Bandula justifies idea to expand Cabinet and State Ministers

By Charumini de Silva

Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena

Amidst rife speculations that several more Cabinet and State Ministers are likely to take the oath, Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena yesterday justified the decision. 

“Ministers are overwhelmed with work, as one Minister holds simultaneous responsibility for several portfolios. A single Ministry alone has multiple agencies, subjects and initiatives to monitor. Against this backdrop, it is always good to have a separate Minister for each portfolio to observe the continuous progress of the initiatives,” he told journalists at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing.

It was reported that around 10 MPs will be sworn in as new Cabinet Ministers, but no specific information has been announced so far regarding the number of ministers or the timeline. 

Citing Singapore as an example, the Minister said through a regulation they have privatised all key sectors such as Education, Health and Transport.

“This is one of the key reasons why Sri Lanka has the highest number of State employees to attend after one person. It also reflects that the Government is a key contributor to the economic activities in the country,” Gunawardena added.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe-led Government consists of 20 Cabinet Ministers and 38 State Ministers.

The move was widely condemned by civil society and the Opposition, whilst it also got backfired on Wickremesinghe’s earlier statements of curbing the State expenditure, to enhance relief to people who have been suffering for months due to the ongoing economic crisis.

In September, the Government defended the decision to appoint 38 State Ministers, noting that the appointments did not involve an additional cost as they will be maintained with the allocated funds for the relevant Ministries.