By Nishel Fernando
A major crisis has sparked at Sri Lanka’s Registrar of Companies Department, due to the severe shortage of staff, hindering the smooth functioning of the administrative tasks, with the maintenance of its e-ROC project.
According to the Registrar of Companies’ recently released performance report, the department faces a 26.1 percent staff shortage, with 48 posts vacant, out of the approved departmental staff of 184 officers. The current approved cadre was granted in 2016. However, there were 188,309 active companies registered with the department at the end of last year, compared to 86,309 companies in 2016.
“Despite the increase in the number of companies, it has become a problem to provide an efficient and quick services to the increasing number of companies, due to lack of increase in the departmental staff.
It has become difficult to manage the work of the department, due to the fact that nearly one-fourth of the staff positions are vacant,” Registrar General of Companies Sanjeewa Dissanayake said in the report released on July 12.
In addition, the posts of Assistant Registrar General of Companies (Administration) and Administrative Officer in this department have been vacant for a long period of time, impacting the efficiency of administrative functions of the department.
As per the report, the department is struggling to cater to the growing needs of the private sector, including facilitation of new ventures amidst the severe shortage, in particular due to the shortage of office-grade staffers. The report also highlighted that the department faces the risk of losing the confidence of its clients, which includes both local and foreign investors.
“Due to the fact that the staff of this department, which directly contributes to strengthening the country’s economy, remains vacant, effective and efficient service is hindered from being provided to clients.
... our efforts may be futile due to the inability of this department, which is expected to increase the number of companies established in Sri Lanka, to provide the necessary services and consultations properly to the companies so established. Furthermore, clients lose confidence due to not being able to fulfil their needs on time,” Dissanayake said.
