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State sector expansion for national development, optimum service: Minister
One in every 17 Sri Lankans is a State sector employee, Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs, John Seneviratne told Parliament yesterday.
The Minister disclosed this when the votes of his Ministry were taken up for debate during the Committee Stage debate of the Budget.
”Even though we are a small country, we have 1.4 million State sector employees. President Mahinda Rajapaksa believes that, if the country is to develop, the State sector should be able to compete with the private sector, as well as serve the public to the fullest,” he said.
The Minister added that, in developed countries like Canada and Australia, public servants make up less than one per cent of the employed population. “In Canada, with a population of 35 million, there were only 278,092 public officials in 2012, and by 2013, while the population grew by about 300,000, the public service shrank to about 262,902. He said there were only 152,000 public officials in Australia, which has a population of around 20 million.
The Minister said the Government recruited personnel en masse into the State sector without any fear, with 51,000 graduates inducted into the service in the recent past. He said these recruits were now working in the Central Government as well as in Provincial Government offices.
He added that, the Government has invested heavily to develop the infrastructure of State institutions. In 2015, 76 District Secretariats will be refurbished as part of this programme, he added.
The Minister also disclosed that there are 543,552 pensioners in the country, and the monthly pension costs the State nearly Rs 10 billion. Each month 2,500 new pensioners are added to this number, he explained.
Meanwhile, UNP Kalutara District MP Ajith P. Perera said that the role of the Ombudsman has become meaningless, as his directives are not binding. “The Ombudsman listens to the grievances of public officials, inquires and gives a ruling, but that is the end of the case. As there is no legal binding, his findings are meaningless,” he said.
Minister John senevirane agreed that the role of the Ombudsman needs to be re-evaluated and strengthened.