Sri Lanka: Prez Rajapaksa Inducts 8 Ministers Into Cabinet, No Finance Min Yet
No finance minister has been been appointed to help resolve the state of economic affairs in Sri Lanka.
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Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday, 23 May, appointed eight more ministers, expanding the cabinet further, amid a severe ongoing economic crisis in the country, as per news agency PTI.
The list of ministers includes Minister of Transportation and Highway and Mass Media Bandula Gunawardana, Minister of Industries Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda, Minister of Health and Water Supply Keheliya Rambukwella, Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Environment Naseer Ahamed, Minister of Irrigation, Sports and Youth Roshan Ranasinghe, and Minister of Buddhasasana, Religion and Culture Vidura Wickramanayaka.
All the appointed ministers are from the country's ruling political front Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and its allies, comprising Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP).
Thirteen cabinet ministers had been appointed on two previous occasions following the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister on 12 May.
The Sri Lanka Crisis
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya had declared a state of emergency in the country from 7 May onwards, giving security forces sweeping powers amid anti-government protests. The order was lifted on 21 May, nearly two weeks after it was enforced.
Sri Lanka has been going through an economic meltdown of a scale unseen since the country's financial crisis of 1948. Prices of essential commodities like rice, milk, and oil have skyrocketed, resulting in massive nationwide protests and political instability.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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