President meets newly appointed Governors

• Briefs on their responsibilities in public services and development programs
• Declares Drug Prevention Week from 21 to 28 January

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday urged all new Governors to directly mediate in order to achieve the expected development goals by making public services systematic and efficient.

The President made this statement at a meeting with Governors, Chief Secretaries of Provincial Councils, and other officials at the Presidential Secretariat. Discussions also focused on special projects implemented by the Presidential Secretariat and development projects held at the district level.

The President’s instructions are being implemented under the Presidential Secretariat with the aim of uplifting the general public.

The ‘National Drug Prevention Program’ and the ‘Grama Shakthi People’s Movement’ are major programs, among others, of the President’s Office. The National Program on the Protection of the Children of the Country, Environmental Protection National Program for Environment Conservation, and the National Food Production Program as well as the National Chronic Kidney Disease Prevention Program are being implemented island-wide.

The week from 21 to 28 January is named the ‘Drug Prevention Week’, and several programs are being organised to make raise awareness about the repercussions of drug abuse. These programs aim to educate school children, government officers, and the general public, and creative programs are to be composed.

 President Sirisena requested the Governors and Secretaries of Provincial Councils to pay their personal attention to these programs.

President Sirisena recalled that when he was working as the Minister of Health, he started his campaign against the drug menace in the country, and as a result, strict laws, rules and regulations have been established to curb drug trafficking. He said the laws against drugs are more effective than the laws in many other countries in the world and that he would take every step to eradicate drugs and win that challenge within his tenure.

A number of special programs are being conducted within the North Eastern Province against drugs, and the progress of those programs were also reviewed at this meeting.

The week from 18 to 23 February was announced as the Grama Shakthi People’s Movement week. Programs are being conducted to spread the Grama Shakthi People’s Movement to 4,000 villages. The Governors were briefed on this program.