President Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee to oversee and grant prior approval for new appointments or changes to the existing positions of chairpersons and directors of State corporations, statutory boards, and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), the President’s Media Division (PMD) announced yesterday (16). Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake will chair the committee, which also includes Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanayake and Cabinet Secretary W.M.D.J. Fernando, the President’s Media Division said. Additional Secretary to the President Chaminda Kularatne will serve as the Secretary of this committee. In the event it is required to change the positions of chairmen or board of directors of State corporations, statutory boards, and SOEs, it is mandatory to submit nominations to the above committee with justifiable reasons and obtain prior approval, the PMD statement said. This committee has been appointed, paying heed to the written requests made to the President periodically, to change the positions of chairmen and board of directors of state corporations, statutory boards, and SOEs without prior agreement and certain informal appointments, it added. Accordingly, a letter has been sent directly to all the secretaries of ministries under the signature of the President’s Secretary, and copies have been sent to the Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policy for the implementation of necessary arrangements. Meanwhile, on the instructions of President Wickremesinghe, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake issued a directive yesterday to ministerial secretaries, heads of departments, district secretaries, heads of State corporations, statutory boards, and SOEs to strictly adhere and act as per the circular. It also warns that those who fail to follow the directive would be personally held liable. On 26 April, the Treasury Secretary issued Circular (No. 03/2022) instructing Government institutions to limit their expenditure, taking the ongoing economic crisis into account. The circular includes instructions to limit payments of fuel and communication allowances, reduce expenditure on electricity and water, halt construction or obtaining buildings on lease, and halt the payment of various types of allowances made at the ministerial or institutional level without the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers. Ekanayake further advised the ministerial secretaries and heads of State institutions or any employee below to refrain from exchanging letters pertaining to judicial matters or matters related, where the Government or State officials are parties, with the Chief Justice, judges of the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court, Judicial Service Commission, and judicial officers. including High Court, District Court, and Magistrate Court judges. He noted that the institutions are only allowed to write to the Attorney General’s Department. as per the provisions of Chapter 26 of the Establishments Code on channels of communications. If letters are to be addressed to the Attorney General’s Department from the said factors, it needs to be done via the Presidential Secretariat, he added. According to him, the exchange of letters between the Ministry of Justice or any other state institution with the Judicial Service Commission, Attorney General’s Department, and judicial officers pertaining to day-to-day subject matters and complaints to the Judicial Service Commission with regard to judicial officers does not fall under this directive.