The government is preparing legislation to regulate Sri Lanka’s private security industry, Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Retd.) Aruna Jayasekara said.
Jayasekara said a draft bill containing the relevant legal amendments is expected to be presented to Parliament within the next few months.
The Ministry of Defence will seek assistance from the Attorney General’s Department, the Department of Labour and the Police in drawing up the changes, the deputy minister added.
What the announcement leaves open
The involvement of the Department of Labour alongside the Police and the Attorney General’s Department suggests the amendments reach beyond licensing into employment conditions in the sector — but NewsFirst’s report did not set out which shortcomings the bill is meant to close, what the current legal framework fails to cover, or how many private security firms and guards operate in the country.
No date was given for when the draft would be finalised, and the report did not say whether the bill amends the existing statute governing private security agencies or replaces it. Private security agencies in Sri Lanka are licensed through the Ministry of Defence, which places the sector directly under the ministry Jayasekara serves in.
The announcement was carried by a single newsroom at the time of writing, and no other verified outlet had reported the deputy minister’s remarks.
