The World Bank on Tuesday approved a US$25 million loan to the Government of Sri Lanka to improve the transparency and efficiency of core government and public financial management functions.
The Public Sector Efficiency Strengthening Project (PSEP) will help strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Finance to improve efficiency and deliver better services.
The use of information technology and greater human resource capabilities will be the key drivers of this 5-year project. The European Union will be a partner in PSEP with a technical assistance grant of Euro 10 million to help strengthen core public finance and accountability institutions, the bank said in a media release.
“PSEP builds on long-standing collaborative government and World Bank work in the area of public financial management and supports the priority reform areas of the Government of Sri Lanka” said Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough, World Bank Country Director for Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives. “The use of smart technology-based systems such as e-procurement will enhance efficiency, improve transparency and accountability of public institutions through the simplification of procedures,” she further added.
“The project will also leverage international experience in public financial management to increase the impacts of the outcome,” said Mohan Gopalakrishnan, Senior Financial Management Specialist and World Bank’s Task Team Leader for the project.
The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a final maturity of 28 years including a grace period of 11 years.
The number of Buddhist monks who were killed following the accident at the Na Uyana Theravada Buddhist Monastery (Na Uyana Aranya Senansenaya) in Pansiyagama, Melsiripura, Kurunegala currently stands at nine , with four injured, Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Prof. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi told Parliament this morning. He revealed that two of the injured Buddhist monks are being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU
Several shops were damaged in a major fire that broke out in a shop on the third floor of a building at First Cross Street in Pettah, Colombo, today evening.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, addressing the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, said that both inequality and poverty ought to be regarded as a worldwide catastrophe that requires urgent attention.
The opposition has renewed its demand for a long delayed forensic audit into the controversial e-visa deal, following the sentencing of former Controller General of Immigration, Harsha Ilukpitiya, for contempt of court.
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