Several non-profit state entities face likely closure
A Cabinet-appointed committee that looked into reforming state-owned non-commercial institutions has recommended a string of restructuring measures, including winding up some state institutions, ending state intervention with several other institutions and amalgamation of some.
The liquidation of 12 non-commercial state entities coming under six ministries has been recommended by the committee along with the winding up of the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority and the Cashew Corporation. Others for which liquidation is recommended include the Galle Heritage Foundation, the National Ocean Affairs Committee Secretariat and the Information and Communication Technology Agency.The committee has also recommended that the three state-owned media institutions, namely the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, the Rupavahini Corporation and the Independent Television Network, be placed under a single management so as to improve efficiency and make them commercially viable.The committee said these media institutions needed significant investment for their survival, and hence its recommendation for single management.
Other institutes recommended for amalgamation are the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority, as well as the Coconut Cultivation Board, Coconut Development Authority and the Palmyra Development Board.The committee headed by the Prime Minister’s Secretary, Pradeep Saputantri, was appointed in December last year to review all non-commercial state statutory institutions in the country, with a view to strengthening public service delivery and addressing inherent inefficiencies. It assessed 160 institutions coming under 24 ministries.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya submitted the committee report to Cabinet on Monday, and approval was given to implement its proposals.The committee found that some state institutions were running efficiently and should be managed in the same manner while recommending private-public partnerships to run others. The report said that the Sri Lanka Film Corporation, for example, could be run efficiently if it partnered with a private partner so that its dependency on the Treasury could be minimised.The committee also recommended the amalgamation of the Office of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol and the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board.
With regard to the Sir John Kotalawala Hospital, the committee said that the institution does not make any profits and has become a burden to the treasury and, therefore, recommends that a committee be appointed to study how it can be turned into a financially viable institution.On the Sri Lanka Press Council, the committee recommends that it be continued with a change in name to Sri Lake Media Council to widen its reach.
The committee also noted that large extents of land that belong to different state institutions are lying idle and recommended that steps be taken to manage these in a manner for the benefit of the public.
