Sri Lanka will be able to achieve most of its Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015, Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W D J Seneviratne said.
"Sri Lanka is on track to achieve its universal primary education target to 100 percent by 2015. Poverty level has come down from 26.1 percent to 15.2 percent. Infant and maternal mortality rates have been reduced while HIV/AIDS and Malaria have also been controlled successfully," he said.
The minister was addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Commonwealth Symposium on 'Strengthening Public Service Excellence' at the Galadari Hotel yesterday.
This is a two day symposium and jointly organised by the Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry, Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA), the Governance and Institutional Development Division (GIDD) and the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM). Minister Seneviratne said strengthening public service excellence has become a timely need at a time when Sri Lanka is heading towards a new development era after three decades of terrorism.
"President Mahinda Rajapaksa has demonstrated great leadership by liberating the country from war and the abyss of social and economic downturn. It is now time for public administrators to become leaders of the next generation to take the country to prosperity," he said.
Seneviratne said under the Mahinda Chinthana Future Vision, the number recruited to the public service had increased by 27 percent in 2009 compared to 2004 and the total cadre increased from 842,255 in 2004 to 1,071,067 by 2009.
"Sri Lanka's public sector will also recruit 30,000 graduates to support the current development drive. These graduates will be recruited as development officers," the minister stated. Public administrators are faced with the challenge of solving problems which are becoming ever more complex in today's world.
Public service requires skilled public administrators to deal with pressing problems in the new era of the growing social and economic inequality and poverty, Minister Seneviratne said. Commonwealth Secretariat, GIDD, Thematic Programmes head Dr Joan Nwasike said strengthening public service is most important for developing countries like Sri Lanka.
She said the Commonwealth Secretariat is always ready to assist Sri Lanka.
Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry Secretary P B Abeykoon, Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Executive Director and CEO David Waung and Commonwealth Secretariat Human Resource Management and Leadership Development adviser S Omar Z Mowlana also participated.
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