Sri Lanka in dire straits, stops recruitment in government jobs

In Sri Lanka, all types of recruitment in government departments have been stopped. The government of the country has taken this initiative to reduce its own expenses after the economic recession.

According to news reports, Sri Lanka is scrambling to get a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid an economic disaster. However, in this case, the IMF has added conditions, the ability to repay the debt must be achieved. Government expenditure should be reduced for this.

The IMF also said that the number of government posts Sri Lanka currently has will also need to be reduced. At present there are 15 lakh government officials and employees in the country.

Apart from this, it has been stipulated that taxes on all goods should be increased and government institutions which are in loss should be sold off. Sri Lanka has stopped new recruitment in government jobs as per IMF conditions.

In December 2022, 20 thousand government employees retired together in Sri Lanka. The number was nearly eight times higher this month than the usual 2,500 retirements.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s retirement age has been raised from 65 to 60, leaving so many posts vacant. And no new recruitment will be given for the time being.

In addition, personal and corporate taxes have been doubled in Sri Lanka since the beginning of the year to increase government revenue. Electricity price has been increased by 65 percent.