Parliament debates motion on cabinet composition

Parliament today debated the motion moved by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe   to limit the number of Cabinet Ministers in the national government to  48 and the number of those not in the Cabinet Ministers and  Deputy Ministers to 45. Prime Minister Wickremsinghe said the country is entering new era where the two main parties would work together for the good of the people. “We are doing this for two years and if it works well we will continue to work as one,” he said. SLFP MP Nimal Siripala de Silva said a historic responsibility has been thrust upon them by the people, to take the country forward. ”We are not joining the government to take ministerial positions but to serve the people,” he said.   While the motion had the backing of the SLFP MPs in the House, several opposition parties spoke against the move to increase the number of members in the cabinet as well as non-Cabinet members. “If there is a genuine effort to serve the people, there is no need to hold Cabinet portfolios, “MP Anura Dissanayaka said. Newly appointed TNA leader MP R Sampanthan said that increasing number of ministers is not in keeping with good governance. He cited the example of India where for a population of 1.2 billion the Cabinet only consisted of 65 ministers and 38 state minsters. The motion was moved in  keeping  with the  provisions of  the 19th Amendment to the Constitution  which states that in the case of a National unity Government being set up by the party that wins the largest number of MPs in Parliament  along with another  party, Parliament will determine the number of Cabinet and non-Cabinet ministers. - Chandani Kirinde