Cabinet approval for National Administrative Reforms Council

Nadira Gunatilleke

COLOMBO: Cabinet approval has been granted for a Cabinet memorandum presented by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to establish a National Administrative Reforms Council, Information and Media Minister and the Cabinet spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said.

Addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing held at the Government Information Department Auditorium yesterday, Minister Yapa said that the Administrative Reforms Committee (ARC) was established

in 2003 under the Prime Minster and reconstituted in 2004 with the approval of the Cabinet.

The ARC was mandated to make recommendations to the Government for reforming the public sector in order to make it citizen-centred and an efficient and effective instrument of Governance, in a changing environment and also to coordinate and monitor the implementation of development programmes of the Government.

One of the prime needs is a strong high level organisation to drive an administrative reforms process through the public sector.

The Chairman of this council will be the Secretary to the President. Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Planing or a representative of the Treasury, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs, Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils, Chairman, Sri Lanka Information and Communication Technology Agency, Director General, National Administration Reformation Council, Lionel Fernando, Dharmasena Wijesinghe, Lloyd Fernando, Gunapala Nanayakkara, Dhammika Amarasinghe, Deepal Sooriyarachchi and Mahinda Chandrasena are also in this 13 member council.