President orders strict limits to Government expenses

Monday, 15 August 2022 01:39 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has ordered the Public Sector officials to strictly adhere to a Treasury circular on limiting Government expenditure.

On the instructions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake has issued a circular imposing strict restrictions on Government expenditure as a support to overcome the economic challenge the country is facing.

The directive has been issued to ministry secretaries, department heads, provincial chief secretaries, heads of corporations, statutory boards, and State-owned enterprises.

Strict adherence to the Treasury circular on expenditure restraint has been requested with the warning that those failing to follow the directive would be personally held liable.

The President has advised to suspend until further notice the renting of new buildings for Government offices or the entering into new rent or lease agreement.

The President has also advised that the approval of the Treasury should be obtained before extending the existing contracts for vehicles for Government purposes.

The President has informed the Government agencies to reduce the use of paper as much as possible and to switch to electronic communication instead.

President Wickremesinghe has also directed to impose strict controls on the use of services including fuel, electricity and communication facilities by Government institutions and has advised that the public sector should also set an example by making as many sacrifices as possible to provide relief for the people suffering from poverty in the society.

A high-level Management Committee consisting of a Chief Executive Officer, Head of Finance, Head of Operations and Head of Human Resources is to be established in every institution to introduce effective controls over expenditure and monitoring purposes.