Secys must stick to circulars when making appointments

President Maithripala Sirisena chairs meeting with Ministry Secretaries yesterday

• President tells Ministry Secretaries to make appointments according to circulars issued by President’s Secretary 
• To send written instructions to Ministries 
• Wants Drug Prevention Unit in every State institution 
• Wants Finance and Transport Ministries to coordinate program to maintain State vehicles

President Maithripala Sirisena has informed Ministry Secretaries they must act according to the circulars issued by the Secretary to the President when appointing Chairpersons and members to Boards of Directors of State enterprises, including statutory boards and public corporations.

Circular PS/CMD/19/2018, signed by the Secretary to the President, was issued on 31 December 2018. 

Furthermore, the President took steps to appoint a committee to submit recommendations after inquiring into the qualifications of the individuals to be appointed as Chairpersons or members to Boards of Directors of State enterprises, the President’s Media said in a statement.  

The Secretary to the President chairs the committee to review the appointments, while other members of the committee are President’s Senior Advisor W. J. S. Karunaratne, two representatives appointed by the Prime Minister, and a representative of the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance. 

The President also instructed the Secretaries of Ministries to forward the names of the currently appointed Chairpersons and members of the Boards of Directors to this committee to submit their recommendations after examining their qualifications. President Sirisena further stated that he will send written instructions to all Ministers in the near future.

The President made these remarks during a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat with Ministry Secretaries on Thursday. 

The President had also pointed out irregularities were emerging due to the fact that regular reports on vehicles of the Government were not properly maintained. As such, he instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport to jointly schedule a program to regularise the details and facts of the Government vehicles in order to evade such circumstances in the future.

President Sirisena also instructed the officials to maintain the details of the vehicles belonging to the Government in a manner where any person can obtain the facts easily through the internet.

The President instructed that each Secretary of the Ministries should visit the departments and institutes under their Ministries at least once every three months to meet the office staff and to find out their issues. 

The President also highlighted the importance of taking action in all the Ministries to assist the initiatives to prevent drug abuse and pointed out the importance of establishing a Drug Prevention Unit in each State institution and of fulfilling their respective duties according to circulars issued in recent years. 

The Grama Shakthi People’s Movement was launched to free the people from poverty, and steps are being taken to implement it as a broad people’s movement in the future. The President said that the dedication of all State officials, including Secretaries of Ministries, is essential in this endeavour.

The President also pointed out that all stakeholders should fulfil their respective obligations and responsibilities in such a way so as to make the Government’s 2020 goals more ambitious for the benefit of the country’s development and people’s well-being. Secretary to the President Udaya R. Seneviratne was also present on this occasion.