Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe

¶ 01 Not only that. Since 2019, there have been no recruitments to the public service. Recruitment was halted. In some places, small numbers were taken through competitive exams. At present there are 280,000 vacancies in the public service. For those 280,000 vacancies, in accordance with the procedures applicable to public service recruitment, permission is now being granted to proceed with the necessary competitive examinations and merit-based recruitment measures. A committee chaired by the Secretary to the Prime Minister has been appointed to assess the needs of all institutions and ministries and to grant approvals for recruitment required for their departments. How many recruitments have been approved, Hon. Chair? Our Cabinet has already approved 75,000. We are recruiting 75,000 to the public service. Among them are graduates.

¶ 02 Moreover, let me also say this, Hon. Chair. There are people who came in as Development Officers and teach in schools. We know this. They entered as Development Officers but are teaching in schools. There are large numbers of vacancies. They should be recruited as teachers. There are issues in the schemes of recruitment. Under the process to recruit them as teachers, they must be recruited through the teachers’ competitive examination. Their request was to be recruited directly. But then there would be an issue with the teacher recruitment scheme. We held discussions to resolve this. Since they are already in the service and are graduates, there is no barrier for them to sit for and face the teachers’ competitive examination while remaining in employment. There were six court cases relating to this; five have concluded. One more case remains. After that case concludes, approval is to be granted to recruit close to 25,000 graduates to the teacher service; this is on the pending list. Thereafter, approval has already been given to recruit more than 100,000 in total, Hon. Chair. The Opposition should be told: not 35,000 but 100,000. Last year we said 30,000 graduates; now approval has been given for 100,000. I will separately state how many thousands of graduates are within that 100,000.

¶ 03 About 30,000 are for the teacher service. Hon. Chair, our MP Sri Nesan said, “We appreciate good work; we will also support it.” Likewise, we should tell the Opposition that this is a people-centered Budget—brought with the support of the country’s public servants who intervened to bring this Government to power, the farmers, estate workers, private sector employees, pensioners, SMEs, the business community, and intellectuals—presented to address everyone’s issues. Therefore, to the Members of the Opposition, we say this is a people-friendly, development-oriented Budget, without waste, fraud, and corruption. We have presented a program with strategies and an implementation plan. Nothing we said is missing here; everything we promised is included.

¶ 04 In the last Budget we said measures would be taken to grant a wage of Rs. 1,750 to estate workers. At the very least, that should have been appreciated. When we moved to grant the Rs. 400 allowance, it should not have been litigated; complaints should not have been made. Yet there were no cases or complaints, Hon. Chair. With the involvement of the estate owners and the Government, we are giving that Rs. 400.

¶ 05 Hon. Chair, as I proceed—you seem ready to ask me to conclude—but I have a few more points. I structured my remarks today to speak particularly about Presidential Commissions of Inquiry and several important matters related to the Presidential Secretariat. In current discussions about the public service, I must address the functions of these Commissions, Hon. Chair. When speaking about their mandate—such as the Public Service Commission and other Commissions in our country—the element of accountability is substantial. Hence their responsibilities are significant. The “Independent Commissions” were created to expedite services to the people. But what is happening now? These Commissions, instead of facilitating State processes and administrative efficiency, appear to be operating in pursuit of the objectives of those who appointed them.

¶ 06 Let me give one example, Hon. Chair. This happened only the other day. In the 0065 service there is an Efficiency Bar (EB) examination. Previously the pass mark was 40; now it has been raised to 50. Previously there were six attempts; now reduced to three. A public officer might think, “This Government has made it tougher: earlier we had six attempts and needed 40 marks; now it’s three attempts and 50 marks—has the Government gone mad?” No, we did not do this. Even the Minister of Public Administration may not be aware. When the Public Service Commission makes such changes, at minimum there should be policy direction and dialogue with the Government, because a Government functions with the people, and such measures can conflict with Government processes. I am raising this not to attack anyone. It is Parliament’s responsibility to observe, examine, and review the workings of the Independent Commissions. Thus, the Public Service Commission and similar bodies have a large responsibility to support the State’s functions. When matters like this arise, it does not ease our work; it creates difficulties. Furthermore, looking at complaints to the Public Service Commission, in 2024 alone, 87% of the cases finalized were older than one year. Only 13% of appeals received within the year were disposed of. Therefore, there is much more to be reviewed as we discharge these functions.

¶ 07 Finally, give me two minutes more, Hon. Chair. In addition to the work done by the Independent Commissions, there were also functions undertaken by Presidential Commissions. Among them was a special Commission; you may recall it. I will refer to it and conclude. There were numerous Presidential Commissions appointed recently—around 14. They conducted various inquiries. Due to the 2022 Aragalaya and the damages to residences, a Commission was appointed to provide facilities to Members of Parliament and public representatives. Although 14 Presidential Commissions were appointed and reports issued, only one is active, with an active report. Why? Because only their own matters have been pursued. According to that Commission’s report, in the “Viyathpura” Housing Project, 101 houses were constructed. All 101 have been allocated. Some have not paid rent; some have not handed back keys. For over a year, electricity and water bills have not been paid.

¶ 08 As I investigated further, I found more information. The other day it was said that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has no house. In fact, he too has a house under the Viyathpura project. Let me list some allocations where keys were not properly handed over or occupants differ from the allottees. According to a statement by the Housing Custodian appointed by the Urban Development Authority, the following MPs’ allocated houses are occupied by other individuals:

¶ 09 - B2/09/05 has no consumer number; though allotted to Mahinda Rajapaksa, it is occupied by former Boralesgamuwa Mayor Aruna Priyashantha. - B1/07/11, allotted to Namal Lakshman Rajapaksa, is occupied by Renuka Perera. - B1/09/12, allotted to former MP Chandima Weerakkody, is occupied by another person. - B1/08/08, the house of Ms. Seetha Arambepola, is occupied by her secretary. - B1/06/07, the house of Bandula Gunawardana, is occupied by his secretary Kalum. - B1/09/10, the house of Aravind Kumar, is occupied by a secretary. - B2/09/01, allotted to Nimal Lanza, is occupied by the Chairman of the Biyagama Pradeshiya Sabha. - B2/08/05, the house of Jagath Kumar, is occupied by Mahinda Kahandagama. - B1/04/11, allotted to Kulawansa Gamini Lokuge, is occupied by former Kesbewa Mayor Lakshman Perera.

¶ 10 I do not have time to read the remaining list, but investigations are ongoing into 39 houses.

¶ 11 Regarding the Viyathpura project, the Commission has determined that 28 persons were given houses valued at Rs. 529 million. A report on allocation of houses to MPs has been obtained. A final decision has been taken to halt these expenditures as per the final Commission report.

¶ 12 At this time, while many issues are raised under the President’s vote head, I must state that within a year our Government has both reduced State expenditure and curbed waste, fraud, and corruption, while preventing misuse of public funds and regularizing State administration, under the leadership of the President and the Government. The role of these Commissions should be to facilitate public administration and public service—not to obstruct it. The Government will provide support to the Commissions to carry out their lawful functions, and Parliament must provide leadership accordingly. I conclude.

¶ 13 Thank you very much.