Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday, 14 December 2024 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake last week during his policy statement at the inauguration of the 10th Parliament promised to create a satisfactory public service.
He recalled that the 2024 Election marked a historical milestone in Sri Lanka as the one where the highest number of public servants voted in favour of a single Government.
The assurance comes when Sri Lanka has one of the biggest public sectors in Asia (see chart). The previous regime under President Ranil Wickremesinghe was reluctant to effectively address this aspect whilst given the economic and fiscal crisis, expectations were a Voluntary Retirement Scheme within the State sector.
The fear was any layoff would make the then Government unpopular and the thinking was the country must find a way to sustain the existing cadre in the public sector. Wickremesinghe’s two-year administration did toy with the idea of re-skilling the public sector but made no headway according to analysts.
Given the overhang of a bloated public sector on the State’s finances, President Dissanayake did address the issue but fell short of indicating a proper restructuring or rightsizing/downsizing.
Dissanayake told Parliament: “It is no secret that the general public does not hold a favourable perception of the State service in our country. There exists significant dissatisfaction and negative sentiments among the public towards State services. Similarly, many within the State service themselves feel dissatisfied and unfulfilled in their roles and professional lives.”
“As a result, we are faced with a dual challenge: an unsatisfied public and a discontented State service workforce. Our ultimate responsibility, therefore, is to establish a State service that satisfies both the citizens it serves and the individuals who work within it,” the President added.
He emphasised that through this mandate, the people have shown their support for the reforms and proposals presented to establish a better, more efficient public service. “We firmly believe that moving forward without a strong and effective public service is not possible. Across the world, whenever countries undergo significant transformations, both political leadership and the functionality of the public sector play a critical role in achieving success,” he added.
“No matter how ambitious the goals and expectations of political leaders may be, those goals can only be realised if there is a well-structured and responsive public service to implement them. That is why we believe it is essential to rebuild a competent, people-centric public service that prioritises the well-being of the citizens. The strong mandate we have received from public servants themselves underscores this need. We are fully focused on addressing this critical issue,” President Dissanayake told the Parliament.
