Public administration to undergo new restructuring process
Sri Lanka’s public administration is set to undergo a far-reaching restructuring process to meet the needs of the present government’s vision of ‘Prosperity and Splendour’, head of Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival has revealed.
Structural and administrative changes in the overall public service will be brought to the attention of the President, the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Ministers and necessary action will be taken towards this end, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Eradication Basil Rajapaksa has told a recent meeting of officials.
A new committee will be appointed to carry out an in-depth study and make recommendations to strengthen and restructure the state workforce numbering 1.1 million and the public to actively involve them in spurring economic development in the COVID-19 affected country, official sources said.
A productivity-based promotion scheme, new pension plan, amendments to the Establishment Code and necessary changes for archaic administration and financial regulations will be introduced soon getting rid of official bureaucracy and red tape.
Public sector employees are being promoted based on seniority and experience, where they ascend to one grade from the other over several years stagnating most of their life time in the same post.
That system has deprived many efficient and energetic employees of climbing the ladder in their careers, a senior Public Administration official told the Business Times adding that the urgent need of the hour is to stop the political appointments and promotions.
He noted that the politicised public service had created a situation where a public servant is available for every 15 Sri Lankans and it is the tax payers who have to bear their salary cost.
Action should be taken to integrate administration and interaction between the central government, the provincial councils and local government bodies under a Presidential Commission with necessary powers to save public funds, several senior officials suggested.
The special committee should consider all those factors when making their recommendations after hearing the grievances of public sector employees, they added.
The new restructuring process is aimed at increasing the capacity of the government to better understand the complex challenges faced by the country, and the ways in which government officials can be empowered to provide solutions with human-centered approaches.
According to official statistics, over one-third (35 per cent) of public and semi-government employees are GCE (A/L) qualified and little over one-fourth (26.1 per cent) have degree or higher qualifications.
The statistics show that 190,498 employees or 17 per cent of the workforce have not passed the GCE (O/L) examination and there are 290,378 graduates employed in public and semi-government sectors.
Public sector employees are idling without sufficient work and priority must be on the productive management of human resources, several HR officials said adding that there is a need to modernise the techniques and bring in digital technology into the state workforce.