Tug-of-war at Treasury continues
View(s):The ongoing tug-of-war between two factions at the Finance Ministry is continuing causing interruption to the normal functions at the Treasury and the Ministry, informed sources disclosed.
The work at departments coming within the purview of the ministry has also been affected to great extent as a result of appointing new monitoring staff by the Finance Minister to supervise the work.
This initiative of overseeing the work of officials in Finance Ministry departments and institutions including the Inland Revenue Department and Sri Lanka Customs has not only created frustration among officials but also dissension in decision-making and duplication of duties, a senior official who wished remain anonymous told the Business Times.
Ministry employees have been divided unofficially as Rajapaksa loyalists and loyalists of the Finance Minister, he said adding that this internal ‘divide and rule’ type of administration has created an insecure situation at the Treasury.
Adding salt to the wounded relationship between a section of officials including some dedicated and efficient members of the staff, the Finance Minister has appointed 15 parliamentarians of the UNP as Monitoring MPs this week to supervise six institutions coming under the ministry.
This recent action similar to Rajapaksa regime’s Monitoring Ministerial system will worsen issues, official sources say.