Juggling Cabinet portfolios
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Sometime ago there was a discussion on the scientific basis of creating ministries. I was reminded of this on Thursday morning when some issues pertaining to the selection of ministries troubled me.At the same time I received a call from ‘Koththamalli’ Fernando, the Kokatath Thailaya (oil for many ailments) expert who has a remedy for any issue. It seems we were both on the same page – wanting to discuss the problem with ministries being lumped together without any basis.
Correction: The problem was not ministries being lumped together because in many cases, they appeared to be the right fit. The problem was about some ministries handling two or three heavy subjects when they should be handled separately, given the importance of the topic.
“Sometimes our ministers seem to be either making the wrong statements, maybe because they are not experienced or familiar with the topic,” said Koththamalli. “Most of the ministers have little experience in managing their ministries. Given their inexperience, and particularly when handling questions in Parliament, a crash course on these issues with expert opinion would have been useful before they ventured into the ‘unknown’,” I said.
“There was an unfortunate case where a minister was unable to express himself properly (maybe the language was a problem), during an overseas panel discussion,” he said. “In fairness to the present administration, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed the smallest-ever Cabinet with 24 ministries compared to the average 30+ in the past, in an effort to reduce costs. However, this might not be effective or efficient,” I said.
So how do you balance costs with a proper and effective distribution of ministries? While cutting costs is the hallmark of the government, the effectiveness of such measures and meeting their targets are also important measurements. Previous governments were also guilty of this malady with one example being Minister Harin Fernando in Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Cabinet of July 2022. Fernando handled tourism, lands, sports and youth affairs!
One of the biggest challenges today is in the portfolios handled by Minister Vijitha Herath – foreign affairs, tourism and foreign employment; three heavy subjects hitherto and often handled by individual ministers in previous governments. While foreign affairs requires the attention of one single minister, the same could be said of tourism and foreign employment given their prominence in the Sri Lankan economy.
Among the challenges in tourism is getting the long-delayed nation branding campaign which has eluded Sri Lanka for more than a decade, on track. Would this be because the minister’s preoccupation with foreign affairs and lack of attention to tourism is delaying the campaign? Maybe, maybe not! Then the controversy over tourism authorities endorsing LGBTQ visitors, which the authorities painfully sought to explain, may have also been due to the minister’s inattentiveness to the subject.
While Minister Herath has been making statements or meeting dignitaries in the arena of foreign affairs (in fact keeping his hands full), little is being said about tourism or foreign employment. These two subjects have a major role to play in foreign exchange earnings and the trickle-down financial benefit to communities.
Consider this: If you add a family of four (applying the trickle-down benefits theory) to the number of tourists (more than 2 million annually), then this would be eight million beneficiaries from tourism, almost 1/3rd of the population.
Tourist arrivals from January to October 2025 totalled 1.9 million, up 16.7 per cent from 1.6 million in the same 2024 period. Foreign earnings from this sector was US$2.5 billion from January to September 2025, up 5 per cent from $2.3 billion in the same 2024 period.
Frustration over the absence of a tourism campaign has prompted the hotel-owning private sector to chart its own digital promotion campaign. Another issue is whether it is ethical for the administration to use the tourism levy imposed on each traveller for infrastructure purposes instead of promotion benefitting the trade? In the 2026 budget, Rs. 3.5 billion of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority funds have been set aside for a tourism destination development project that focuses on nature and highlights historical heritage.
In foreign employment, according to official data, the number of Sri Lankans migrant workers going abroad for work was more than 300,000 in 2024, the second time in the past decade that such numbers have been recorded, with the earlier record being 310,948 workers in 2022.
Worker remittances totalled $6.5 billion January-October 2025, up 20 per cent from $5.4 billion in the same 2024 months – another heavy topic which requires the attention of a single minister. The rationale of the government is to lump ministries together and have a strong second-tier (deputy ministers handling these subjects). This theory is being applied to foreign affairs, tourism, foreign employment and labour.
Then consider Dr. Anil Jayantha’s portfolio. He is the Minister of Labour and also Deputy Minister of Economic Development. One would have thought he would have his hands full in dealing with labour but he has been preoccupied with economic development (the President is handling this Cabinet portfolio) particularly in view of the IMF stake in the economy.
Rarely has Dr. Jayantha spoken on labour issues particularly at a time when the government is discussing a proposed new Employment Act which requires the Minister’s undivided attention. Labour issues in the plantations and now the new wage hike also require the Labour Minister’s attention.
It would make sense to bring foreign employment into the labour portfolio as they both deal with labour and employment.
Well, time for my second mug of tea. Walking to the kitchen I overhear the trio under the margosa tree at their weekly gathering for some juicy gossip. But I am in for a disappointment: Their discussion today was on mundane matters and unimportant to reflect on or use in a column piece.
In selecting a Cabinet, the administrators are guided by political interests, economic needs, policy requirements and community representation. A scientific basis for the selection should also be considered to ensure the Cabinet caters to the needs and aspirations of the people they are expected to serve.
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