Sri Lanka Parliament’s CoPF approves Auditor General’s salary

The Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) of the Sri Lanka Parliament has approved the proposed salary of the Auditor General after considering the importance, responsibilities and independence of the office.

The decision was taken when the Committee met in Parliament on August 4, 2026 under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva.

Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe and Nishantha Jayawera and Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Nimal Palihena, Wijesiri Basnayake, M.K.M. Aslam, Thilina Samarakoon and Champika Hettiarachchi participated in the meeting.

The proposal on the Auditor General’s salary was considered in terms of Article 153(2) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

During the discussion, the Committee considered the level of the proposed salary in view of the Auditor General’s responsibilities, the office’s role in overseeing public finance and the need to protect the independence of the national audit function.

The Committee also noted that, under Article 170 of the Constitution, the Auditor General is not considered a public officer. Therefore, it observed that special consideration could be given to fixing the salary outside the existing public sector salary scale.

Officials informed the Committee that the proposed salary had been determined after considering the salaries paid to previous Auditors General.

They also said the salary had previously been determined by the National Salaries and Cadre Commission, but that such a commission is not currently in operation.

Although the Committee approved the proposed salary, members were of the view that the Auditor General should receive a higher level of remuneration due to the importance of the office and the responsibilities attached to it.

The Committee therefore stressed that the salary should be reviewed further in the future and that necessary decisions should be taken where appropriate.

CoPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva also proposed establishing a permanent and independent Salaries and Cadre Commission.