Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the expenditure of the Prime Minister’s Office have been reduced by 46 percent. He said that the expenditure was reduced by 21 percent in 2022 and 46 percent by October, 2023 compared to the previous year.
In 2021, the expenditure was Rs. 1,661.7 million and it was Rs. 1,310.4 million in 2022. It was reduced to Rs. 705.7 million by October, 2023. The special feature is that in 2021, the total estimated expenditure of Rs. 1661.7 million had been spent. However of the Rs.1,432 million allocated in 2022, only Rs.1,310.4 million had been spent. Of the Rs.1,012.0 million allocated in 2023, only Rs.705.7 million had been spent.
He said that before he took over the post of Prime Minister, there were more than 500 staff in the Prime Minister’s Office during 2021-2022, but now that number has been reduced to 285. With the reduction of the office staff, the need for digitisation of the office machinery was identified to maintain the smooth running of the office services without any breakdown.
Premier Gunawardena said that the cost of wages has been reduced by 39 percent and the cost of stationery has been reduced by 74 percent. He said that he reduced postal and communication costs by 36 percent, vehicle maintenance costs by 70 percent, fuel costs by 26 percent and machinery maintenance costs by 31 percent.
He said that the Prime Minister’s office fulfills the tasks assigned by the Cabinet of Ministers. One of them is the weekly implementation of the National Operations Centre to solve problems related to 262 large-scale projects. The Prime Minister’s Office is also tasked with formulating a National Water Resources Policy, National Digital Policy, Sustainable Energy Policy and education strategies and policy frameworks.
He said, “I became the Prime Minister during a challenging period of severe economic crisis. There is a need to listen carefully to the concerns of the public and restore the standard of living demanded by the public. It is a major responsibility entrusted to me as the Prime Minister. Therefore, steps were taken to successfully manage the expenses of the Prime Minister’s office within the extremely limited state financial scope.
The expenditure of the Prime Minister’s office was reduced by 21 percent in 2022 and 46 percent in 2023 compared to the previous years. Different procedures are adopted for cost management of each cost component.
The number of vehicles at the Prime Minister’s office in 2022 was 178. At present, the number of vehicles in the Prime Minister’s Office has been reduced to 125. Arrangements were made to keep only a sufficient number of vehicles in the institution for the service requirement and the surplus vehicles were handed over to Government institutions that need them.
Thus, Rs. 239.2 million vehicle maintenance cost in 2022 was reduced to Rs. 72.3 million in 2023. Similarly, Rs. 107 million fuel cost in 2022 was reduced to Rs. 79.3 million in 2023.
Most of the letters sent to the Prime Minister’s Office are on public complaints and grievances. At present, nearly 1,700 public complaints and grievances are received monthly by post and email. Despite a significant increase in the number of complaints and grievances by 2022, the cost of postage and communication expenses through digitisation was reduced.
