By The Pulseline News Desk
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called for a major restructuring of Sri Lanka’s public sector, stressing that outdated institutions and traditional administrative practices must give way to new structures capable of supporting the country’s digital and economic transformation.
Addressing the National Trade Union Conference in Colombo, the President has said some existing institutions would have to be abolished, others merged or restructured, while entirely new institutions would need to be established to respond to emerging economic and technological challenges.
He has stressed that meaningful transformation would not be possible by continuing to operate within conventional institutional frameworks.
Citing the establishment of GovTech as an example, Dissanayake has said the Government had recognised the limitations of traditional public service recruitment and salary structures in attracting highly skilled information technology professionals.
GovTech was therefore established as a separate institution, wholly owned by the Treasury, with a different salary structure to recruit specialised IT professionals and strengthen the country’s digital capabilities.
The President has said the Government was also preparing to introduce a Digital Economy Bill and establish a Digital Economy Authority to provide the institutional framework needed to accelerate the country’s transition towards a digitally driven economy.
He has pointed to the proposed Gambling Regulatory Authority as another example of the need to establish new institutions to address challenges arising from changing business models and technology.
Activities that were once confined to traditional gambling operations had expanded into large-scale online businesses, he has said, creating the need for updated legislation and effective regulatory mechanisms.
Dissanayake has also referred to the establishment of a new company, Metro, as part of efforts to modernise public transport, including the transformation of the country’s existing bus fleet.
Such initiatives, he has said, would require not only organisational restructuring but also new salary arrangements and a different institutional culture.
The President has emphasised that the Government’s transformation agenda would involve difficult decisions, including discontinuing certain institutions, merging others and redefining the objectives of organisations that no longer serve their original purposes.
He has also urged the country’s entrepreneurial community to move beyond traditional business practices and adapt to the changes necessary to support the country’s economic transformation.
The Government, he has said, was working to establish the necessary legal and institutional foundations to facilitate this transition.
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