Maithripala Sirisena has appointed his new Cabinet of Ministers, nine State Ministers and eight Deputy Ministers. Who are they and what does it all mean?
- Ministers
- In Sri Lanka, Ministers are members of Parliament with a direct executive role. They control staff, budgets and do stuff.
- State Minister
- This is new to me. It seems to basically mean junior Minister. They presumably don’t sit in on Cabinet meetings. It’s a bit of hedge to keep the cabinet below 30.
- Deputy Minister
- Deputies are basically junior Ministers attached to a bigger Ministry
How Big Is This Cabinet?
The Cabinet is technically only 27 people, but 44 people have been given Ministries. That is less than half of what Mahinda had (96 Ministers, AFAIK).
Interestingly, Maithripala holds no ministries himself. Maithripala will hold Defence assisted by Ruwan Wijewardena as State Minister of Defence. I think that makes sense. Mahinda held all of the important ministries himself (Defence and Urban Development, Finance and Planning, Law and Order, Highways and Ports). Maithripala holds none one. In these coupy days, I’d say holding Defence is prudent.
For comparison, here’s Mahinda’s cabinet from 2010. It got changed in 2013 but this is the latest photo I could find. Mahinda’s cabinet was both incredibly large and incredibly weak. There were a lot of people given perks (drivers, police guards) but Mahinda held most of the powerful ministries himself, and ran them through family.
Maithripala’s cabinet, in contrast, is smaller and staffed with competent people. There are a few giveaways but most of the people are in there to actually do stuff. Again I’ll note that Maithripala holds only Defence himself. This is a good sign of him keeping his promise to weaken the Executive Presidency and strengthen good governance. Even Ranil, who’s the real power behind the cabinet, doesn’t hold anything major (like Finance).
Who Controls This Cabinet
The UNP (70%)
This is a mostly UNP cabinet, and Ranil is truly the Optimus Prime Minister. He holds the Ministries of Reconciliation and Policy Development and Economic Affairs. His Deputy in policy is national lister Dr. Harsha De Silva. Harsha is highly educated, super smart, a truly lovely human being, and active on social media. It’s interesting that Ranil gives such a priority to reconciliation, placing it up there with economics.
The State Minister for Defence is Ranil’s cousin Ruwan Wijewardene, who is actually a bit inexperienced, but Defence seems to be something best kept within the family, ie with someone you trust. The other powerful Ministry is Finance which is with Ravi Karunayake. He’s basically the last of the big UNPers that stuck with Ranil. Ravi has a mixed reputation at best. I don’t know.
Finally, Karu Jayasuriya has Public Administration and Democratic Governance (plus Buddha Sasana, which is actually a fairly influential ministry). These sorts show you what this cabinet’s priorities are, but it also shows you that it’s strongly UNP. Sajith Premadasa has Housing and Samurdhi – Ministries true to his father’s legacy which help him cultivate his base. He is not, however, involved in the main work of the 100 days.
A lot of the other positions are Ranil giving back to people that stuck with him without question, even when he probably should have stepped down.
The SLFP (30%)
SLFPers (and UPFAers) have been given good ministries (Health for Rajitha Senaratne, Power and Energy for Champika Ranawaka, Tourism for Naveen Dissanayake, Land for MKDS Gunawardana) but they aren’t ministries you can do much with in 100 days. They have an incentive to push the 100 day reforms through so they can hold on to their jobs longer. Mangala Samaraweera is technically UNP but was SLFP for longer. He’s been given Foreign Affairs, which is immediately important for repairing relations with our main export partners and generally re-introducing the country to civilized diplomacy.
Gimmes
There are a few giveaways in this batch of Ministers. Rauff Hakeen got probably more than he deserved in Urban Development. There’s a Ministry of Plantation Industries (Lakshman Kiriella) and a Ministry of Plantation Infrastructure Facilities (P. Digabaram). The latter is probably unnecessary* and a concession to the upcountry vote. I don’t know, please correct me if you know anything about this fellow, or whether plantations needs two ministries.
*I didn’t know this, but one of the main election promises was that estate workers would get proper housing (ie, houses with land, not communal line houses, which really suck). I also didn’t know that Digabaram is one of the few upcountry politicians to break the repulsive, ineffective and at times violent (Senthil) domination of the Thondaman family. So maybe he is necessary.
Who Got Left Out
There’s nothing for recent big crossovers like Sarath Amunugama, Sanath Jayasuriya, Thilanga Sumathipala, etc. If whales like Mahinda Samarasinghe or Nimal Siripa De Silva are even thinking of crossing they’d expect something in the next cabinet.
Oh, and the big one. Nothing for Sarath Fonseka. As I’ve been informed on Twitter, however, that it’s actually impossible for SF to be a Minister because he’s not an MP. He was stripped of his political rights and his Parliament seat by Mahinda, which I’m assuming they’ll rectify soon. Right now he’s being touted as a Senior Presidential Adviser, which, in the past, hasn’t actually meant much. But it could.
What Are The Priorities Of This Cabinet?
While Maithripala hasn’t taken a bunch of Ministries or demanded control of this Cabinet, he seems very much its leader. I used to think he was a boring dude, but his speeches have been short, strong and said the right things. Here are some excerpts of what he said at the swearing in, as transcribed and translated via the NewsFirst Twitter (worth following):
We promised that the cabinet will not exceed 30 and we have delivered.
Once our 100 day plan is over we will go for a general election and establish a better more stable cabinet. Some people might think that I did not receive enough, keep in mind that this is only temporary. There are many portfolios that have not been included, we will reach a decision on them later.
If any one engages in corrupt activities they will be dealt with, regardless of their position. The people will continue to trust us based on the manner in which we act.
Diversity
The ethnic balance is roughly in line with the Sri Lankan population. Reconciliation seems to be a real priority for this government. It’s one of Ranil’s Ministries and the Resettlement and Reconstruction Minister is a Tamil D.M. Swaminathan (former Governor of the Western Province and a National List MP). There are strong positions for Muslims as well (Industries, Urban Development, Highways). As a note, there are Ministers for Buddhist and Christian Affairs but not for Muslim Affairs. I’m honestly not certain that these all need Ministries, but that’s there.
The gender balance is not so good, but there simply aren’t enough women MPs to fill more seats. This time they’ve at least split the Women and Childrens Ministries and given them to women. For the Womens Ministry this seems obvious, but it was previously held by a rather sexist male.
Competence
How competent is this coterie of Ministers? Well, there are no notable idiots in the bunch. If you go by education level, there are 3 PhDs (Harsha, Rajiva, and Wijeyadasa), 6 Masters degrees, 9 Law degrees, and 18 undergraduate degrees. This is out of the whole 44, so not great, but relatively good. Note that some people like Karu have just school education but are highly experienced and educated in their own way. Also note that there is a large amount of Royalists in this bunch.
In terms of ability, in my opinion the most capable are Ranil (Policy), Harsha (Policy), Karu (Public Admin), Eran (Highways, Investment), Mangala (Foreign Affairs), Champika (Power), Wijeyadasa (Justice), and Sajith (Housing, Samurdhi). But that’s just my opinion and I don’t know everyone. Rajiva (Higher Education) and Rosie (Childrens) are also quite intelligent.
Conclusion
So, I think it’s a pretty good Cabinet and batch of Ministers overall. It’s mostly UNP, it’s relatively diverse and relatively competent. As Maithripala said, this is basically a caretaker Cabinet until there’s a Parliamentary election around April. If they mess up (or if Mahinda’s intrigues mess things up) some of these guys may not even have seats in a few months. If they do well, then the Cabinet will probably get bigger. There are things like Sports and Science and Technology which aren’t assigned at all and they may need to be (or maybe not).
Am I personally happy with this Cabinet and these Ministers? Well, yeah, you could theoretically fit them into a room, which is an improvement. They’re also relatively competent and uncorrupt (note the term relatively).
Note that the JVP and Anura Kumar Dissanayake (one of the smartest people in politics right now) are not joining the Cabinet or accepting Ministries. They are, however, keen on joining the new National Advisory Council, the next thing proposed in Maithri’s 100 Day Plan. That will include people from Parliament as well as civil society, which would hopefully up the diversity and education level. And that’s just the beginning of councils with authority over police, elections etc. So not only will Maithri’s government not have an Executive President controlling everything, it won’t have a bunch of Ministers pushing themselves around either.
It’s really quite interesting what’s happening. Maithri is gently setting up a system of checks and balances which bodes well for people that aren’t Ministers (ie you and me). Let’s see how he proceeds over the next 96 days.
Source Data
- The data about politicians is from the invaluable Manthri.lk
- You can see the Google Sheet with my insane notes here
- For the full list of Ministers and links to their Manthri profiles go here: Sri Lanka’s New Cabinet – Full List
Indi,
I do not think SF can be appointed just yet. He is in the same situation that Ms. Sirimavo was in 77, isn’t he?
There are 3 PHD . Wijedasa was conferred by Colombno recently . A real one not Honoris Causa . Fonseka is not in parliament and cannot get a Ministry .
Thank you, corrected
just like you said I had Maithri written off as old, boring and outdated. But I’ve been highly impressed by his speeches since the start of the election campaign and now as the president. It’s clear he’s not here for cheap entertainment. It looks like finally we have a pragmatic, intelligent and a humble man as the leader! I hope I won’t regret this comment.
your definition of State Minister , deputy Minister is somewhat misleading.
A Minister or Ministry has to be defined not by the description, but , based on the institutions , Departments, Corporations, Boards , Govt Undertaking ..etc, coming under its perview. For example, Power and Energy Minister may be in chage of CEB, but CPC may be the subject of another Minister. .
A Minister is in charge of one or several institutions. Also he is a member of the Cabinet, policy making body.
A State minister is in charge of one or several institutions, but not a member of the Cabinet.
a Deputy minister is a deputy to a minister. He is not in charge of an institution , not a member of the Cabinet.
Some biggest flops/ blunders …. in the above selections of ministers (as I see…)
Ravi K…. for finance
Mangala S…. for Foreign Affairs
Akila V K …for Education
Duminda S …for Irrigation
Can someone justify those ?
Wondering…. why people talking about SF , as a minister. In the first place , he is not a member of Parliament.
Very interesting analysis Indi. In the past no one was bothered to go through these infor or analyze. Thanks to social media this could be exchanged freely. I think Sarath Fonseka will will fit in very soon as his civic rights need to be fixed legally. Then know one will find fault. At least happy that you could analyze WITHOUT FEAR.
You missed Akila as the Education minister. I would say right move as he is the perfect fit (young) to gel with university graduates and Wijedasa Rajapaksha for legal portfolio
Nice piece. You forgot to mention one of the key ministries for the 100 day program (or did I miss it?) – Justice. Which has two very competent looking people: Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa and Deputy Sujeewa Senasinghe. After all much of the 100 day program is about setting up the legal infrastructure for good governance.
About Ministerial competency diagram, am I to assume everyone has a degree?, if not, you should add a bar saying no degree, otherwise it’s misleading.
Good analysis. Any idea of the religious composition of the cabinet?
This is the real “Wonder of Asia”. Proud to be a Sri Lankan. All the best.
Has Ranja been punished already, for speaking out – on FB video re the derailed planned coup by former Rajathuma?
I’d agree with Prince’s opinion on Ravi Karunanayake (dodgy past) and Mangala Samaraweera (insincerity on the war). I wonder whether either of them will get through the general election.
SF will probably have his civil rights reinstated within the 100 days and stand for the general election. If he gets in as an MP, he’ll probably get Deputy Minister of Defence.
Two (2) things to be noted (1) Defense is a subject under the HE the President according to the constitution (ie cannot be passed down) (2) PM (Ranil)’s portfolio is quite powerful (ministry of Economic Planning and Implementation) since it will monitor the development programmes of others too (including the Treasury and Finance Ministry). Thirdly and finally this is only a caretaker Cabinet. The actual cabinet (within an elected body) will emerge once we conclude the General Elections.
The call is for transparency/accountability and fairness in all areas of Governance.
In the bar graph, having it as ‘undergrad’ is a bit misleading. Better label it as ‘Graduate’
“Quite a few royalist in there” what is that supposed to mean? HILARIOUS!!! if you can’t change your self, stop preaching change to others!! Sri Lanka will never develop for this very reason.. it is in our nature to separate ourselves from the bunch.. That statement is the equivalent of the BBS saying that Sinhala buddhist are supreme over the rest..
Just a couple of observations.
Mangala did a pretty good job as foreign minister in my opinion, think he was the obvious choice for this position. Wijedasa Rajapakshe for Justice is also a good choice, a Tamil for Reconstruction & Resettlement is a deft move that will send a positive signal.
One reason for cutting the cabinet was to reduce costs.
Although this cabinet is smaller than what we had ( MR’s cabinet was 96 PLUS the monitoring MP’s) this one seems too large.
If the ministers going to enjoy the same salaries and perks? If there is some cutback in benefits then the somewhat larger-than-expected cabinet can be tolerable.
Ravi Karunanayake is a chartered accountant and was also educated at both st thomas and royal.
There are two reasons for giving “Estate Infrastructure Development” to Digambaram. Maithripala’s manifesto (not the 100-day plan) states that they will be improving housing (allocating 7-perch plot per family and building houses to replace those dreadful line-rooms), which is an absolute necessity considering the state of those poor people. Secondly, he will be working with the ground level masses in the estates and thus unsettling the status held by Thondaman in the estates.
It seems a wonderful Group, well educated and with a Vision for the country. Unlike before. Rest assured that Ravi, though accused of ‘plenty’, had nothing proved against him, and he ran the then CWE at enormous profits. When the party changed hands at elections, they ran it with loses and the CWE came to a grounding halt within a year.
@Yashi, I added a bar for people who just did their schooling (I don’t know if up to O/Level or A/Level). Hope that’s clearer
I would have liked to see Ms Rosie Senanayake as the Minister of Tourism as she would brought in lots of goodwill to Sri Lanka and more so , she is a world famous person. Ravi Kay will be a good Finance Minster. During the short period that he was Minister of Trade , he did some good work. Any idea why a Minister of Sports have not been appointed.
Arjuna was to be Minister of Sports, but there was a typo and now he’s Minister of Ports.
Wow. thats a lot of home work and information of great value…something the masses dont actually look into seriously. I wish the appoint more and more educated (those with masters and Phd’s) to minister posts… this what the country strongly needs to face the Global Challenges.
I suppose the definition of state ministers is kind of a dilemma here. Pardon me, but I have never heard of such a position. Who are they? What would their responsibilities be? Will they enjoy the same salaries and other benefits as ministers? Or is this some kind of a illusion to make cabinet look smaller and to keep a few happy as promised?
Also, a few of the appointments are a joke and I don’t need to point out at this juncture. Indi, comparing MR’s cabinet and this for the numbers is irrelevant. we voted to see a change is not a 50% of MR’s cabinet but lesser.
Indi, I like your analysis of the Sri Lankan political landscape and have been following this blog and will continue to do so. However, you really need to stop trying to justify to us (and it seems mostly to yourself) that your biases were the right ones. It’s pretty much blatantly obvious. For example you state, “The State Minister for Defence is with Ranil’s cousin Ruwan Wijewardene, who is actually a bit inexperienced, but Defence seems to be something best kept within the family, ie with someone you trust.” Really? so nepotism is ok in certain cases? Keep up the good work though.
Optimus Prime Minister. LOL!!!
Hi,
I address my comment to the administrator of this article.
I think there is a small typo error on the pie chart description.
I am referring to the Green and blue. The party name mentioned on the pie chart says UNF I think it should be UNP, going by the article in support of the pie chart. Unless, United National Front. Then the entire article should be corrected.
Please correct asap either way.
Hope this is of assistance.
Regards,
Ricky
@Ricky B. I meant UNF, to fit Arjuna in there
yeah, Mahindananda Aluthgamage is a royalist too!! So please.. .
Ministry of Plantation Infrastructure Facilities is actually a fairly important ministry. I wouldn’t say Digabaram is the right choice for it due to his chequered past and rumoured associations in dealings with illicit substances. That being said he has never been charged or prosecuted for it and we must assume his innocence till then. The Indian government pushed for him to be given a powerful estate related portfolio as he is the only one currently capable of dethroning both Thondamans due to his growing popularity in the estate grass root level. As our former President (MR) may have said it, we must be careful not to replace one devil with another.
I’m pretty glad that when Thondaman met with the President (MS) and the Prime Minster (RW) on the 10th~11th weekend and expressed his willingness to join the government, the President has refused to accept him into the cabinet. A step in the right direction.
Personally I am waiting for January 29th for the removal of the Petrol (Rs 52) and Diesel (Rs 17) levy.
Ranil can add sharks created after the 17-year long Parliament that was produced through the 1983 house-burning strategy. Their fortunes would augment the more recent ones. This treasure must soon speak again to oppress those academics and journalists who have struggled for balance and social justice. The general elections can play a decisive role in creating the land to which voters have aspired.
If you thought Maithree was boring Indi, you never heard his “bamboo” speech. Totally out of character of course, but hilarious. One instance I was disappointed in him was when he failed as party secy. to take disciplinary action against Mervyn Silva, leaving it in the hands of “deiyo”. But he’s always been respected.
Why do people (Jack Point too?) consider Mangala suitable for FM when he unashamedly set a bunch of armed thugs upon his own (at the time, UNP) partymen and on a previous occasion unleashed the lowest sort of poster campaign against Ranil. Even Ranil didn’t deserve it. Is this the best envoy Sri Lanka can muster?
I don’t know of anything significant Naveen D or Akila Viraj have achieved in the past, to be handed over key portfolios like tourism and education.
Even Arjuna’s expression was like they’d made a typo, when he accepted his post.
Still, I’m euphoric about the people’s victory and hopeful for the success of the 100 day programme, after which, if we deserve it, we’d vote some sane people in to the next parliament.
Thieves need the dark. The house burnings and the 26-year civil war came as effects of the Western financial oligarchy’s manipulation of Sri Lanka. Local political figures inexperienced in the causes of WW1 and WW2 went down the same road.
Illicit seekers of treasure in every nation meet a primary definition and use the dark to overpower society. Sri Lanka has experienced a fascism of the type set off by Wall Street-London in Latin America. The Peron, Noriega and Batista governments of Argentine, Panama and Cuba provide us with examples.
Illicit wealth will attempt stunts to keep growing mushrooms in the dark.
In this connection, Batalanda Ranil and his supporters have an established record of extra parliamentary circus. They can add to the numbers of those who brought about the authoritarianism against which people voted in January 2015.
The proposed new general elections will firmly anchor a civil foundation in Sri Lanka. So liberal opinion will look forward to these elections.
The run of the Presidential poll showed that journalists and activists can make wise use of alternative media. To make for a short and sweet conclusion, a collective Twitter name like #GenElectionsLk can now be created.
Indi, ”No notable idiots”? What about Palitha Range Bandara? :)
I dont know about comparisons but with what ever coruption Rajapakse admin set a bench mark from even things like keeping the city clean to unprecedented economic activity all round. This is a fact. Now they must get on with the job and not dig into dustbins. I am not refering to provable corruption issues but like our new Foregin Minister complaining that they didnt want to releinquish power …past is gone we need to pay attention to FM and put things right. Not waste time on these and people didnt ask for the same shit again.
The new government has a huge task to benchmark or go above even. People will watch like hawks
Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.
Denis waitly
Came here after 17 years what a change so clean the city of Colombo…you got to do better or keep it up the least…no vanners no posters less shacks…
People voted not for the SLFP or for any party in particular. It was for the policy of good governance, rid of malpractice and corruption all wanted. Therefore party politics or policies were not a criterion. Demonic intents are there, to make MS prioritize party politics to drive wedges to the present camaraderie. Therefore beware, Your Excellency!
I have no issue with the new cabinet of ministers. There should have been a minister looking after sports. Perhaps this should be tagged on to Arjuna.
I would suggest to stop the witch hunt and get down to serious work.
Someone mentioned ( RR) above that Ravi Karunanayake ran CWE at enormous profits.. That’s wrong. He ran it to the ground (intentionally) so that he could sell the whole CWE network to his friends. Luckily the government changed and CWE is still running as a service to the public rather than profit earning business!!! Don’t take my word for it, go do some research.
Wow, what a shallow analysis. A waste of 5 minutes I will never regain.
Moving forward & thinking of the countrys future it is better that we do not compare with regard to race,religion or the scholl attended. We need to change this as all of us are Srilankans.why separe according to the race havent we still learn a lesson from it.Every minister should have atleast a highschool diploma in order to hold a ministry.Let us change the way of thinking!
Why Agriculture is blank?
Unp ‘s promises are like expired maliban biscuits. Cheating manifesto .
Good job. Thanks a lot.
Dear Sir,
l wish to write you this letter asking for your concern.
However, we are into gold mining and our head office is here in Accra Ghana. We have capacity to supply 50kg for the first trench and 20 kg monthly at the rate of $32,000 usd
per kg.
We have some two gentle men from Ivory coast currently here in Ghana
and they are relatives of former Ivorian President, President Gbagbo
of Côte d’Ivoire. They have 1000 kg / 1 TON of gold bars looted from
the President underground safe after he was arrested by the French
troop in year 2011, they brought the gold to border between Ivory
Coast and Ghana and they are looking for a reliable buyer, now we are
working for them to sell their gold on lesser price of $25,000 usd per
kg. They need the money to bring their uncle out of jail and run for
another election coming on soon so this is will be a top secret
transaction between you the buyer and them the seller.
They have all legal documents that back the gold and for shipment to
buyer destination without any stop order from any Government body or
individual. I will be waiting to hear from you if interested, your
country and telephone number.
Regards,
Mr Emmanuel