Powerful politician Ravi Karunanayake, who fought to retain his Finance Ministry portfolio despite overwhelming demands to quit, has been able to wrest back some former departments as the new Foreign Affairs Minister, informed source said.
In an unprecedented move, Karunanayake is likely to get state units which he controlled earlier like National Lotteries Board, Mahapola Trust Fund, Colombo Stock Exchange, Sri Lankan Airlines, EPF, ETF and National Insurance Trust Fund under the foreign ministry. This is the first known incidence when subjects that don’t technically belong to the ministry in question is being re-assigned.
According to the gazette notification which is to be released this evening (Monday), some of the subjects allocated to the Finance will fall under the Foreign Ministry.
The long-awaited cabinet reshuffle has been held up over several months owing to Karunanayake’s refusal to quit despite demands from the political leadership. The former finance minister, whose record at home in handling the economy came in for severe criticism amidst allegations of corruption, was recently selected as Asia’s best finance minister by the UK Banker magazine.
The demand for subjects which he controlled earlier is similar to his spat with Public Enterprise Development Minister Kabir Hassim when subjects like Sri Lankan Insurance and Hilton Hotel came under Hassim’s purview leading to a refusal by the former finance minister to ask his nominees as directors to step down. (Bandula)
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