• Essential Vacancies Filled Methodically in Public Service – Additional Secretary (Public Administration) and Director General of Combinedd Services.
• Government Resorts and Tourist Bungalows Allocated to Boost Tourism – Additional Secretary (Internal Admin).
• Gampaha Nila Piyasa Project Successfully Allocates All Housing Units to Beneficiarie – Additional Secretary (Home Affairs).
• Timely Payment of Pension Gratuity Ensured Since May – Director General of Pension Department.

State Minister for Home Affairs, Ashoka Priyantha, emphasized that despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and severe economic crisis, maintaining stable public services without any employee layoffs or salary cuts is a significant achievement. He credited President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s guidance for being instrumental in achieving this stability.

Addressing the press briefing titled “Two Years of Progress and Advancement” held at the Presidential Media Centre on Wednesday (17), the state minister further stated,

The past two years have presented significant challenges, especially navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and severe economic crises. Amid concerns of potential job cuts and fears of public service disruptions, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s counsel and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena’s adept management as Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government ensured the stability and continuity of the public service. This achievement has been pivotal in safeguarding the public sector, which received widespread support from both its workforce and the citizens of our country.

With elections being a current topic of discussion, our ministry has played a crucial role in facilitating the conditions necessary for holding them.

Additional Secretary (Public Administration) and Director General of Combined Services, S. Aloka Bandara;

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis, public service recruitment was limited from 2020 to 2022, with a complete halt in 2022. This period allowed for a comprehensive review of the public service staff.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Public Administration decided to initiate recruitment for six island-wide services, integrated services, village officer service, and other roles. These recruitments were conducted strictly based on approved vacancies, following formal approvals from institutions such as the Public Service Commission and the Ministry of Finance. The ministry diligently worked to systematically fill essential vacancies identified during the staff review.

Additionally, measures were taken to expedite efficiency cut off exams administered by the Sri Lanka Development Administration Institute to prevent delays. Furthermore, the special grade promotion process, typically occurring twice a year, has been accelerated since July 01st.

Additional Secretary (Internal Admin), Mahesh Gammanpila;

The 2024 budget proposes a program to maximize the effective use of home stay units and bungalows, owned by government institutions. It aims to utilize underutilized government resorts and tourist bungalows, ensuring minimal maintenance, by offering them at concessional rates to government and semi-government employees. Additionally, these properties will be open for allocation to interested parties to generate income for the government. Currently, over 720 government-owned resorts and tourist bungalows can provide approximately 3,750 rooms to promote tourism. The budget allocates 600 million rupees for this initiative.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government have introduced online booking and payment facilities for tourist bungalows and holiday resorts.

Additional Secretary (Home Affairs), W.M.A.P.B. Wanninayake;

In 2023, the Nila Piyasa project in Gampaha concluded successfully, achieving its goal of providing residential facilities for government officials, with all housing units allocated to beneficiaries. This initiative aimed to enhance accommodation options for officials within the government service.

Significant progress was also noted in the construction of several key administrative buildings across different regions:

The new district secretariat building in Batticaloa has reached 92% completion, marking substantial advancement towards improving administrative infrastructure in the region. Meanwhile, the divisional secretariat buildings in Mahianganaya, Halialela, Homagama, Lunugamwehera, and Ja-Ela have all achieved 100% completion, highlighting the government’s commitment to enhancing local administrative capabilities.

Furthermore, the Mundalama and Mahavilachchi divisional secretariat buildings were successfully completed at a total cost of 369 million rupees, and both facilities were inaugurated in March and June respectively, further bolstering administrative efficiency and service delivery in their respective areas.

Throughout 2023, several other divisional secretariat buildings reached completion milestones, underscoring on-going efforts to strengthen administrative infrastructure nationwide. These include the Madurawala and Vallavita Divisional Secretariat Buildings in Kalutara District, the Gampaha District Secretariat Building, the Wattala Divisional Secretariat Building in Gampaha District, and the Central Nuwaragampala Divisional Secretariat Building in Anuradhapura District. These projects are pivotal in improving local governance and ensuring efficient public service delivery across Sri Lanka.

Director General at Department of Pensions, Jagath Dharmapala Dias Athaudage;

Since January 2nd of this year, an online system has been introduced for forwarding pension revision applications for members of the Tri – forces. This initiative aims to streamline and expedite the pension revision process, enhancing efficiency and accessibility for armed forces personnel.

Additionally, government pensioners employed in the Maritime Security Service or serving on naval vessels can now submit their life certificates to the Divisional Secretariat before leaving the country. Alternatively, they can obtain certification at the Sri Lanka Missions in the destination country or through the Merchant Shipping Secretariat.

Procedures have been established to facilitate the submission of these life certificates to Divisional Secretaries, ensuring compliance with pension requirements.

Moreover, a new information technology system has been implemented to manage the recovery of pension overpayments and expedite the payment of pension gratuities. This system aims to minimize delays and improve the administration of pension-related financial transactions.

Furthermore, online booking facilities have been introduced to allow pensioners to reserve train seats without the need to visit railway stations. This initiative provides pensioners with greater convenience and accessibility in managing their travel arrangements.

Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Pradeep Yasaratne, Additional Secretary (Home Affairs) A.G. Nishantha, Senior Assistant Secretary (Home Affairs) A.D.D. Chalanka, Additional Secretary (Human Resources Development) Buddhi Tharanga Karunasena, Director General of Establishments Chandana Kumarasinghe, Director General of Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) Nalaka Kaluwewe, Registrar General of Registrar General’s Department W. R. A. N. S. Wijayasinghe, Commissioner General of Department of Official Languages Prince Senadeera, Additional Secretary Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Senior Assistant Secretary Champika Ramawickrema, Director (Combined Services) A.M.Manoj Nadeeshana were also present.

[PMD]