The Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government has issued a new circular regarding restricting the calling of officers to government offices.

This circular is issued as per the decision made at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 22.07.2022.

Issued to all Secretaries to Ministries, Chief Secretaries of Provinces and Heads of Departments, the circular refers to Public Administration Circular 16/2022(I) dated 26.06.2022, which is effective until further notice and Public Administration Circular 16/2022 dated 17.06.2022, which is effective for two weeks from 20.06.2022.

It states that although the provisions of Public Administration Circular 16/2022 have been issued to be applicable for two weeks, taking into account the period after the completion of the said two weeks and the current situation, the provisions of the said circular and circular 16/2022(I) should be considered valid till 24.07.2022, the date of issue of this circular, and for a period of one month from that date.

It said action should be taken to ensure that a situation does not arise where the officers who are able to report for duty also do not report for duty by misusing the circulars issued by the ministry to provide relief considering the difficulties faced by public officers when reporting for duty. 

In order to overcome the shortage of fuel in the country, fuel distribution is being restored, and accordingly, the public transport services will also be gradually restored in the coming days, it said. 

However, it says that the provisions of this circular shall not be a hindrance to calling the necessary staff for duties that cannot be performed through the online system and for maintaining the essential public services.