The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs

¶ 01 Mr. Chairman, at this point of discussing the Heads of Defence and of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, let me first say: regarding Sri Lanka Police, we have already taken many steps. First, depoliticising the Police; in fact, the entire public service has been depoliticised. No appointments or transfers are made due to political connections; those are functions of independent Commissions. As Minister and as the Ministry’s chief administrative officer, I have instructed all to manage the Ministry and institutions under it free of political interference. Our task is to create an independent, free, motivated, and dedicated public service, and this Budget provides the necessary resources.

¶ 02 Hon. Ranjith Madduma Bandara said we politicise OIC appointments. He knows such things happened in the past. A former IGP, Wickramaratne, said that when 184 were appointed, 182 were political appointments. The previous Government he refers to is that of his former leader. As for those who changed sides, that is another matter. We have freed the politicised Police from politics and created an environment to work freely. Investigations into crimes now proceed effectively. After any underworld shooting or organised crime, the Police act swiftly. In a recent courthouse shooting, the main suspect was arrested within eight hours. We have expedited investigations. Many crimes in the past were buried under the rugs of political stages by politicians.

¶ 03 During your Good Governance period, the Anti-Corruption Secretariat was established. I was its Director. Of 1,200 files received, 500 were referred to the Bribery Commission, FCID and others. Officers began investigations. But before long, Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena got together, did deals and halted proceedings, and obtained court orders to block probes. We have restarted all those investigations, re-established the FCID, and are restructuring Police: a Central Criminal Investigation Unit is being set up, with an Investigation Division in every province. FCID is active. All probes undermined by Good Governance and the Pohottuwa–Ranil joint government have been restarted.

¶ 04 For your information: assets worth Rs. 6,601 million have been seized/confiscated. For narcotics trafficking, properties worth Rs. 4,524 million have been seized. For pyramid scams, Rs. 2,867 million seized. For financial crimes, Rs. 1,054 million seized. In 2025, from drug trafficking, Rs. 152.8 million in assets seized, and fines of Rs. 188.3 million imposed. Since 2024.09.21, CID has arrested 680 suspects and produced them in courts. In 2025, for cybercrimes, 14 complaints led to 297 local and foreign suspects being arrested and produced. For organised crime, 8 suspects were brought from abroad; 5 of them via Red Notices. To expedite complaints, CID sub-units have been set up across provinces. MOUs with 38 identified institutions are being prepared; five already signed.

¶ 05 On Police salaries: we have not reduced anyone’s salary. Allowances are being consolidated into the basic salary. For the first time in years, we increased the basic salary, which brings many benefits. No public servant’s salary has been reduced; there is an increase, for which Rs. 232 billion has been allocated, with an additional Rs. 1,240 billion for total salary increases this year; Rs. 110 billion will be spent this year for overall pay increases. We plan a separate salary structure for the Police, to be presented with the next Budget. The groundwork is being done.