Colombo: Sri Lanka’s troubled leader removed two of his brothers and a nephew from his cabinet on Monday, following public anger over the ruling family’s mismanagement of a dire economic crisis and calls for their resignations.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has presided over the island nation’s most painful recession in memory and his government is preparing for imminent bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Dozens of lawmakers have turned against the administration and opposition parties have turned down an invitation from the president to join a unity government, who insists he will remain in office to guide Sri Lanka through the crisis.
Massive protests have nonetheless demanded Rajapaksa’s standing, with tens of thousands of people camping outside his beach office for more than a week.
The new cabinet retains Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya’s elder brother and head of Sri Lanka’s ruling clan, while leaving out eldest brother Chamal and younger brother Tulsi, former finance minister.
Mahinda’s elder son Namal, who ran the sports ministry and was known as a future leader before the crisis, was also dropped.
The 21-member cabinet has seven fewer people than its predecessor, who resigned en masse two weeks ago in response to public outcry over nepotism and corruption.
The minister is entitled to several SUVs, a large contingent of bodyguards and unlimited fuel, as well as state housing and entertainment allowances.
New Finance Minister Ali Sabri led a delegation over the weekend to start talks with the International Monetary Fund from Tuesday, officials said.
Sri Lanka is seeking three to four billion dollars from the IMF to address its balance of payments crisis and boost depleting reserves.
Along with severe shortages, Sri Lanka is also facing record inflation and prolonged power blackouts, as the government has run out of foreign exchange to import fuel.
Lanka IOC, a petrol retailer that accounts for a third of the local market, on Monday announced another steep hike in fuel costs due to a fall in the value of the local currency.
The cost of diesel, the most commonly used fuel for public transport, has risen 138 percent since the beginning of the year while petrol prices nearly doubled.
The government last week announced a default of $51 billion in foreign debt to Sri Lanka and the Colombo Stock Exchange closed trading to prevent a possible slide in the market.
Rajapaksa’s parliamentary majority has been thrown into question after former allies left the ruling coalition.
The opposition has said it will try to topple the government through a no-confidence motion in the coming weeks.
On Monday, the tenth day of protests outside Rajapaksa’s office, protesters set up a protest camp which they say will continue until leaders stand aside.
Activists condemning corruption and demanding the president “go home” flashed digital projections on the office, prompting police to put up large screens to block light beams.