Secretary to the President, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera says all the public servants must honestly commit themselves to fulfill their respective duties in an efficient and productive manner in accordance with the ‘Rata Hadana Saubhagyaye Dekma’ of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Secretary to the President, addressing the staff of the Presidential Secretariat before the commencement of work for the New Year, at the Presidential Secretariat, today (01) said that the President has placed his firm confidence in the public service in the process of building the country.

The President’s Media Division stated that the event commenced after the Secretary to the President hoisted the national flag followed by signing National Anthem and subsequently, a two-minute silence was observed to commemorate war heroes who died in the conflict.

Later, all public officials took the oath pledging to work towards an efficient and productive public service.

The Secretary to the President stated that the prime objective of President Rajapaksa was to create an efficient as well as a people-friendly public service and further said that the President wished those who were in public service would render a service worth more than their salary.

“The vision of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is that the public service should not be a burden on the public. During the past, the pledge given by the public servants limited only to a custom and as a result, the public service degenerated into a service which is not appreciated by the people”.

The Secretary to the President pointed out the importance of all the public servants fulfilling their respective duties in a manner that could eliminate the hatred among the people towards the public service.

“A massive amount of money is spent on public service. ‘Rata Hadana Saubhagyaye Dekma’, the policy manifesto of the President does not consider the public service as a burden. The aim of the President is to provide more benefits to the public through efficient public service,” Dr. Jayasundera said.

The Secretary to the President stressed the necessity of a new approach in the public service in order to build a democratic institutional system based on equality to create a people-centric country.

Lalith Weeratunga, Advisor to the President and the staff of the Presidential Secretariat also participated on this occasion.