Govt. jumps over reshuffle hurdle

 

In the process Wickremesinghe would have skillfully achieved some of the changes that he would have personally liked without getting the blame for it. It also provided him an opportunity to get his close confidante and one time cabinet minister Tilak Marapone back to the fold.

By Gamini Abeywardane

The week began with the long awaited and much speculated cabinet reshuffle becoming a political reality. Though there were changes in practically nine ministries, the most far reaching change among them was the exchange of finance and foreign portfolios between Ravi Karunanayake and Mangala Samaraweera.

This was a change much anticipated as that was one of the key demands of those who were agitating for a reshuffle and probably the whole idea of a revision would have been to effect that particular change. Despite much reluctance at the beginning, both ministers finally agreed to the change and that was a major win for the government as the prolonged issue could have developed into a political crisis, a situation which a government embroiled in many issues could ill afford to face.

It was more than face saving for President Maithripala Sirisena as he had been under pressure for quite some time while the real difficulty was that he had to agree with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for any change. His arch rivals in the Joint Opposition who are challenging his leadership of the SLFP would have been the happiest if he could not reshuffle the cabinet which he technically heads. Thus, for President Sirisena it was an opportunity to reassert his position as the executive president.

On one hand it is a consensus government and avoiding major disagreements is essential for its continuance, particularly because the initial two year agreement reached between the two parties will be up for renewal by August this year. On the other hand lack of such agreement would have developed into a constitutional crisis brining the whole idea of consensus government into question.

For Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe it would certainly have been the end of a long headache. There was opposition for a change from some of the strong sections of his party, while some of the backbenchers were asking for bigger responsibilities and more opportunities for them to work for the people. Since it was President Sirisena who insisted on the reshuffle Wickremesinghe could escape from much of the blame that would have come from his own party men who were not happy with the change.

In the process Wickremesinghe would have skillfully achieved some of the changes that he would have personally liked without getting the blame for it. It also provided him an opportunity to get his close confidante and one time cabinet minister Tilak Marapone back to the fold.

Some of the young and up-and-coming MPs who had worked hard to bring this government into power made rather hard hitting public statements expressing dissatisfaction over positions that they currently hold. Their cries would have been in expectation of some favourable changes through the impending reshuffle and the outcome was such that they will have to remain unhappy.

Overall, the very fact that the reshuffle happened as expected augurs well for the government as it averted a situation of uncertainty, although the critics, mainly from the Joint opposition, have belittled it as a cosmetic change to hoodwink the people.

The long delay and the difficulty of the reshuffle was ample proof of the problems that could arise in a government run by two political parties. However, at the same time the ability of the two parties to resolve the issues amicably is also the proof that two parties can work together in a government. This is a good political lesson for the country which is trying out a consensus government for the first time in its history.

This experience can be quite useful in the current constitutional debate since the idea of consensus government has been discussed as an effective way of resolving some of the inherent issues in a multi-racial country. With this success, now they could develop the consensus system into a more viable option.

Impact of the change

Despite reservations on some aspects of the reshuffle, the major changes in the cabinet particularly that of the finance portfolio has been well received in most quarters and that will place the government on a stronger footing in the face of three provincial council elections that are likely to be held any time after September.

Meanwhile, the reshuffle has also led to a new issue with reports to the effect that former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake has asked that some of the institutions like National Lotteries Board, SriLankan Airline and Mahapola Scholarships Fund be placed under his new ministry.

To make things even more complicated, there was also a media story to the effect that a similar request has been made by former media minister Gayantha Karunathilaka that Government Printing Department, National Film Corporation and State Printing Corporation be placed under his new ministry. However, Karunathilaka has subsequently denied it leading to the suspicion whether the story was planted by some interested parties aiming to put a stop to the ridiculous idea of dragging institutions out of the relevant ministries when the ministers change.

In every organized democracy cabinet ministers are allocated their subjects according to some rational basis. There are established norms in deciding the institutions coming under various ministries and the foremost consideration should be what is good for the country and not the preferences of individual ministers.

Whether such requests are accommodated or not will be seen only when the names of the institutions coming under these new ministries are gazetted and thus the very process of gazetting could be delayed by a few weeks due to this controversy. However, since the relevant ministers have already assumed duties it will be too late for them to kick up a row even if the additional institutions are not gazzetted under their portfolios.

New opportunities

Then the reshuffle has also given some new opportunities to remove some of the obstacles placed on the development plan of the government. It is well known that Port Minister Arjuna Ranatunga was opposed to certain clauses in the agreements that are to be signed with China in the Hambantota port development project.

Ranatunga’s hardline position on this issue had delayed signing of this agreement which is a priority in the economic agenda of the government. The new Port Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe being more flexible is likely to be helpful for the government to resolve this issue more diplomatically.

There is a similar situation in petroleum ministry as well. The proposed development of the Trincomallee oil tank farm with India is another project that could have controversial aspects and now the new Petroleum Minister Ranatunga could perhaps face a similar issue. But this time it’s going to be with India with whom he has better relations and the whole thing will depend on the terms of the agreement which are still not clear.

Another area where the reshuffle will have a direct impact is the Ministry of Public Enterprise Development coming under Minister Kabir Hashim. Hashim had issues with some of the directors and chairmen of state enterprises given to him for reform who had been earlier appointed by Finance Minister Karunanayake under the 100 day programme. Most of them, under Karunanayake’s instructions, refused to resign paving the way for Hashim’s nominees.

This controversy had stifled the reform of some of the state enterprises although a separate ministry has been created for the purpose. With Mangala Samaraweera as the finance minister there could be a change of scenario and that could expedite the reform process of the state enterprises.

Thus the cabinet reshuffle, though ridiculed by the critics as a mere eyewash, will place the government on a stronger wicket while also removing some of the obstacles placed on its path towards faster growth and development.

Read More

The most difficult cabinet reshuffle

  

By Gamini Abeywardane

Amidst international day of wesak, visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other priorities, the much awaited cabinet reshuffle seems to have got further postponed. The reshuffle idea has been in the air as an imminent possibility now for several months. Each time speculation has been that it would happen before the New Year or before wesak or after some important foreign visit by the President or the Prime Minister, but the reshuffle is yet to happen.

Cabinet reshuffles are a common feature in democracies, they happen in the mid-term of most governments when there is a need arising out of a new situation. But the question is why it has become so difficult in our country this time. The main reason appears to be the very nature of the government in power – the dual control of the government formed under the nineteenth amendment to the constitution.

Until the introduction of the nineteenth amendment, the 1978 constitution conferred all powers with regard to allocation of ministries and appointment and removal of ministers on the executive president. Whenever the political party to which the President belonged had the majority in parliament president enjoyed full powers with regard to appointment, dismissal or reshuffle of the cabinet. Even in the absence of the control of the parliament the president had substantial powers including the power to take over ministries.

The situation after the introduction of the nineteenth amendment is quite different as the president’s powers have been curtailed to some extent giving more weight to the parliament. The amendment also makes special provision enabling the two political parties that emerge as the first and second parties in terms of the number of seats they win at a parliamentary election, to join together to form a government of national unity as found presently.

Accordingly, the SLFP faction led by President Maithripala Sirisena contested elections with the UNP on a common agenda and upon winning elections they had to agree on the sharing of cabinet portfolios and the number of ministries etc. in order to form the government. Naturally when two political parties with different ideologies try to form a government there will be disagreements and differences. This was obvious when two parties formed the current government and as a result there were delays in even swearing in of the new cabinet.

However, as the parties had agreed on a common agenda and won the elections, despite ideological differences, initially there was less friction between them.  Also, they had to somehow agree on the power sharing arrangement in the cabinet as there was an urgency to form the government and take over the reins of power.

However, upon formation of the joint government when the two parties had to work together there has been obvious friction and that is probably the main reason behind the difficulty in agreeing on a cabinet reshuffle. The current delay in effecting the much talked about reshuffle has to be understood in this context – It’s as difficult as renegotiating a contract half way through a project.

However, as time goes on any government whether it is a single party government or a multi-party one, realignment of forces can become necessary. Naturally some of the cabinet ministers who have been comfortable with their areas of power will want to hold on to their portfolios and a reshuffle will be difficult or nearly impossible if it is to be done with consensus. 

On the other hand, if there is difficulty in continuing with the government without such realignment of ministerial functions, it is mandatory upon the two leaders President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to rise above these differences and come to some compromise in order to carry on with the promised national agenda under the government of good governance.

Then there is the issue about change of subjects assigned to each party. A major reshuffle will also involve change of subjects and there will be major disagreements when it comes to changing the subject areas given to each party. If one looks at the way these subjects were shared at the formation of the joint government, it is clear that subjects that are necessary to reform the economy have been assigned to the UNP thus giving more leeway for Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to personally get involved in economic development and planning.

President Sirisena, at least at that point, seems to have preferred to play more of a regulatory and monitoring role as the head of the cabinet while keeping for himself some of the pet subjects like environment and Mahaweli Development, in addition to the subject of national defence which constitutionally came under his own purview.   

Towards the second and third years, tension has developed between ministers of the UNP and the SLFP while allegations of corruption have been made against some of the key ministers from both sides necessitating some changes in the cabinet and this is the basis upon which a call for a major reshuffle has been made. President himself on several occasions has hinted that there would be some major changes in key positions.

Meanwhile, some of the key ministers whose portfolios were at stake have done everything within their power to avert any major reshuffle. Another story that has been in the political currency during the last few weeks is that there will be some board level changes in about fifteen key state institutions. Question remains whether such changes could be effected without changing the ministers because technically it is the respective ministers who have the authority to appoint or remove the directorates of the institutions coming under their ministries.

There were also reports that the UNP has made it clear to the President that they do not want any changes in the ministries which are currently under them. If that position is upheld changes, if any, will have to be made only in the portfolios held by the SLFP and such a limited change will be far below the kind of reshuffle that has been anticipated while it will also not satisfy the demands of those who have been clamouring for such a reshuffle.

All in all, indications are that sooner or later there will be some changes, but the nature and the extent of such a reshuffle is something that is difficult to predict right now. The other question is whether the current political landscape with a clear division within the SLFP is conducive for such a major shakeup in the government. This is more so because of the almost inevitable provincial council elections – elections in North Central, Eastern and Sabaragamuwa provinces that are much likely to take place after September this year.

        

 

Read More