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The newly appointed Cabinet Ministers pose for a group picture with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa after the swearing in held at the Magul Maduwa (Audience Hall) of the historic Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic premises in Kandy.
By Chandani Kirinde
The Government yesterday unveiled what could be described as the A and B teams picked by the dynamic duo President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to deliver on the ‘Saubhagyaye Dekma’ (Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour) for the people amidst multiple challenges both internal and external. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a 25-member Cabinet bringing the Defence Ministry under his purview and putting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in charge of several important portfolios, including Finance, Urban Development and Housing.
He also appointed 39 State Ministers, apportioning subjects laying emphasis on the agriculture and development of domestic industry to a new generation of politicians, many who served as MPs in the last Parliament. Three National List appointees were also made State Ministers.
The President named three first-time entrants to the Cabinet, namely: Namal Rajapaksa, who was appointed Youth and Sports Affairs Minister; SLPP National List MP Ali Sabry, who was appointed Minister of Justice; and Udaya Gammanpila, who made it to the Cabinet as the Minister of Energy.
The Prime Minister was given the additional portfolio of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, while senior politician Dinesh Gunawardena retained his previous portfolio of Foreign Relations.
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) G.L. Peiris, who was appointed as a National List MP, was named Minister of Education, while the other Cabinet portfolios went to senior parliamentarians.
National List MP and former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal was appointed State Minister for Finance and Capital Markets and Public Enterprise Reforms.
Four from the impactful Viyathmaga initiative of President Rajapaksa secured portfolios as well.
Five first-time entrants to Parliament were appointed State Ministers, including Nalaka Godahewa who topped the SLPP preferential List in the Gampaha District, securing for himself the Urban Development, Coast Conservation, Waste Disposal and Public Sanitation portfolio. Seetha Arambepola, a National List MP, was appointed State Minister for Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research, and Innovation. Prof. Channa Jayasumana, who came second in the Anuradhapura preferential list, was appointed State Minister for Pharmaceutical Production, Supply and Regulation. Sarath Weerasekara, who topped the Colombo District preferential votes list, was named State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs.
Jeewan Thondaman, who topped the Nuwara Eliya preference list, was appointed State Minister for Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure Facilities Chamal Rajapaksa, who was appointed as the Cabinet Minister for Irrigation, was also named the State Minister for the newly-created State Ministry for Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster Management.
His son Shasheendra Rajapaksa, one-time Chief Minister of the Uva Provincial Council, was appointed as the State Minister for Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chilies, Onions and Potatoes, Seed Production and High-Tech Agriculture. He topped the Monaragala District preferential votes list.
The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Magul Maduwa (Audience Hall) of the historic Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic premises in Kandy.
The composition of the Cabinet has been formulated in a pragmatic and a realistic manner, to implement the national program according to the “Saubhagyaye Dekma” (Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour) policy statement. Special attention was paid to the areas of national security, economic development, infrastructure facilities, education, health and sports in the process of formulation of the ministerial structure, the President’s Office said.
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