News
Reform stalls as Sri Lanka delays overdue e-Procurement, key bills
View(s):The full rollout of Sri Lanka’s long overdue e-Government Procurement (e-GP) is further delayed, according to the latest Governance Action Plan (GAP).
Separately, the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Bill – which was meant to be passed by December last year – is now expected to be presented to Cabinet later this month, with the formation of the associated holding company pushed to the fourth quarter of the year.
The updated “Progress Report of the Governance Action Plan 2025” is published on the website of the Presidential Secretariat. The GAP is based on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Sri Lanka Governance Diagnostic Assessment (GDA), which sets milestones for the government to achieve.
While the e-GP platform for the “shopping” procurement method has been in operation for months, the rollout for other methods – like national competitive bidding for goods and works, which are typically massive, high-cost contracts – is delayed to late 2026, with remaining procurement methods pushed out to 2027.
The shopping method is primarily for buying small quantities of off-the-shelf items (office supplies, standard furniture, small quantities of equipment, etc) or small-value, simple works.
The deadline for the enactment of the Public Procurement Law, originally targeted for June last year, has also shifted. The bill’s final version is now expected to be submitted to Cabinet by mid-May 2026.
The GAP includes a commitment to review the SOE Reform Policy to enhance the transparency and accountability of SOE management, a core component of which is enacting a new SOE bill. The drafting of it was completed in September last year, followed by stakeholder consultations with the IMF and World Bank in October.
The formation of the new holding company and the identification of SOEs to be absorbed under it will not happen until the act is fully enacted, which is now anticipated for later this year.
The establishment of new courts, targeted for December last year is pushed to between March and June this year.
The GAP includes a plan to terminate direct management of the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). According to the progress report, the CBSL has been undertaking the promised comprehensive study to strengthen the EPF’s governance structure.
A first draft was submitted to the Board in late 2025, but the final comprehensive study report has been delayed and is now expected to be handed over to the Board by March 2026 (it is not known whether this was done).
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