The Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government has taken steps to collect from government employees the amount of more than seven hundred thousand rupees that will be spent on the all-night Pirith and Dhamma sermon to be held next June, in order to bless the government and government employees including the President.
Accordingly, to recover the amount spent for the All-Night Sermon from the government employees working in the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government and the institutions controlled under the Ministry, with the signature of M. L. Gammanpila, Additional Secretary (Internal Administration) of the Ministry, MINPUB/ The letter bearing the number Buddhist/2023 has been addressed to the heads of institutions.
According to the letter, five thousand rupees from a special grade staff officer in all institutions under the ministry, two thousand five hundred rupees from a first grade staff officer, one thousand rupees from all other staff officers and at least one hundred rupees or more from any other officer for the all-night sermon. A sum is added.
Arrangements have been made to hold this all-night sermon with Seth Patha to blesse the President and the government, all Sri Lankans including all public servants, and the motherland, on the 2nd of June, and on the following day, a charitable charity will be held for the Maha Sangharatna.
The government employees are asking that money is being collected from the government employees in violation of the Institutional Code issued by the Ministry of Public Administration itself, and what is the purpose of collecting money from the officials and conducting a settpatha pirith for the government.
As stated in the Institutions Code, ‘an official shall not be directly involved in collecting money from his subordinates for public charity or allow his family to collect such money from his subordinates.’