional code and the current leave-approval process? 5. If so, what are they? 6. If not, why not?