The Sri Lanka Association of Divisional Secretaries and Assistant Divisional Secretaries (SLADA) has announced its members will refuse to attend any meetings convened on Mondays — the day reserved as “Public Day” under government rules — with effect from Monday, June 8, Ada Derana reported.
Association President R. Senthil said the decision was taken in response to recurring inconvenience caused to both Divisional Secretariat operations and the public by meetings organised by ministries, state institutions and political authorities on Mondays, whether held physically or via online platforms.
Under Public Administration Circular No. 27/2023, public officials are required to remain in their offices on Public Day to address issues raised by citizens, and official meetings are explicitly not to be scheduled on that day. SLADA said the rules have been routinely disregarded, forcing Divisional Secretaries away from their offices on the one day set aside for public grievances.
The announcement is the second time in five weeks SLADA has publicly challenged a central government directive affecting the divisional administration. In May the association formally asked the President’s Secretariat to withdraw a March 20 instruction to place Clean Sri Lanka coordinators inside divisional offices, warning the move could undermine public service neutrality.
R. Senthil is the association’s named president in both cases; SLADA represents the senior administrators at the front line of citizen services, including pensions, identity documents, social security payments and the issuance of permits.
