The 8 new ministers belong to the ruling SLPP and its allies – the SLFP and EPDP.
The 8 new ministers belong to the ruling SLPP and its allies – the SLFP and EPDP.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa expanded the cabinet with the induction of eight on Monday, May 23, 2022. more ministers but they did not appoint a Finance MinisterOnce again to deal with the worst economic crisis facing the island nation.
The new ministers belong to the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and its allies – the SLFP and EPDP, a Tamil minority party in the north.
Mr. Rajapaksa, since the public protests against him for his resignation began, has now reshuffled his cabinet five times, including F.Reasons for the resignation of his elder brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,
The minister will serve in the interim cabinet of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, formed to deal with the current economic crisis.
Among the new ministers who took oath are Douglas Devanand – Minister of Fisheries; Kehelia Rambuquela – Minister of Health, Water Supply; Ramesh Pathirana – Industries Minister; and Mahinda Amaraweera – Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation, tweeted Economy Next News Portal.
While Vidur Vikramanayak was appointed as Buddhasana, Minister of Religion and Culture; Naseer Ahmed has been given the charge of Environment Ministry.
Bandula Gunavardhan has been given portfolios of both transport and highways as well as mass media ministries. Roshan Ranasinghe has been appointed as Irrigation Minister. He will also have the portfolio of the Ministry of Sports and Youth.
President Rajapaksa on Friday expanded his cabinet to include nine more ministers, including those from the opposition, to ensure stability until a full cabinet is formed in the debt-ridden island nation reeling from the worst economic crisis since independence. can be attempted.
The ministers were sworn in after a delay of more than a week since the President appointed the new prime minister. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Rajapaksa reappointed five-time former Sri Lankan prime minister Wickremesinghe, after his predecessor – the president’s brother Mahinda Rajapaksa – resigned in the wake of violent attacks by his supporters on peaceful anti-government protesters.
His resignation automatically dissolved the cabinet, leaving an administrative void.
unstable ministry
The post of finance minister, which has remained volatile since the sacking of President Gotabaya in April, is younger brother Basil Rajapaksa, who was at the center of anger within the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition over its handling of the economic crisis.
On 4 April, Gotabaya appointed Ali Sabri as finance minister, however, he submitted his resignation to the president within 24 hours amid massive protests against the government over alleged economic mismanagement.
Later, no one came forward to accept the position and returned to the position after leading the government’s negotiating team at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the island nation struggles to deal with an unprecedented shortage of foreign reserves. Was.
However, his position automatically became null and void after the cabinet was dissolved.
On 3 May, Sri Lanka appointed its first new cabinet under Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
GL Peiris sworn in as Foreign Minister; Dinesh Gunawardene as Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government; Prasanna Ranatunga as the Minister of Urban Development and Housing; and Kanchana Wijesekera and Minister of Power and Energy.
At Friday’s swearing-in, two ministers were from the main opposition Samagi Jana Balvegaya (SJB), while the rest came from Rajapaksa’s own Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the group that resigned from the ruling coalition.
The cabinet will be limited to 25 members including the President and the Prime Minister.
Former minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), independent MPs Sushil Premjayanta, Vijayadasa Rajapaksa, Tiran Ales were among the nine new ministers sworn in on Friday.
Nimal Siripala de Silva Ports has been appointed as the Minister of Navy and Aviation Services, Sushil Premjayanta as the Minister of Education, Keheliya Rambuquela as the Minister of Health, while Vijayadasa Rajapaksa as the Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs, Constitutional Reforms.
Other ministers appointed include Harin Fernando as Minister of Tourism and Land, Ramesh Pathirana as Minister of Plantation Industries, Manusha Nanayakara as Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment, Nalin Fernando as Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security and Tiran. Ales included. as Minister of Public Security.
Sri Lanka was grappling with its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.
The crisis is partly due to a lack of foreign exchange, which means the country cannot pay for imports of staple foods and fuels, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
Last month, the country announced its inability to repay its loan amount of USD 51 billion. In 2022, the external debt commitment was USD 6 billion.
India’s economic aid package has kept Sri Lanka afloat since January In its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. India provided lines of credit for the purchase of fuel and essential commodities as Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves were exhausted. New Delhi has committed over USD 3 billion in loans, lines of credit and credit swaps to debt-ridden Sri Lanka since January this year.
The political crisis began in late March when people hurt by prolonged power cuts and essential shortages took to the streets demanding the government’s resignation.
President Rajapaksa dismissed his cabinet and appointed a youth cabinet in response to demands for his resignation. There has been a continuous sit-in in front of his secretariat for more than a month.
The president’s brother resigned as prime minister to make way for the president to appoint an interim all-political party government.