With the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the new President of Sri Lanka, the era where public servants were scared to take decisions is now over, said new Treasury Secretary and Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, SR Attygalle yesterday.
Addressing the Finance Ministry staff after taking up duties, he said that government servants including him were taken to the FCID and the Bribery Commission for various decisions they had executed for the betterment of the nation. “Due to it, public servants were in the habit of avoiding taking decisions and passing the ‘decision making authority’ to another officer. “The then government officials acted as if they were in a volleyball playing field, passing the ball from one to another which resulted in a virtual stoppage of the government machinery. This trend is now over and I would back up and take full responsibility of all right decisions taken by my officials when it comes to executing their day to day duties. This would help accelerate development.”
Attygalle, a seasoned government servant and former Central Bank Deputy Governor, said that due to various ‘deeds committed,’ there is tremendous disrespect for the Treasury today. “We must collectively work together and reinstate the lost prestige of the Treasury as people have placed high hopes on us.”
Counting over 27 years of service in the Central Bank, he also said that today the country had got a leader who has risen from grass root levels and had an in-depth knowledge of issues the country is facing. “He (new President) thinks and works practically and we too should fall in line.”
He said the simple formula to calculate the per capital income is to divide GDP by the population. “This is currently done by officials who are in the Finance Ministry glass cubicles. But I want them to physically visit rural areas and actually see if the per capital figure is accurate.”
Attygalle who also served as the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, thanked new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for appointing him to this post. Attygalle holds a Master of Science degree in Quantitative Development Economics, from the Warwick University, UK and possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Science from the University of Colombo. Attygalle also served as Chairman of the National Savings Bank and represented the Treasury on several key State owned enterprises and statutory boards, including the Bank of Ceylon, National Savings Bank, Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka.
Former Treasury Secretary Dr P B Jayasundera was appointed as the President’s Secretary on Tuesday.
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