Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena says that the main reason for the delay in the Legal Draftsman’s Department and the judicial system as a whole is the dearth of officers in the Translators’ Service. He mentioned this while attending the progress review of the National Languages Division of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, which fell on 21.02.2024. Commenting further, the Prime Minister said that the reason for the delay in many court proceedings is the lack of sufficient and competent translators in the relevant departments.

"Translation services at these institutions are still provided by retired translators. That is because they have expertise in this particular field. The time has come to think anew, deviating from the methods we have adopted so far regarding the use of languages. When Mr. Bandaranaike implemented the official language policy, he said that the implementation of this policy would also pave the way to developing economic cooperation between nations. Therefore, we, as a ministry, should provide creative solutions to the current crisis. For this purpose, the National Institute of Language Education and Training located in Agalawatta should be converted into an institute for training translators without delay. Action should be taken to obtain approval for the same."

The Prime Minister also mentioned that positive changes should be immediately made to the Translators’ Service to make it a more attractive service and instructed the officials of the ministry to submit proposals for the same.

In this progress review meeting, the Prime Minister was also informed about the programs proposed to be implemented, covering the entire country for a week in line with the official languages day, which falls on the 01st of July.

Mr. Yadamini Gunawardena, Member of Parliament, Mr. Pradeep Yasarathne, Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. D. Kalansuriya, Attorney at Law, Chairman of the Official Languages Commission, and Mr. Prince Senadheera, Director General of the Department of Official Languages, were present on this occasion.