A fresh start

A couple of weeks have passed since a Cabinet reshuffle took place, but with the floods striking just a few days later, public attention was shifted from that event. The nine ministers who were given new portfolios barely had time to settle in before the devastating floods occurred and in line with the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s instructions visited their respective areas for flood relief work.

With the floodwaters receding and relief efforts well underway in all flood-affected districts, the focus is again shifting to political developments. In the latest such development, a reshuffle of a number of deputy and state ministers took place on Wednesday. Accordingly, four state ministers and four deputy ministers were sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena.

This was a welcome move, because it was generally felt that some of the more deserving and skilled young leaders from both the SLFP and the UNP had not been given portfolios that were more in line with their knowledge and abilities. Despite this obvious anomaly, all of them served in the given portfolios with aplomb, even though they had to face a steep learning curve.

Dr. Harsha de Silva who is well known for his economic and business acumen earlier served as Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs under former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who is now the Finance and Media Minister. Dr. de Silva served in that post with distinction although diplomacy and foreign affairs was not his strong point. He learned the finer points as time went on, but it was obvious that his skills could have been better used elsewhere.

This seems to have been rectified with now his appointment as National Policies and Economic Affairs Deputy Minister. His Minister is, of course, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who has a vast experience in this sector and portfolio. Together, they will be able to iron out outstanding issues in this sector as Sri Lanka seeks national policies for health, education, transport, economy etc.

Former Public Enterprise Development Deputy Minister Eran Wickramaratne who has been appointed as State Minister of Finance will be an invaluable member of Minister Samaraweera’s team, which will also include Lasantha Alagiyawanna as Deputy Minister of Finance and Mass Media. Eran too could not realise his full potential in the previous role of Investment Promotion and Highways Deputy Minister.

Samaraweera, who is new to the subject and Wickremaratne, with his previous experience as Vice President of Citi Bank, CEO of National Development Bank (NDB) and Chairman of Information Communication Technology Agency will perfectly complement each other in their new roles. Minister Samaraweera is known as a fast learner and for his no-nonsense approach to any given portfolio. The trio has a very big challenge coming up in just five months – Budget 2018.

Wasantha Senanayake’s appointment as State Minister of Foreign Affairs is another welcome change. As a great grandson of Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake, politics is very much in his blood. His Minister Ravi Karunanayake is also new to the subject, but this should not be a problem to the young Senanayake who is also known for his capacity to absorb new knowledge in a short period. Minister Karunanayake intends to shift the focus to commercial diplomacy and trade rather than HR and geopolitics and Senanayake will fit into this paradigm shift perfectly. Again, the pair is perfectly matched for the tasks ahead.

Palitha Range Bandara’s appointment as State Minister of Irrigation does not come as a surprise and in Vijith Wijayamuni Zoysa, he has an affable and capable minister. This UNP-SLFP union demonstrates the very spirit of the National Unity Government. After all, the ultimate aim of both parties is developing the country and uplifting the public. Political divisions should not be a hindrance to that aim. Irrigation is very important subject given the primarily agricultural nature of our economy.

Former State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane will now function as State Minister of Public Enterprise Development. This is a huge challenge, given the state of some of our vital public enterprises. They have to be turned into viable and profit making institutions after suffering losses for years, if not decades. His minister Kabir Hashim is already doing a good job in this sector and coming from different parties (UNP and SLFP) they will have unique perspectives that can mutually benefit each other.

Ranjan Ramanayake who was given the additional post of Kandyan Heritage Deputy Minister will be working with Minister S.B. Dissanayake. This will be a productive relationship in more ways than one – they have almost similar personalities and are not afraid to call a spade a spade. Both have spoken against injustices in society on many occasions.

Karunaratne Paranawithana who was appointed as Vocational Training Deputy Minister will also have to work hard along with Skills Development and Vocational Training Minister Chandima Weerakkody to develop this sector. They will have to find more avenues for thousands of children who are deprived of higher education every year. Indeed, the entire new-look Cabinet should broadly work with the future generation in mind.