1. 3 RD MEETING OF THE SAARC CABINET SECRETARIES ISLAMABAD, 16 - 17 TH APRIL 2015 1 Sharing of Best Practices -Sri Lanka- By W.M.D.J. Fernando Additional Secretary Office of the Cabinet of Ministers Sri Lanka

2. 2 Central Government structure of the District, a carry-over from British colonial times District Revenue Officer > Government Agent > District Secretary Empowerment of Divisional Secretaries (DS) by the Transfer of Powers (Divisional Secretary), Act No. 58 of 1992 Establishment of 325 DS offices instead of 25 Government Agent offices Brought Government closer to the grass root level Recruitment of Graduates to the Public Service and Placement as Development Officers REFORMS INTRODUCED TO DIVISIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM IN SRI LANKA

3. EFFORTS OF DE-POLITIZATION OF BUREAUCRACY AT DISTRICT AND DIVISIONAL LEVEL  Divisional Development Committee - to decide priorities and allocate resources in the division  D istrict Coordination Committee - Co-Chaired by a Senior Minister representing the relevant district and the Chief Minister of the Province - Mitigation of the Political influence through participatory decision making

4. CAPACITY BUILDING OF GOVERNMENT OFFICERS Continuous development of human resources regarded as vital. Compulsory orientation training / language training On the job training Efficiency bar exams – compulsory for the promotions Subject specific training – procurement/ establishment 4

5. CAPACITY BUILDING OF GOVERNMENT OFFICERS – CONT… Mobilization of foreign training opportunities. Compulsory Capacity Building Training with foreign exposure for some of the all Island Services – SLAS, SLAcS, SLPS etc. Compulsory Postgraduate requirement for the promotion to Special Grade Capacity Building Training for the Special Grade Officers of the all Island Services with the assistance of the Common Wealth Secretariat.

6. CAPACITY BUILDING - CONT., o National Human Resources and Employment Policy (NHREP) and National Action Plan. Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration – for Senior level executive officers Public Service Training Institute – for Junior level officers Training Institutions of the Provincial Councils and other Govt. Organizations – Agriculture/ Irrigation MILODA Institute – training arm of the MOF Postgraduate Institutes Government Universities

7. IMPROVEMENT IN THE SERVICE DELIVERY o Government Institutions have been provided required human and physical resources o Re-engineering of the process o Most of the services have brought to the grass root level – Divisional Secretariats (from birth certificate to death certificate) Extensive use of Information Technology – e - Sri Lanka Project initiated in 2004 with a view to connecting government to its people, and raising the quality of life of all its citizens with access to better public services, learning opportunities, and information. Sri Lanka is now on course to realizing this vision. - E-Library Nenasala Program (Won the International Access to Learning Award 2014 – by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) -free Wi-Fi facility in major cities and towns o One day services – Issuances of passports / ID /birth and death certificates 7

8. SOME OF THE SERVICES DELIVERED THROUGH IT – CONT., Online Payment System – Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Online Tax Payment System e-Revenue License Service Government Information Centre – 1919 Lanka Government Network (LGN) Emergency Police assistance - 119 8

9. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT Role of the National Productivity Secretariat - Annual Productivity awards to appraise successful government institutions - Scholarships for Public Officers who led their institutions to the success Existing system linked with the annual increment Extra ordinary performance evaluation method (Fast Track) was not successful in implementation Public Service Commission of Sri Lanka has initiated a pilot project A high level Committee has been appointed by the Cabinet to submit recommendations 9

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