A conference bringing together all of Sri Lanka’s District Secretaries has concluded with a focus on resolving district-level problems and speeding up public service delivery. The sessions were held at the main auditorium of the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, “Nila Medura”, in Colombo.
The first day was held under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who addressed the District Secretaries at the Colombo District Secretariat on Thursday, 9 July. The second day was chaired by Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Professor Chandana Abeyratne.
President Dissanayake announced plans to allocate separate financial provisions for each district in the upcoming Budget, allowing urgent repairs to bridges, roads and buildings approved by District Coordinating Committees to proceed without waiting for central-government clearance. He also said the government would resettle 13,000 families displaced by the war next year and expedite solutions to long-standing housing issues.
The President instructed officials not to resettle communities in areas prone to floods and landslides, and not to approve utility connections for such high-risk locations. He said abandoned housing projects would be revived after proper assessment, and that draft legislation for a statutory authority to manage environmentally sensitive land in the Central Hills is ready, with the body expected to begin work next year. The government’s priorities, he added, include closing unproductive institutions and filling vacancies in health, education and the Government Analyst’s Department.
Discussions chaired by Minister Abeyratne focused on staff shortages at district and divisional secretariats, annual transfers of officials and fuel allowance issues. Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Sunil Kumara Gamage said sports facilities would be developed in every district. The conference also weighed strengthening the Aswesuma welfare system, providing tax concessions on agricultural equipment directly to farmers, and reducing delays in leasing state land.
