A Public Asset Management Bill to be presented to the Parliament

The responsibility of managing public assets will be entrusted to the Department of the Comptroller-General, which will be established under this act.

The Department will be headed by a Comptroller-General who will have the authority to delegate to heads of public institutions any of his powers, duties, and functions in relation to the non-financial assets of the respective institution.

The objective of the proposed law is to establish an updated and comprehensive central database to record non-financial assets and maintain a National Assets Register containing details of such assets. The register will be updated annually and presented to parliament by June 30 each year.

The Department of Comptroller-General is required to ensure that all non-financial assets are utilized and managed by the public institutions in accordance with the policies, guidelines and procedures stipulated by the Government and provide guidance for the effective and efficient use of such assets to strengthen the development framework of the Government.

The Department is also required to ensure the collection of revenue by public institutions where non-financial assets are disposed of by them.

The office of the Comptroller-General established pursuant to the Cabinet decision dated February 21, 2017, and presently attached to the Ministry of Finance will be transferred to the Department with effect from the date of commencement of the new Act.

The Cabinet approved the proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization, and National Policies to gazette the proposed bill. It will be presented to Parliament shortly.