Cabinet reshuffle in the works – Rajitha

By Chathuri Dissanayake 

The Coalition parties are set to renew their agreement for a Unity Government, following a Cabinet reshuffle by the end of the week, ending two weeks of intense negotiations. 

 Cabinet Co-spokesperson and Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday: “The re-shuffle will be finalised by the end of the week.” 

 Ending uncertainty over the future of the coalition, as both the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) threatened to leave the partnership, the Minister said that discussions are underway for Cabinet reforms, with expectations to see changes to the Ministries of Law and Order, Finance and Agriculture. 

The Minister maintained the same stance at last week’s cabinet briefing as well, insisting that the coalition will continue till 2020. 

The agreement between the two main parties to form the National Government, based on which the number of Cabinet members have been increased as per allowances made in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, will be signed following the Cabinet reshuffle, Dr. Senaratne said. The initial agreement, valid for two years, expired last year. 

“It will be signed and will have clauses to make it valid for the months that have gone by without the agreement,” he said. 

Cabinet Co-Spokesperson Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara chose to avoid the briefing for the second week in a row since the defeat in the Local Government Election held on February 10, giving rise to the political crisis. The Minister and his party colleague, Minister Susil Premajayantha, were also absent from the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (20 February) morning, Dr. Senaratne confirmed. 

Both were publicly advocating the formation of a SLFP Government, with Premajayantha acting as a main negotiator between the Joint Opposition and the SLFP, for negotiations to form a separate Government under a new Prime Minister. 

Despite the UNP and SLFP, which contested for LG polls as separate parties, suffering a humiliating defeat against a proxy party led by ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Dr. Senaratne insisted that the said combined two parties had got more votes than the Rajapaksa party. 

Dr. Senaratne’s post-mortem of the election yesterday also identified two main reasons for the defeat. According to the Minister, the Government has been unable to effectively implement their policy decisions to provide a host of welfare measures, leading to public disapproval displayed in the election result. 

“We took a lot of welfare measures, but it may not have reached the people on time. Best example is the fertiliser issue. I think we should not give money, but a voucher like the school uniform system,” he said.