COLOMBO, April 18, 2022 (AFP/BSS) – Sri Lanka’s leader dropped two of his
brothers and a nephew from his cabinet Monday, following public anger over
the ruling family’s mismanagement of a crippling economic crisis and calls
for his resignation.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has presided over the island nation’s most
painful downturn in memory and his government is preparing for imminent
bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Dozens of lawmakers have turned against the administration and opposition
parties have rebuffed invitations to join a unity government from the
president, who insists he will remain in office to guide Sri Lanka through
the crisis.
Huge protests have nonetheless demanded Rajapaksa stand down, including tens
of thousands of people camped outside his seafront office for more than a
week.
The new cabinet retains Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya’s older
brother and the head of Sri Lanka’s ruling clan, while leaving out eldest
sibling Chamal and younger brother Basil, the former finance minister.
Mahinda’s eldest son Namal, who ran the sports ministry and had been touted
as a future leader before the crisis, was also dropped.
The 21-member cabinet is seven people fewer than its predecessor, which
resigned en masse two weeks ago in response to public outrage over nepotism
and corruption.
Ministers are entitled to several SUVs, a large contingent of bodyguards and
unlimited fuel, as well as state housing and entertainment allowances.
New finance minister Ali Sabry led a delegation to Washington over the
weekend to open talks with the International Monetary Fund from Tuesday,
officials said.
Sri Lanka is seeking three to four billion dollars from the IMF to overcome
its balance-of-payments crisis and boost depleted reserves.
Apart from the acute shortages, the country is also facing record inflation
and lengthy electricity blackouts, as the government has run out of foreign
currency to import fuel.
The government last week announced a default on Sri Lanka’s $51 billion
foreign debt and the Colombo Stock Exchange has suspended trading for the
week to prevent an anticipated market collapse.
Rajapaksa’s parliamentary majority has been thrown into question after former
allies deserted the ruling coalition.
The opposition has said it will attempt to topple the government through a
no-confidence vote in the coming weeks.
