Sri Lanka leader trims Cabinet of relatives

[COLOMBO] 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 (IMF).

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.

After weeks of defiance, the president said he is open to changes in the nation’s Constitution to appease protesters calling for his ouster, likely setting the stage for curbing the executive’s sweeping powers as the nation’s deepening economic crisis has boiled over into political turmoil.

“To take the economy on a right direction, to meet the expectations of the younger generation is the duty of the government,” the president said at a ceremony swearing in new cabinet members on Monday, adding that while “respecting the supreme Constitution” he was ready “if necessary to make changes in the future, and save the country from the economic crisis.”

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. The island nation is seeking US$3 billion to US$4 billion from the IMF to overcome its balance-of-payments crisis and boost depleted reserves.

In his comments, President Rajapaksa acknowledged his government shouldn’t have delayed seeking an IMF bailout and forced farmers in the island nation to switch to organic farming with little notice as the administration saved dollars by stopping the import of chemical fertiliser.

“We should have gone to an IMF programme earlier,” he told lawmakers, according to a copy of his speech. “I think it was a wrong decision to not give chemical fertiliser to farmers.”

Rajapaksa’s latest comments mark a softening in his defiant stand. Last week, he had called for “unity and better understanding” from citizens while greeting them for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. 

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 US$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.

AFP, BLOOMBERG