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Hopping from one world capital to another when he was Foreign Minister of the ruling coalition, Mangala Samaraweera has savoured the sumptuous delicacies crafted by the world’s renowned Michelin chefs with multi stars and those in Cordon Bleu aprons.

Camaraderie: Ravi and Mangala after their posts were swapped at an event at the Foreign Ministry

That is when he brushed shoulders with his then counterparts, world dignitaries and even Heads of State when he accompanied President Maithripala Sirisena on foreign visits. That glory of imbibing in the globally best of food and drink, at least officially, is now over for Mr. Samaraweera, easily a handful among Sri Lanka’s resilient and courageous politicians.

Just after being sworn in as Minister of Finance and Mass Media at the Presidential Secretariat last Monday morning, he drove straight to the Foreign Ministry to say his farewells. There he sat with Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva, Foreign Secretary Esala Weerakoon and other top officials. “It is my destiny. I have to give up foreign affairs abruptly for the second time,” he declared in an emotion charged voice.

This time he had to give up office after serving almost two and half years. The first occasion was when he became the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration in 2005. In January 2007, Rajapaksa dropped him from that office leaving him as Minister of Ports and Aviation. He was sacked from that position in February 2007 together with ministerial colleague the late Anura Bandaranaike and close ally Sripathi Sooriyaratchchi. Just ahead of the January 2015 presidential election, Rajapaksa tried to woo Mr Samaraweera back, but failed.

When the sweet and sorrow moments at the satin wood panelled Minister’s office, which is steeped in history ended, Mr Samaraweera invited those present to join him for a farewell lunch. The venue? No, it was not a star class hotel but the Canteen at the Foreign Ministry, patronised mostly by the minor staff.

Accompanying him were Deputy Minister de Silva, Foreign Secretary Weerakoon, Additional Secretaries and Directors General of different divisions in the Ministry. There was no menu card nor a butler or an usher to greet them.

They queued up to make a choice from “Buth packets” (or packets of rice and curry) that lay stacked. There was an option — either Chicken or Fish. The guests obtained their preferred pack, sat around tables and dug into a meal of Rice, Dhal, Brinjal Pahi and Pol Sambol.

Mr. Samaraweera, the connoisseur of choice international cuisine, is equally familiar with “Buth Packets.” Weeks ago, en route to the Foreign Ministry after a meeting at Temple Trees, he urged a member of his security detail to stop and hurriedly bring him one from a small roadside outlet. He ate it in a hurry from his desk. The Swiss Ambassador was calling on him followed by the German Ambassador.

It was, however, a different story on Monday night when well-wishers poured into his Stanmore Crescent official residence, safely wedged between the homes of Air Force Commander (Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy) and Chief of Defence Staff (Air Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake). The food, costing Rs. 50,000, came from ‘Quick Thai’, a takeout near the Sinhalese Sports Club at Maitland Crescent in Colombo’s Cinnamon Gardens.
On Thursday, Mr. Samaraweera’s successor Ravi Karunanayake took over office at a brief ceremony at the Foreign Ministry. A few ministers, MPs, members of the clergy and well-wishers were entertained to kiribath (milk rice).

Soon after the outgoing Minister Samaraweera planted a farewell kiss on the cheeks of Mela Karunanayake, wife of the incoming Minister Ravi Karunanayake. There were cries from some who asked “What about Ravi?” So, Mangala Samaraweera gave him a kiss too.

Sand from Indonesia and Philippines
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) has decided to allow the construction industry to import sand from Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Treasury has been called upon to formulate an appropriate tax structure so that the local dealers in sand will not be affected.
At a recent CCEM meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe it was noted that there was a severe crisis in the construction industry due to shortage of sand.

Supply within Sri Lanka, it was pointed out, had been restricted due to various reasons. Sufficient mining and transport licences have not been issued considering the environmental impact and damage caused to the river banks due to excessive sand mining.

The main supply source to the Western Province, where construction activity is at its peak, is from Manampitiya and Mahiyangana areas. The transportation of sand from these places, the Committee noted, was a big issue. It was noted that in many instances road accidents involving sand tippers have been reported. Besides contributing to traffic congestion, it has also caused damage to the road network, it was pointed out.

Harsha plays media role for President
Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva had different roles to play when he accompanied President Maithripala Sirisena on his two-day visit to Australia.

Officially it has been dubbed as a “state visit.” However, some Foreign Ministry officials contended that the invitation came from the Prime Minister and not the head of state, the Governor General. Moreover, they argued that there was no “formal” arrival ceremonies.

Be that as it may, de Silva turned cameraman in the outbound flight from Singapore. He used his mobile phone to capture President Sirisena reading a copy of the Reader’s Digest from a seat in the Business Class and circulated it among the Colombo media. Seated on the next seat was a passenger. One wag was to remark that media may soon cease to cover such trips since some politicians were now gearing to do their work too. Notwithstanding this, de Silva has already sought a change in his present portfolio.

At the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, officials set up a Twitter account for new Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake. They seem to be wanting him to emulate US President Donald Trump.

That the state of affairs in the Foreign Ministry has remained disorganised, ineffective and tardy came to light once more. The Foreign Ministry had not circulated to missions officially the appointment of Mr Karunanayake or his curriculum vitae. The new Minister was heard to say that he would put things right.

These developments came in the backdrop of a Foreign Ministry fax to all Sri Lanka diplomatic missions overseas that a fraudulent Twitter handle @SriLankaMFA has been located in the URL: https://twitter.com/SriLankaMFA posing to be official twitter account of the Foreign Minister.
It said, “The Ministry has tweeted a Media Advisory informing that the said Twitter account was a fraudulent one and not an official account and advised it not to be followed. Those missions with Twitter accounts may retweet the Media advisory as appropriate.”

The Ministry has said that a “few Diplomatic Missions in Colombo that had been following the account have also been contacted and informed that the account was fraudulent.”

It added that the Ministry has brought the matter to the attention of the relevant authorities and lodge a complaint with Twitter to block the account and declare it fraudulent.

New subjects worry lady official
The top level conference came after the swap between holders of the Foreign Affairs and Finance portfolios had taken place.
Amidst reports that the Foreign Minister was to be assigned with newer subjects now within the Ministry of Public Enterprises, a lady bureaucrat was to raise issue. She declared not so gracefully that they “should not allow other extraneous subjects to be brought under the Foreign Ministry.”
There was pin drop silence after the remarks were made, according to insiders.