Lucky
after a wait
The former Minister of Estate Community Infrastructure C.B. Ratnayake
who had to give up his post to make way for a CWC member was summoned
to President's House on Thursday. The man expecting a new portfolio
went well prepared but was disappointed. The next day he was summoned
and was kept waiting for nearly five hours but this time he was
luckier. He was made the Minister of Medium and Small Scale Plantation
Industries and Rural Human Resources Development.
Birds
of a feather!
The weekly post-Cabinet press briefing for journalists
was hurriedly cancelled last Thursday. Instead a group of journalists
from the sate media was discreetly summoned to a meeting with Media
Minister Mangala Samaraweera and told of a Cabinet decision to increase
electricity charges. They were asked to down play the story and
highlight the fact that it will be only large-scale consumers who
will be affected and not household users. The story of course got
to the private media next morning with colleagues from the state
side leaking it to those in the private media.
Let's
wait and see
The Media Minister had his hands full last week. On Tuesday he summoned
a press briefing, this time to introduce a code of conduct for state
television. One of its missions is to present news objectively and
truthfully.
This
as well as many other high standards have been set out for the state
TV to follow but going by past performances, how far these will
become a reality can be believed only when it is seen. |
