Public sector salaries, pensions to gobble 44% of govt. revenue this year
Treasury to spend Rs.900bn on public sector salaries, pensions this year Total approved public sector cadre currently stands at 1.5mn across 1, 251 entities Expenditure on public sector to further go up with salary hikes and more recruitments Treasury Secy says bureaucracy is entrenched with 1950’s-1970’s thinking
Sri Lanka’s recurrent expenditure on public sector salaries and pensions will account for 44 percent of the government’s revenue this year across 1,251 entities due to the ever expanding bureaucracy, a top bureaucrat in the country revealed.
Participating in a panel discussion titled ‘Energizing the Bureaucracy’ at last week’s Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2018, Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S Samaratunga said the Treasury is expected to spend around Rs.900 billion on salaries and pensions of public sector employees in 2018, out of the government’s expected revenue of Rs.2, 040 billion.
“Just imagine the amount of money we put into maintaining State bureaucracy. For every Rs.100 we get, Rs.44 is spent on public employees,” he said.
Dr. Samaratunga noted that the total approved public sector cadre is at 1.5 million, comprising of 841 entities accountable to Parliament Committee on Public Accounts and 410 entities accountable to Parliament Committee on Public Enterprises.
He stressed that the expansion of the country’s bureaucracy further hinders the government’s effectiveness.”
“Although we are a small country, the size of the government is huge and you can just imagine the complexities. Just imagine the level of coordination that would require.”
Dr. Samaratunga noted that State bureaucracy is currently marred by delays, unacceptable outcomes and inefficient deliveries.
The government expenditure on public sector salaries is to further increase as plans are afoot to recruit more unemployed graduates. A salary increase for the public sector is also anticipated in the budget 2019.
Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Sri Lanka recently organized the ‘Rockefeller Growth’ workshop at Hilton Colombo Residence.
The workshop was conducted by Verne Harnish, the guru of fast-growth companies and Amazon. com’s #3 best-selling business strategy author. He was also the Founder of EO in 1987, and has chaired its Birthing of Giants program at MIT for several years.
The full-day interactive workshop was designed to give business leaders and their executive teams the tools and knowledge required to achieve exponential, yet sustainable growth based on the habits of John D. Rockefeller.
Along with the four fundamentals taught to help businesses achieve ‘Rockefeller Growth’, the attendees were also provided with useful growth tools and resources. With almost 200 attendees, the event was sold out and participants were pleased with the insights shared by Harnish during the workshop.
The event organizer, EO Sri Lanka, part of EO Global, is a worldwide network of more than 13,000 influential business owners with 172 chapters in 55 countries.
EO is dedicated to engaging leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow for greater success in business and life. In only its first year after launch, EO Sri Lanka brings together entrepreneurs from a range of industries to engage in peer-topeer learning, provide access to experts, and enjoy once in a lifetime experiences.