Newly appointed in Secretary to the President Austin Fernando swore to strengthen the brand ‘President’s Office’ with his assumption of duties at the President’s Official Residence, this morning.

The duties of officials at the Presidential Secretariat is to carry out the policy outlined by President Maithripala Sirisena and to develop new policies where there are no established policies, inspired by the vision of the President, he said.

“There are members of staff may have different ideas about the development and economic development. Bring your different ideas about strengthening peace and harmony in the country to the table. It’s always what we want to do. We have to be open and ready to listen to new ideas from veterans as well as those who think out of the box,” he said.

“We’re discussing a model of cluster formation of ministries. It is a model we are now thinking about to enhance the public administrations efficiency,” he added.