District Secretaries as govt. agents

27 October 2011 11:23 am

District Secretaries will be designated as government agents again with more powers to Divisional Secretaries by amending the necessary law in this regard, officials said today. Cabinet approval has been given to amend the Act for this purpose.

Public Administration Ministry Secretary P.B. Abeykoon told the Daily Mirror that the District Secretaries do not have enough powers to supervise the work of divisional secretaries currently.  Mr. Abeykoon said that divisional secretaries sometimes disregard or challenge orders issued by district secretaries.

“We are will be giving more powers to the district secretaries by amending the Act. Then, they will have control over divisional secretaries,” he said.  

According to the proposed changes, divisional secretaries will also be designated as Assistant Government Agents.

Also, the government has taken a policy decision to re-demarcate the geographical boundaries of the divisional secretariats. A committee has been appointed to work on this matter at the moment. (Kelum Bandara)