Sri Lanka in process to appoint new heads, boards for state institutions: Spokesman
Tuesday February 10, 2026 5:36 pm

ECONOMYNEXT –The Sri Lankan government is in the process of changing chairman, board of directors, and top officials in select state institutions, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said.

The move comes weeks after Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha’s statement on “winning the government but not the state,” in a political rhetoric, reflects the Marxist-Leninist ideological roots of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the key partner of the ruling NPP coalition.

Traditionally, state-owned enterprise (SOE) boards were often seen as parking lots for defeated politicians, relatives of high-ranking officials, and campaign donors.

This practice, referred to as political patronage, led to bloated workforces, lack of accountability, and strategic mismanagement.

For decades, chairpersons were often appointed directly by the relevant line minister, leading to a patron-client relationship where the SOE’s resources were utilized for the political gain of the ruling party.

The current shift toward a centralized vetting committee is designed to break this cycle, though critics remain watchful to ensure that independent appointees do not eventually align with party-specific agendas.

“We are in the process of discussion on the changes,” Jayatissa, also the Minister of Health and Media, told the weekly post-cabinet media briefing on Tuesday (10) in Colombo.

“In the near future, we will announce the changes.”

The management and governance of SOEs in Sri Lanka have undergone significant shifts under the current NPP administration, which has prioritized “professionalism” and “meritocracy” as a departure from the historical practice of political patronage.

The NPP government has established a specialized committee to appoint heads of state-owned enterprises and statutory bodies, tasked with vetting candidates based on their technical expertise and academic qualifications rather than their political loyalty.

This reform aims to address the chronic inefficiencies and massive financial losses, often totaling hundreds of billions of rupees, that have plagued major SOEs like SriLankan Airlines, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).

However, some of the chairpersons including CEB have resigned citing personal reasons. (Colombo/February 10/2026)