The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, my Adjournment Motion is on a very important matter.

¶ 02 The unexpected and forced retirement of senior executive-level officers was mandated by Public Administration Circular No. 19/2022 dated 14.09.2022, reducing the retirement age of public officers to 60 years with effect from 01.01.2023. This decision has had serious consequences, particularly in specialized services such as the Sri Lanka Foreign Service. As a result, there is now a shortage of professionally qualified diplomats to represent Sri Lanka in missions abroad and serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism and the Department of Commerce.

¶ 03 Recognizing this critical shortage of senior officers in the Public Service, the then Government had previously issued Public Administration Circular No. 02/2022 dated 06.01.2022, extending their retirement age to 65 years with effect from 01.01.2022. This extension was formalized through Government Gazette Extraordinary No. 2263/5 dated 19.01.2022. The extension was necessary, Sir, because many branches of the Public Service had not conducted regular recruitments due to the budgetary constraints caused by the economic difficulties the country was facing at that time. However, the former Government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe reversed that policy through Public Administration Circular No. 19/2022, reducing the retirement age again to 60 years. That decision is similar to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

¶ 04 Sir, the negative impact of this policy was immediately felt, particularly in professional, management and technical services. For instance, the Sri Lanka Railways, already suffering from a severe shortage of engine drivers, was forced to re-employ retired drivers on contract basis while continuing to pay them full pensions, an outcome that increased government expenditure and proved counterproductive; they have to be paid both the pension as well as a contract-basis salary.

¶ 05 While it is undeniable that the Public Service is overstaffed, the real issue lies at the subordinate, clerical, non-executive and minor grade levels. However, at the senior executive level, the situation is entirely different.

¶ 06 The Attorney-General’s Department, where I cut my teeth in the legal profession as a State Counsel, has also been severely affected. Media reports indicate that over 29,000 pending files have further exacerbated the backlog of court cases due to the shortage of prosecuting officers. The specialist medical doctors, one of the affected groups, successfully challenged this decision in the Court of Appeal, which ruled that their services should be retained until the age of 63. A similar approach should be adopted for other critical services which face shortages.

¶ 07 I am aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, of all the Ministries, is struggling due to lack of experienced senior executive-level officers and is finding it difficult to identify skilled personnel for foreign missions. As a result, the Government is now reverting to the past practice of appointing individuals from outside the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, a practice that was previously criticized by Members of your party, which is now in Government. I have a copy of Hansard, in which this practice was questioned some time ago. A viable solution, as demonstrated by the Ministry of Health, would be to re-employ experienced senior officers who were forced to premature retirement due to Public Administration Circular No. 19/2022 rather than resorting to external appointments. Sir, by doing so, the retired Sri Lanka Foreign Service officers affected by this policy could be re-employed while retaining their seniority at the time of their enforced retirement. That would allow the Sri Lanka Foreign Service to benefit from their expertise, while also reducing Government expenditure by suspending pension payments for those re-employed on contract basis.

¶ 08 Hon. Presiding Member, I urge the Government to consider this matter very carefully. The shortage of senior officers severely affects specialized areas such as the Attorney-General’s Department and the Sri Lanka Foreign Service. If ambassadors are appointed again based on political or other considerations, the promised system change will be lost and we will return to old practices. Successive governments have done this in the past; I acknowledge that. However, at a time when we are seeking a new ethical and administrative culture, I urge the Government to act as follows:

¶ 09 Even without reinstating that Circular, a policy decision can be made: set the maximum retirement age at either 63 or 65. For senior officers under 63—especially in the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and other specialized departments—offer an option to return to service on contract, with pensions suspended during the contract and salaries paid; pensions to resume at 63. Implementing such an option would be appropriate and cost-effective. I kindly request a positive response. Thank you.