Sri Lanka will no longer be able to maintain a large public sector and must soon begin reducing the number of public servants, says Senior Presidential Advisor Duminda Hulangamuwa.
Stating that the treasury will not be able to sustain its current expenditure in the future, he added that the current number of public servants in the country, which is about 1.3 million, will have to be reduced to 750,000 in the future.
He made these comments while addressing an event held in Colombo.
“As we move forward, I can tell you that the funds available in the treasury will not be sufficient in the coming years. We cannot afford to maintain a large public sector. Therefore, we must reduce the number of employees and move towards digitalization.”
We need to reduce the number of employees from 1.3 million to at least 750,000 and pay the remaining staff competitive salaries for efficiency. “We need to start digitizing these services and ensure that taxpayer funds are used effectively,” he said.