President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said the Ministry of Finance has finalised decisions to close 34 state institutions as part of efforts to cut public spending.
He was speaking at the annual general meeting of the Government Surveyors’ Association in Battaramulla. The President said the government had decided to shut some institutions and merge several others to improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary expenditure.
A special committee has been appointed to oversee and carry out the closures and restructuring, he said. The President did not name the institutions in the remarks reported.
He said the cost of providing public services had become exceptionally high, which made a review of the structure and operations of state institutions necessary.
Many of the institutions were set up in different circumstances, he said. In several sectors where the government was once the only provider, a strong private sector has since emerged.
President Dissanayake said the government must assess whether certain services should still be provided directly by the state or whether private-sector operators could provide them at lower cost.
He also stressed the need to streamline recruitment to the public sector and improve administrative efficiency. His stated aim is to turn the public service into a professional and attractive career able to deal with existing systemic problems, while making effective use of public funds.
Background
Sri Lanka has faced pressure to control public spending since it defaulted on its foreign debt in April 2022. Reducing the cost of government has been a recurring theme in the country’s economic reform programme since then.
State institutions in Sri Lanka include ministries, departments, statutory boards, authorities and state-owned enterprises. Closing or merging them normally requires decisions on staff, assets and the functions they perform, and some changes may need legal steps such as repealing or amending the Acts under which they were set up.
What it means
For public servants, the closures and mergers could affect postings and the structure of the institutions where they work. The President’s remarks did not say what will happen to staff of the institutions concerned.
For the public, the practical effect will depend on which institutions are affected and on whether their services move to other state bodies or to private operators. The government has not yet published the list of the 34 institutions in the remarks reported, and readers should look for official announcements naming them.
