As per the Government’s decision to suspend the recruitment of Agricultural Research and Production Assistants, the Mahaweli Authority has informed the Ministry of Agriculture that the areas under the authority no longer require the services of Agricultural Research and Production Assistants.
The Ministry, stating that the Government has decided to suspend the recruitment for the post of Agricultural Research and Production Assistants, also noted that the Mahaweli Authority has informed the Ministry that the services of Agricultural Research and Production Assistants are no longer needed for the areas under the authority, as there are a large number of field officers to oversee the relevant work.
Meanwhile, upon discovering that Agricultural Research and Production Assistants have been appointed for an extended period of time in the Pettah area, where no cultivation-related activities are carried out, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has queried the relevant officials regarding the basis of the appointments. “The public and the Government are inconvenienced due to the inefficiency of some officers in the public sector and the fact that some officers have not been assigned properly. Therefore, the relevant institutions and officials, including the Department of Agrarian Development, should work to appoint the relevant officers to the necessary locations instead of appointing officers to unnecessary locations,” he emphasised.
Similarly, he noted, there are a large number of Government veterinarians around Colombo and that they are reported to be engaged in providing treatment to dogs and cats kept as pets in houses in Colombo. However, he said that the services of Government veterinarians are not essential for cats and dogs in Colombo, but for farmers in areas such as the Northern Province where the livestock industry is in a state of crisis.
With the prevailing economic crisis in the country, the Government is currently focused on taking various measures to reduce Government expenditure, particularly in the public sector. Towards that end, the Government has reduced the number of recruitments to the public sector and has also allowed public servants to apply for no-pay leave and travel abroad for employment and educational purposes.