Sri Lanka: President Appoints New Cabinet

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Facts

  • Following a landslide victory in snap parliamentary elections last week, Sri Lanka's Marxist-leaning Pres. Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People's Power (NPP) Party has appointed a new 21-member cabinet.[1]
  • While the Constitution requires a 30-member cabinet, Dissanayake — whose party won 159 of the 225 parliamentary seats — has formed a smaller cabinet as part of his pledge to streamline governance. He's also promised to create a new constitution.[2][3]
  • While eight of the appointees are veteran cabinet members, 12 are new appointees.[3]
  • Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, who will also lead the ministries of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, is among those remaining from the last cabinet. Vijitha Herath will remain as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism.[4]
  • Other returnees include Bimal Rathnayake for Transport, Highways and Civil Aviation, and Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa to oversee Health and Media.[4]
  • Dissanayake's reduced cabinet is part of his goal to reach the targets set by an IMF bailout deal signed by his predecessor, Ranil Wickremesinghe. While he previously criticized it for burdening the people too much, he's promised to abide by it.[2][5]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]ABC News, [3]Outlook India, [4]Newsonair.Gov.In and [5]Taipei Times.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Daily Mirror. After a long struggle to rise to power, the NPP has finally done it and given people hope for a fresh, positive future. While critics claim the incoming government is inexperienced, the truth is that integrity, political will, and commitment matter more. These appointees are professionals who will base their government policies on expertise.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Youtube. While it's completely understandable for the people to want systemic change, the NPP's Marxist ideas are the reasons that Sri Lanka is facing unemployment and debt issues. The economy needs to be saved through growth, not contraction. If NPP fails, the SJB Party will be ready to fix what ails Sri Lanka.