Sunday Times 2
A call to transform public project governance
View(s):- Celebrating 20 Years of PMI Colombo, Sri Lanka Chapter
By Lalith de Silva
I recognised the critical importance of project management skills in Sri Lanka during a pivotal period in my career. In 2002, I was involved in advising on the project management of SLT’s new billing and operations support system (OSS).
In the same year, following the acquisition of Mobitel by SLT, I led a major transformation initiative as Mobitel CEO, transitioning the mobile network from TDMA to GSM, implementing large-scale IT modernisation, and relaunching the Mobitel brand with a completely new infrastructure.
Through these experiences, it became clear to me that Sri Lanka faced a severe shortage of qualified project management professionals. With this realisation, I engaged with several like-minded professionals to establish the PMI Colombo, Sri Lanka Chapter, with the aim of promoting world-class project management practices.
PMI certification has made significant contributions to Sri Lanka’s professional landscape. Today, the country boasts over 1,400 certified PMPs, many of whom hold leadership positions in top private sector organisations.
Over the past two decades, several universities and higher education institutions in Sri Lanka have acknowledged the value of PMI standards by introducing project management as a core subject within their academic curricula. As a result, more than 5,000 Sri Lankan professionals have earned PMP® certification, with many now serving in high-demand roles across the globe. Of these, around 1,400 PMP-certified professionals continue to contribute within Sri Lanka.
However, despite this impressive growth in certifications, the persistent rate of project failures and inefficiencies indicates that project management best practices are still not being fully embraced, particularly in the management of projects and programmes. There is a clear gap between certification and effective application, highlighting the need for organisations, especially in the public sector, to embed project management principles into their organisational culture to ensure successful outcomes.
Sri Lanka’s poor portfolio, programme, and project management have led to consequences that are wide-ranging, deeply damaging, and long-lasting. Below are some of the key effects:
1. Massive waste of public funds
- Projects exceed budgets or are abandoned midway.
- Billions in taxpayer money are lost with little or no return on investment.
- Resources are misallocated to low-priority or politically motivated initiatives.
2. Failure to deliver essential services
- Infrastructure like hospitals, schools, roads, and utilities is delayed or built below standard.
- Citizens are deprived of critical services, worsening inequality and public frustration.
3. Increased corruption and fraud
- Weak systems are exploited through bribery, inflated contracts, and unqualified vendors.
- Procurement becomes a major area of leakage and malpractice.
4. Economic instability and low investor confidence
- Unreliable execution of national development plans discourages foreign direct investment (FDI).
- Projects don’t generate the expected economic returns or job opportunities.
5. Strategic misalignment and policy failure
- Projects are launched without alignment to national goals or sectoral needs.
- Governments fail to deliver long-term outcomes like sustainability, digital transformation, or inclusive growth.
6. Poor international reputation
- Repeated portfolio management and project failures attract negative attention from donors, lenders, and rating agencies.
- Difficulty securing grants, loans, or international partnerships.
7. No culture of learning
- Without a structured portfolio and programme oversight, lessons are not captured or applied.
- Mistakes are repeated across decades and sectors.
8. Frequent project resets and abandonment
n Projects are halted or re-scoped with each political cycle, wasting prior investments.
n Lack of continuity undermines public trust in institutions.
9. Erosion of public trust
n Citizens lose faith in the government’s ability to deliver promises.
n Leads to political instability, social unrest, or apathy toward public engagement.
Despite advancements in education and access to global frameworks, Sri Lanka continues to witness a disturbingly high rate of project failure in the public sector. My view is that nearly 80% of government-funded projects fall drastically in terms of cost, time, scope, quality, and public benefits.
This 20th anniversary is more than a milestone; it is a moment of reflection. It invites us to look back not only at our achievements but also at the lessons learnt, the opportunities missed, and the values we may have compromised along the way. It is time to renew our commitment with a focus on increasing project success, maximising benefit realisation, and upholding greater integrity so that the next chapter is shaped by wisdom, accountability, and meaningful progress.
The harsh realities:What’s going wrong?
1. Project failure and waste
Many public projects fail due to poor business cases, planning, unrealistic budgeting, and weak execution. We see massive cost overruns, extended delays, and unsatisfactory outcomes, which ultimately result in public frustration and economic stagnation.
2. Corruption, bribery, and fraud
The leakage of public funds due to corrupt procurement and other project management practices, bribery, and non-transparent contractor relationships is a systemic issue. These failures drain national resources and damage public trust.
3. Output over outcome
Projects are often measured by physical completion—a road, a bridge, a building—rather than the real value delivered to citizens, such as usability, accessibility, economic stimulation, or improved well-being.
Most Sri Lankan project managers tend to focus narrowly on delivery deadlines and budgeting, often overlooking the full spectrum of key project management knowledge areas. This limited focus can lead to poor stakeholder engagement, unmanaged risks, scope creep, and quality compromises. Globally recognised frameworks such as those outlined in the PMBOK® Guide highlight the importance of integrating all essential knowledge areas, including scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communication, risk, procurement, stakeholder, and integration management. Each of these areas plays a critical role in ensuring not just delivery, but sustainable success and long-term value. In today’s complex and dynamic environments, mastering these interconnected disciplines is vital for driving project benefits.
4. Lack of monitoring and post-project review
Most projects lack rigorous post-implementation reviews to assess benefit realisation. Public accountability ends with ribbon-cutting, not with long-term results.
In recent years, government audits and COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) inquiries have consistently revealed that inefficiencies, corruption, and poor project performance are often rooted in weak project management practices. The root causes typically include poorly developed business cases, flawed procurement processes, inadequate project planning, weak execution, insufficient monitoring and control, and the absence of structured project closure.
However, it is unfortunate that government agencies continue to overlook the root causes of project failures: professional incompetence and the lack of ethics and capacity in project and programme management.
As we mark two decades of the PMI Colombo Chapter, I make a strong and respectful appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka, as project management is key to national transformation:
Mandate certified project managers.
Ensure that every government project and programme is managed by a PMP®, PRINCE2® Practitioner, or equivalent certified professional. Project leadership should never be left to seniority of public service. It must be based on skill and competence.
Independent auditing of each phase
Introduce independent audits and performance reviews at each phase of project implementation from initiation to closure. This improves transparency, risk management, and early detection of issues.
Strengthen procurement governance
Revamp public sector procurement using global best practices. Transparent bidding, pre-qualification of vendors, ethical compliance, and digital procurement platforms can drastically reduce fraud and inefficiency.
Establish a national project
management office
Create a centralised PMO to govern and monitor strategic initiatives. This body should be staffed with certified professionals and report directly to Parliament or an independent oversight body.
Mandate benefits realisation
Every project should incorporate a well-defined outcome and benefit realisation framework that includes specific, measurable KPIs. These KPIs must align closely with national priorities such as sustainable economic growth, digital inclusion, job creation, sustainable and green development, quality education, accessible healthcare, etc. This alignment ensures that each project contributes meaningfully to the broader goals of national development and delivers tangible, lasting benefits to society.
Adopt portfolio and programme management standards
Many national initiatives span across sectors and years. Adopting MSP® (Managing Successful Programmes) and portfolio management practices ensures alignment with long-term strategic goals and maximises resource utilisation.
Adopt change management
Mandate the integration of structured change management practices, especially in large and complex projects, to ensure successful execution, stakeholder alignment, risk mitigation, and long-term sustainability.
Why this matters
Public investment must not be squandered. Every rupee wasted in a failed project is a rupee denied to education, health, poverty alleviation, or environmental sustainability. Project management, when done right, is not just about processes; it is about ethical stewardship of public trust.
A vision for the next 20 years
The PMI Colombo Chapter is more than a professional association; it is a national asset. Over the next two decades, PMI should enhance collaboration with the government, private sector, and non-profit organisations to:
n Build capacity among youth and professionals
n Offer programme, project and change management consultancies
n Offer independent training and certification programmes
n Advocate for policy reform and ethical project governance
n Provide thought leadership on national priorities
n Help build a national project management office
I believe that if Sri Lanka strengthens its portfolio, programme, and project management as recommended, it could potentially save 2% to 3% of capital expenditure, amounting to LKR 25 to 37 billion annually, assuming the capital expenditure budget is about 1.3 trillion. This would be a significant contribution toward reducing fiscal deficits and enhancing development outcomes.
(Lalith de Silva PMP®, PRINCE2® Practitioner, MSP®, PMO, founder member and former chairman, PMI Colombo Chapter. Ldesilva31@gmail.com)