MONETABRIEF – The government will phase out its ageing fleet of vehicles as well as computer hardware in a new push to streamline the delivery of services, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.
Addressing the National Trade Union Conference on Saturday, the President said the country had achieved economic stability and must now move towards a new economic path, a people-centred society and progressive politics.
"In 2025, nearly 25 billion rupees was spent solely on repairing government vehicles," the President said. "We have plans to phase out the ageing government vehicle fleet and replace it with a modern one.
"Similarly, outdated computer systems will be replaced with new digital systems. Applications and systems are also being developed to enable the public to access a wide range of selected government services from home, without having to visit government offices."
Since coming to power, the new government sold off SUVs and other luxury cars used by the previous administration saying they were too expensive to maintain and costly to run.
The president did not say how much he planned to spend on the re-fleeting exercise.
However, he said he will amend existing laws to grant higher salaries to attract the talent needed by the state sector.
"Several outdated laws, institutions and administrative structures have become obstacles to economic progress," he said. "Some institutions would have to be abolished or merged, while the mandates of others would need to be revised to suit present-day requirements."
He highlighted digitalisation as a key component of the government's economic transformation programme. The newly established GovTech institution would spearhead the digitalisation drive, while a Digital Economy Act and a Digital Economy Authority would be introduced shortly, he said.
The government has decided to recruit an additional 121,000 public servants, including 23,000 teachers and other personnel for universities and the health sector.
He said the next public-sector salary increment would be granted in January, while the Budget would provide for increases of up to 100 per cent in several essential allowances.
While institutions such as SriLankan Airlines require new management systems and capital investment, profitable entities such as MILCO would be given greater flexibility in making lower-level appointments, he added.
The tax-free threshold for employees could be raised from the current 150,000 rupees a month in the Budget on Thursday, he said without indicating the new PAYE threshold. (Colombo/Nov 8/2026)