DailyMirror.lk:
Sixty ministers and 31 deputy ministers were sworn in by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the presidential secretariat yesterday.
Among the cabinet ministers were 16 newcomers.
The president also appointed 10 senior ministers selected from senior members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and other parties in the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
The senior ministers sworn in were Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, Ratnasiri Wickremenayake, D.E.W. Gunasekara, Athauda Seneviratne, P.Dayaratne, A.H.M. Fowzie, S.B. Navinna, Piyasena Gamage, Tisssa Vitharana and Sarath Amunugama.
Be servants of the people
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a brief address to his new cabinet of ministers and their deputies asked them not to let their ministerial posts go to their heads and not to behave like members of an elite class as their prime responsibility and commitment should be to serve the people who elected them to parliament.
“Please don’t think that you have been given these high posts to travel in a fleet of limousines sandwiched between security convoys. The people will detest these pompous acts if you take advantage of those unnecessary and expensive perks paid for from public funds. This government will not entertain lotus eaters,” President Rajapaksa said.
He said ministers must refrain from criticizing their predecessors when they take up duties; as such an attitude would not augur well for themselves and the government.
He said a number of senior ministers have been appointed to advice the government and now that permanent peace and stability has been restored it was the duty of all to work in the next five years to achieve the development goals envisaged by the government.
President told the ministers to be careful when they make statements as the entire country was watching them keenly and expected them to deliver.
“This is not an easy task. The government has no excuses for failures and no room for complacency. All ministers, deputies and government MPs must work tirelessly to fulfill the expectations of the people. I firmly believe that we can do that if we work with commitment, dedication and love for the people,” the president said.
