Friday Dec 20, 2024
Friday Dec 20, 2024
Friday, 20 December 2024 00:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Government has announced a comprehensive review of its non-commercial State statutory institutions, a move aimed at strengthening public service delivery and addressing inefficiencies. The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved appointing an official committee, chaired by the Prime Minister’s Secretary, to conduct the review and submit a report with actionable recommendations. Addressing the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said the public service infrastructure comprises 86 Departments, 25 District Secretaries, 339 Divisional Secretariats, 340 State-owned Enterprises and 115 non-commercial State statutory institutions. These entities play a critical role in delivering essential services, ensuring national security, maintaining law and order, regulating markets, managing disasters and overseeing social welfare.
For 2024, he said Rs. 140 billion has been allocated in the National Budget to support 115 non-commercial State statutory institutions under the Department of National Budget and 51 entities overseen by the Department of Public Enterprises.
The decision to initiate the review reflects concerns over the inefficiencies and redundancies in the current system.
Key issues include outdated institutional structures, overlapping mandates and instances where private sector entities reform similar tasks more efficiently.
The Cabinet Spokesman also noted that some institutions have not been updated to meet modern needs, while others lack sufficient authority to fulfil their objectives. Additionally, there are cases of multiple institutions carrying out identical or overlapping tasks, further straining resources.
