Ministerial portfolios are "responsibilities", not "privileges" - President

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today stressed that ministerial portfolios are not “privileges” but “responsibilities”.

“The state ministerial portfolios have been allocated based on the areas which need development,” Rajapaksa said after swearing in a new set of State Ministers and Deputy Ministers this morning.

Thirty-five State Ministers and three Deputy Ministers took oaths before the President at the Presidential Secretariat today.

The President said he wanted to curtail the number of state ministers but had not done so in view of the huge workload outlined in his manifesto.

“Sometimes the ministries might not have big names. But they contain huge responsibilities,” he emphasised.

Mr. Rajapaksa reiterated his call to all cabinet ministers to assist state ministers in carrying out their duties.

He said ministerial portfolios could not be granted to all those who have huge voter bases, and those actively engaged in politics, due to certain limitations as set out in the constitution.

“Even without positions, I call upon parliamentarians to coordinate with the ministers and fulfil their responsibility,” the President said.