Prime Minister Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena said that a sub-committee consisting of Members of Parliament will be established to amend the local government laws that have been in force for almost a century to suit the current social conditions. He said this recently (Nov. 27) while presiding the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government.

Kegalle District Member of Parliament Hon. Sudath Manjula proposed at the committee to appoint an official with local government expertise to the post of secretary, as the transfer of trained and experienced officers of those institutions has been identified as a serious problem in order to perform the services of local government institutions more effectively. Thus, it was emphasized the need to transfer the officers who have been given training opportunities in each subject of the respective local government bodies only between the local government bodies. This sub-committee is to be appointed to make recommendations regarding these transfers as well as some changes that should be made in the local government laws in view of the current rapid urbanization.

The Prime Minister has paid special attention to perform the daily activities of the local government bodies, which currently operate without public representatives, in a more people friendly manner. It was also discussed that the people are in a trouble due to the slowness of the local authorities in dealing with issues like natural disasters and dengue menace. Accordingly, the Prime Minister mentioned that special attention will be paid to the implementation of a formal program to reduce the situation in the future.

With regard to the transfers of divisional secretaries, it was decided to implement the maximum period of service in the divisions as 6 years and the maximum period of service in the district as 10 years. The Prime Minister also instructed the Ministry Secretary to promptly implement the proposal made by MP G. Karunakaram to transfer the Divisional Secretaries who have been working in the same place for a long time in the Batticaloa district.

The Prime Minister also instructed that administrative service officers who have been working for a long time in the provincial councils should be included in the transfer process on the same basis as other government officials without giving any special privilege.

The Prime Minister stated that the funds allocated to the provincial councils for the year 2024 should be spent with the approval of the District Coordination Committees and Regional Coordination Committees operating in each district.

MP K. Dhileeban mentioned that as a result of the visit of the Prime Minister to Vavuniya, the issuing of birth and death certificates is currently being speeded up, and special thanks should be given to the Prime Minister for speeding up the process.

State Ministers Hon. Janaka Wakkambura, Hon. Ashoka Priyantha and several Members of Parliament and government officials were also present at this meeting.

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