Ministerial jobs: The chosen, the sidelined and the short-changed
In an event rich in religious and cultural symbolism, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa swore in a mix of old and new faces on Wednesday as his Cabinet and State Ministers to take forward his vision of ‘ Saubhagyaye Dekma’-- Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour--for Sri Lanka.
The 25-member Cabinet and 39-strong group of State Ministers took their oaths in the historic ‘ Magul Maduwa’ (Audience Hall) located in the premises of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. After invoking the blessings of the Maha Sangha led by the Anu Nayaka Theras of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters, the new ministers took their oaths before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The table where they took oaths and signed their appointment letters was richly decorated with a bevy of lotus buds--the symbol of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa took oaths as the minister of three portfolios-- (1) Finance, (2) Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, and (3) Urban Development and Housing. His brother Chamal was sworn in as the Cabinet Minister of Irrigation and State Minister of Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management. Meanwhile, Namal Rajapaksa also made it into the Cabinet for the first time, taking oaths as the new Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Another new face in the Cabinet was President's Counsel Ali Sabry, who took oaths as the new Minister of Justice. Udaya Gammanpila was the third firsttime entrant into the ranks of a Cabinet Minister, taking oaths as the Minister of Energy.
Mr Sabry was one of two SLPP national list MPs to get Cabinet ministerial portfolios, the other being SLPP Chairman Prof. G. L. Peiris, who was sworn in as Education Minister.
Some Ministers who served in the caretaker Cabinet after November’s Presidential election retained their portfolios. These include Prasanna Ranatunga ( Tourism), Pavithra Wanniarachchi ( Health), Dinesh Gunawardena ( Foreign Relations), Douglas Devananda ( Fisheries) and Janaka Bandara Thennakoon ( Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government).
The largest number of Cabinet posts went to the Colombo district, with five MPs from the district appointed to the Cab i n e t . T hey are : D i n e s h Gunawardena, Gamini Lokuge, Bandula Gunawardena, Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila.
Aside from Chamal and Namal Rajapaksa, Hambantota district had another Minister in the Cabinet in Mahinda Amaraweera, who was appointed the new Minister of Environment.
The Kurunegala, Ratnapura and Kandy districts had two Cabinet appointees each.
There were five first-time MPs among the 39 State Ministers who took oaths. They are Dr Nalaka Godahewa (Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal and Public Sanitation), Dr Seetha Arambepola ( Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation), Prof. Channa Jayasumana ( Pharmaceutical Production, Supply and Regulation), Sarath Weerasekara ( Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs) and Jeewan Thondaman (Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure Facilities).
Chamal Rajapaksa’s son Shasheendra Rajapaksa was the other member of the Rajapaksa family to take oaths as a Minister. He was appointed as the State Minister of Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chilies, Onions and Potatoes, Seed Production and High Tech Agriculture.
Only one MP from Gampaha (Prasanna Ranatunga) was appointed as a Cabinet Minister. When it came to State Ministers, however, the district counts seven -- the highest number of State Ministers by some distance.
Rather more surprising than some of the picks for Cabinet and State ministerial posts were the names of those who had been left out. Former President Maithripala Sirisena was chief among them. He topped the preference list in the Polonnaruwa district, but did not take oaths as a minister.
Former Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena too was not sworn in as a Minister. He is tipped to be elected the new Speaker when the Ninth Parliament convenes for its inaugural session on August 20.
Several other senior figures who had held Cabinet portfolios in previous governments also did not get any positions on Wednesday. They include Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Dilan Perera, Chandima Weerakkody, Susil Premajayantha, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Mahinda Samarasinghe and John Seneviratne. Former Minister S.B. Dissanayake also did not get a Cabinet or State Ministerial post, though he was appointed as Chairman of the Nuwara Eliya District Coordinating Committee--one of 23 such appointments made by President Rajapaksa on Wednesday.
Only two members of former President Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which is now allied with the SLPP, have been appointed to the Cabinet-- Nimal Siripala de Silva and Mahinda Amaraweera-- while SLFP members Duminda Dissanayake, Dayasiri Jayasekara and Lasantha Alagiyawanna have been given State ministerial positions.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, meanwhile, will function as the Minister of Defence, the President’s Office stated. The announcement has already generated controversy, with some sections noting that the 19th Amendment makes it clear that the President cannot hold any ministerial portfolios.
Meanwhile, the extraordinary gazette issued by the President’s Office prior to the swearing-in ceremony listing out the duties and functions of the new ministers also included a number of institutions that were not gazetted under any ministers. These consist of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team, the Board of Investment, Colombo Port City Project, Sri Lanka Telecom and affiliated institutes and all information technology parks. The institutions are listed as “Institutions working to provide national level guidance and coordination on achieving national priorities.”