‘No harm in discarding our proposals if not acceptable to new leaders’

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Chairman of the Expert Committee on Public Service Salary Disparities, Udaya R. Seneviratne yesterday (17) contradicted cabinet spokesperson Minister Vijitha Herath declaration that the substantial public sector salary increase announced by the then government in the run-up to Sept 21 presidential election had not received proper approval of the Finance Ministry.

Retired SLAS officer Seneviratne who had held several top posts, including Secretary to the President during Maithripala Sirisena’s tenure emphasised that the relevant Cabinet paper had been presented by the then President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Finance Minister. “Therefore, there cannot be absolutely no basis for the new government’s claim,” Seneviratne said, pointing out both Director General National Budget and Director General Management Services were members of his committee.

The Island raised the issue with the expert committee Chairman in the wake of the government discarding the Seneviratne report.

Minister Herath told a post-cabinet media briefing on Tuesday (15) that the cabinet made an unilateral announcement without consulting the Finance Minister. Seneviratne said that he sincerely hoped the cabinet spokesman sought an explanation from the expert committee.

“In fact, Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Duminda Hulangamuwa who recently received appointment as Senior Economic Affairs Advisor to AKD government was a member of my committee. I’m sure, Hulangamuwa will be able to set the record straight,” Seneviratne said.

Seneviratne’s committee proposed that the basic salary of public service employees would be increased by a minimum of 24% for primary-level service categories. Salaries will gradually increase from an average of 24% to 50%, for all government officials depending on current fiscal feasibility, Seneviratne said, reiterating the need to increase public sector salaries.

Responding to another query, Seneviratne suggested that Deputy Secretary to the Treasury A.K. Senavirathna could explain the salary hikes proposals as he with the support of his team prepared them. “We provided the policy framework, Deputy Treasury Secretary and his team prepared the relevant proposals,” Seneviratne said.

The expert committee undertook the project taking into consideration the ongoing IMF-led programme in which debt restructuring was a key component, Seneviratne said. Whatever various interested parties say for their benefit or in a bid to undermine others, the country is not out of the woods yet, Seneviratne said, adding that the implementation of the salary proposals entirely depended on the new government’s ability to meet revenue targets as recommended by the expert committee.

Perhaps, the recommendations should be divulged by the government to pave the way for public discussions on the issues at hand, Seneviratne said that the JVP-led Jathika Jana Balawegala (JJB) couldn’t side-step the issue by declaring the previous cabinet acted sans Finance Ministry approval.

Seneviratne warned that the country should be prepared to face the consequences of possible delay in securing the next tranche of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) due to the change of government and forthcoming parliamentary election. The former top official asserted that the powers that be and those contesting parliamentary elections should be aware of the gravity of the situation. “Do not forget that debt-repayment of foreign debt is on hold. But, it wouldn’t be fair to discard proposed salary increases and revenue proposals on false grounds,” Seneviratne said.

Commenting on massive local borrowings this month, Seneviratne said that revealed the developing crisis on the public finance front. Matale district SJB leader Rohini Kaviratne recently declared that the new government between Oct 02 and 15, had borrowed as much as Rs. 419,000 mn as it struggled to cope up with falling state revenue.

During the campaign the SJB, too, declared a substantial salary increase though the JJB refrained from doing so.

Seneviratne said that Rs.3,000 interim allowance that had been recently granted to pensioners, too, was proposed by his committee. The government couldn’t deny that, the ex-official said, urging President Dissanayake, who is also the Finance Minister, to seek an explanation from the Treasury regarding the status of the expert committee report.