System change will not be complete merely because the government has changed. It is only when officials change, just as politicians have changed, that the transformation the people expected will truly reach their doorstep, said the Hon. Governor of the Northern Province, N. Vethanayahan.
The inaugural event of the Northern Province Integrity Week (27 July 2026 to 31 July 2026), themed “A law-abiding, honest public service,” was held today – on Monday (27 July 2026), at the Office of the Chief Secretary of the Northern Province. The Governor made the above remarks while addressing the main event as the chief guest.
Speaking at length and with deep feeling to the assembled government officials, the Governor further stated the following:
*A pledge that awakens the conscience*
We have not gathered here today merely to complete a government agenda item or to recite an oath. We have gathered to awaken our conscience once again. The pledge we took a few moments ago is not an administrative procedure. It is a sacred vow we have taken before our conscience, which stands higher than our positions. The words spoken today must be transformed into decisions made at office desks, justice recorded in official files, and humanity reflected in the smiles we offer to the public.
*The true meaning of integrity*
Integrity is not merely refraining from taking money or refraining from corruption. It is using the authority entrusted to us for the sake of the people, not for ourselves. True integrity means not delaying a poor person’s file without cause, not using public resources for personal needs, and administering justice by the same standard to those we know and those we do not. We must live with the awareness that even where the law does not see, conscience does.
*System change and government officials*
The central phrase of the ‘Aragalaya’ protest that this country experienced in 2022 was ‘system change.’ Within those two words lay the dreams, anger, and expectations of a generation. In the election held in 2024, His Excellency President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected and a new government was formed. Today, the political will and political leadership for honest administration have emerged. A clear position has been established that corruption should not receive political protection. But if, even though politics is honest, the administration remains dishonest, the good governance the people expected will not blossom. We cannot be satisfied merely because the politicians have changed; the officials too must change.
*Slander targeting the honest*
Those who are honest sometimes face isolation and intimidation. Because an honest person becomes an obstacle to the comfortable living of the dishonest, attempts are made through faceless social media accounts to tarnish the reputations of honest officials. This is an attempt to attack not just one individual, but integrity itself. But do not fear slander or threats. Let your goal remain the welfare of the people. Those who were sidelined in the past for having been honest are now being appointed with due respect by the present government.
*The court of conscience and the law of karma*
The journey away from integrity always begins with a small compromise with using a blank sheet of government-issued paper for personal use, or delaying a file without justification. Even if one escapes the grasp of the law for lack of witnesses, no one escapes the court of conscience. “As you sow, so shall you reap” is nature’s unchanging law. Those who sow integrity will reap trust; those who sow corruption will reap disgrace.
*Final appeal*
Do not think of the pledge you took today as something taken because the government compelled you; think of it as a pledge taken so that you may live a life in which you never have to lower your head before your own conscience. In keeping with the saying “Correct yourself, and society will correct itself,” if just 50 percent of the officials present here live from tomorrow according to the pledge taken today, the system change the people expected will not be far away, with these words, the Governor concluded his lengthy address.
Earlier, the national flag and the provincial flag were hoisted on the premises, the oath and pledge for integrity were administered, and a tree-planting ceremony along with the distribution of saplings also took place.
Following this, at the event held in the auditorium, Mrs. Thanuja Murugeson, Chief Secretary of the Northern Province, delivered the welcome address. Sivagurunathan Thiruvakaran, former Secretary of the Provincial Public Service Commission, delivered a special address on honest service, and Mrs. Annet Ninthusha Antony Dinesh, Assistant Chief Secretary, delivered the vote of thanks.
