The Northern Province administration had been taken to task by residents and civil society members in the past for being inefficient and lethargic for obvious reasons.
It was a damning moment when Northern Province Governor and former District Secretary N. Vedhanayahan publicly criticised senior officials in the higher rungs of the provincial officialdom, saying they were clinging to their seats without delivering progress at the grassroots level while enjoying perks and privileges.
Addressing a public event in Kilinochchi on Friday (21), the governor said the central government was willing to release funds for development projects in the North, but some senior provincial secretaries were not willing to serve the public by implementing them.
“They are focused on merely securing all the perks and privileges for themselves from public funds. It is very shameful,” the governor said, expressing his disappointment at those officials who are not proactively taking steps to serve the conflict-affected communities in the province.
The governor also questioned the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the north, pointing to the plight of the affected communities. He said some NGOs secure funds, claiming to serve the affected communities, but a significant amount of such funds were utilised “for their own administrative expenses,” he said.