Abstract:
In the last quarter century there has been a significant shift within the
field of Public Administration. Traditional values and norms have been undermined in a
number of ways. One aspect of this trend has been the emergence of a concept which
has come to be known as the New Public Management (NPM). At the most basic level
this concept promotes the public sector use of private sector management techniques.
Due to a number of pressures, NPM has spread across the. world influencing a wide
range of states. However, there are reservations over the general applicability of NPM,
especially in the developing world. This paper outlines the rise of NPM in the context of
Sri Lanka. And further addresses the issues in introducing NPM techniques in
Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka, with reference to Navithanveli Divisional
Secretariat which has established in the war-torn area of Ampara district This study is a
critical one based on interpretative analysis which has used quantitative and qualitative
data. The stated purpose is examined by studying both primary and secondary materials.
The primary data has been collected through key informants interviews and focus group
discussion. Four persons have been interviewed as key informants and five focus groups
have been discussed. The Secondary data has been collected from books, official
documents, reports, and journals. The major finding of the study is that, the above
institution has been challenged in implementing the NPM techniques owing to various
reasons including lack of knowledge, lack of staff capacity of the institution, etc
