“The aim of the service is to increase the responsiveness and the empathy of the government”, said the President’s Coordinating Secretary Shiral Lakthilake.

Though there have been grievances handling throughout post independent Sri Lanka, this is the first time that a central system is in place to address citizens’ grievances in a methodical manner with quick SMS updates at every step in the process. This system marks the end of the era of handling many letters and files with huge time consumption.

Out of a total of 44,677 grievances and opinions that have been registered at the Tell President Service, almost half of them have been recorded via Government Information Centre by calling 1919, while others have been recorded via email, (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), facebook (MaithripalaS) or by post (Tell President, P.O.box 123, Colombo.)

According to the Additional Secretary to the President S.T.Kodikara all ministries and institutes have been lined up and properly given training to handle grievances highlighted, to ensure speedy and responsible response to the citizens.

The problems reported to the ‘Tell President Service’ vary from personal, community, rural, health, education, environment, economic, corruption, policy and opinion etc.