Appoint functioning civil servants to ministries to boost accountability: SLASA

In a letter to the President, the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association (SLASA) requested that only experienced bureaucrats be considered for posts of Secretary to Government ministries, as this would improve accountability throughout the system. 

The SLASA noted that in recent years the Government had appointed several retired officers and temporary officials as Secretaries to ministries, and this has impacted badly on the State service and the socioeconomic landscape of the country. 

The SLASA notes that ministries and institutions where retired officers were appointed as Secretaries and executive officers had suffered in particular, with no real progress to be seen. It added that the appointment of retired officers serves to discourage qualified active civil servants who understand the system, and had led to an overall drop in efficiency. 

The letter says that if the Government continues to ignore its qualified and active bureaucrats and continue to appoint retired and temporary officers, this would impact negatively on the countries economic and social outlook at this point of crisis. It expressed hope the Government would pay due consideration to these proposals and ground realities, the letter added.