An Analytical Review of Sri Lanka's Divisional Secretariat System: From Colonial Administration to Decentralized Governance
Keywords:
Divisional secretariat, Public service, Service process, Service reformsAbstract
Sri Lanka's divisional secretariat system stands as the backbone of ground-level public administration, connecting central government authority to local communities across the island. This paper traces the historical evolution of Sri Lanka's public service from the Ceylon Civil Service of the colonial-era through successive constitutional reforms, lead to the decentralized divisional secretariat model established in 1991. Drawing on secondary sources and published resource profiles, the study examines the organizational structure, internal divisions, and service delivery functions of divisional secretariats. It then reviews existing scholarly literature to assess what has been studied and, more importantly, to identify gaps in the existing body of knowledge. The review reveals that research has mostly concentrated narrowly on service quality dimensions and leadership styles, leaving critical areas such as administrative efficiency, digitalization, regional disparities, and social inclusion largely unexamined. By exploring these gaps, this paper lays a foundation for future empirical work aimed at strengthening public service delivery in Sri Lanka.
References
Abeysinghe, A. H. M. D. H. and Karandakatiya, T. K. (2020). Impact of service quality on customer satisfaction: a study based on Bingiriya divisional secretariat. Wayamba Journal of Management, 11(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.4038/wjm.v11i1.7487
Aroosiya, M., Ithrees, A. G. I. M., Narsheeth, I. S., Nawela, A. J. M. D. N. B., & Mahir, A. M. (2023). A Study on Occupational Stress of Working Women- Special Reference to Government Schools, Divisional Secretariat, and Hospital. American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation, 2(2), 37–43. https://doi.org/10.54536/AJIRI.V2I2.1270
De Silva, K. (2015). Developing service oriented government agencies: observations on the divisional secretariats in Galle, Sri Lanka [Thammasat University]. https://ethesisarchive.library.tu.ac.th/thesis/2015/TU_2015_5723040076_4945_3658.pdf
De Silva, K.M. (1993b), ‘Regionalism and Decentralisation of Power’ in K.M. de Silva (ed) (1993) Sri Lanka: Problems of Governance, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka, pp 99-126.
Divisional Secretary’s office. (2019).Resource Profile[Sinhala].Kelaniya: Divisional Secretary office – Kelaniya
Ekanayake, E. M. P. P., Wanigasekara, W. A. D. K. J. (2022). Impact of Quality of Work-life on Employee Productivity in Divisional Secretariats of The North-Western Province of Sri Lanka. Kelaniya Journal of Management | 2022 |, 11(01), 1–66. https://doi.org/10.4038/kjm.v11i1.7656
GovPay. (2025, September 15). Southern Province becomes Sri Lanka's first fully digitally-enabled province with GovPay. https://govpay.lk/en/news/southern-province-becomes-sri-lankas-first-fully-digitally-enabled-province-with-govpay
Gunatilaka, R., Williams, T. (1999). The Integrated Rural Development Programme in Sri Lanka: Lessons of Experience for Poverty Reduction. Institute of Policy Studies Victoria University of Welling.
Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka. (n.d.). eDivisional Secretariat (eDS) project. https://www.icta.lk/projects-si/edivisional-secretariat-eds-project-2
Ithrees, A. G. I. M., Narsheeth, I. S., & Aroosiya, M. A. C. F. (2021). Study on Implementation of 5S Concept for the Office Performance at Divisional Secretariat, Nintavur. Global Journal of Management and Business Research , 21(G1), 1–7.
Jabbar, M. A., & Sajeetha, T. F. (2014). Issues in public service delivery : a case study of Addalaichenai divisional secretariat in Eastern Sri Lanka. Journal of Social Review, 3(2).
Jabbar, M. A., & Sajeetha, T. F. (2015). The Role of Bureaucracy in Building Rural Development: A Study of Addalaichenai Divisional Secretariat, Sri Lanka. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 62, 99–108. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/176675/
Ministry of Public Administration. (n.d.). Sri Lanka Administrative Service. https://www.pubad.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31&Itemid=136&lang=en
New Zealand Legislation. (2020). Public Service Act. New Zealand.
Nilwala, Nayanananda & Gunawardana, Kennedy & Fernando, R.L.s. (2017). The Effect of Service Quality on Satisfaction apropos Service Recipients of Divisional Secretariats in Colombo District in Sri Lanka. Journal of Management and Sustainability. 7. 127-137. https://10.5539/jms.v7n1p127.
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Priyadarshana, D., & Kularathne, H. (2023). The impact of psychological empowerment on employee commitment in divisional secretariats in Sri Lanka. International Journal Of All Research Writings, 5(8), 7–21. http://www.ijciras.com/Users/ManuScript/ManuScriptDetails/81775f8d-ee8f-49f7-b6f6-ada81d7cf789
Raveendran, T. (2021). Effect of transformational leadership on organizational commitment through the interaction of psychological empowerment. Journal of Business Studies, 8, 22–50. https://doi.org/10.4038/jbs.v8i0.66
Raveendran, T. and Gamage, A. S. (2019). The mediating effect of organizational commitment in the impact of transformational leadership style on employee performance: a study of divisional secretariats in the Jaffna district. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 9(2), 116. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v9i2.14623
Salfiya Ummah, M. A. C., & Sulaiha Beevi, M. A. C. (2016, November 1). Factors influencing on work performance: Special reference to Divisional Secretariats in Ampara district. 5th Annual International Research Conference - 2016. http://ir.lib.seu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/1936
Sarangan, B. and Sarangan, R. (2023). A study on e-government service quality and effectiveness of e-government services in selected divisional secretariats. Journal of Economics, Management and Trade, 35-51. https://doi.org/10.9734/jemt/2023/v29i31082
Sivanenthira, S., & Kumar, S. D. (2014). Comparative study on effectiveness of financial control system between divisional secretariat divisions of Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts. ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 4(2), 21–32. https://indianjournals.com/article/aca-4-2-003
Sivanenthira, S., & Sabina, D. (2014). Job satisfaction and employees’ performance in divisional secretariat of Karaveddy. ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics & Management Research, 4(2), 171–180. https://indianjournals.com/article/zijbemr-4-2-020
Statistics Department. (2019). Statistical Manual. In Government Statistics. http://www.statistics.gov.lk/ref/HandbookDictionary
The Island. (2026, July 2). All Divisional Secretariat offices in the Colombo District introduce credit and debit card payment facilities – Prime Minister. https://island.lk/all-divisional-secretariat-offices-in-the-colombo-district-introduce-credit-and-debit-card-payment-facilities-prime-minister/
Trifu, A., Smîdu, E., Badea, D. O., Bulboacă, E., & Haralambie, V. (2022). Applying the PRISMA method for obtaining systematic reviews of occupational safety issues in literature search. MATEC Web of Conferences, 354, 00052. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202235400052
Ummah, M. A. C. S., & Mahroof, A. L. (2018). The Impact of Motivation on Worker Performance: Special Reference to District and Divisional Secretariats in Ampara District. Journal of Management, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.4038/jm.v13i2.7661
Wijesekera, A.T. and Fernando, R. L. S, Scale for Measuring Perceived Service Quality of Public Service in Sri Lanka: With Special Reference to Divisional Secretariats in Gampaha District (December 8, 2016). University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, 13th International Conference on Business Management (ICBM) 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2909707 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2909707
Wijesekera, A. T. and Fernando, R. L. S. (2018). Ethical leadership measures for public service in Sri Lanka. International Business Research, 11(7), 106. https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v11n7p106
Wijesekera, A. T. and Fernando, R. L. S. (2020). Measures for employee engagement: public service in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 3(2), 30-45. https://doi.org/10.47814/ijssrr.v3i2.37
Wijesekera, A. T. and Fernando, R. L. S. (2023). Service climate and service quality of Sri Lankan public service: a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach (pls-sem). Journal of Business & Management, 1(2), 174-187. https://doi.org/10.47747/jbm.v1i2.1115
Wijesinghe, D. (1997), Administrative Reforms: International Perspectives and the Case of Sri Lanka, unpublished mimeo.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Isuru Yakandawala
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
