Madduma Bandara’s statement null and void, claims Rambukwella

• Says Public Service should work according to Gazettes issued 
• Samarasinghe says the letter act of sabotage
• Says Govt. will continue all development programs  

Ridiculing the statements issued by Ranjith Madduma Bandara as the Minister of Public Administration & Management and Law in Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Government, Cabinet Spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella said that the letter does not carry any weight. 

“It is not worth the paper it is written on,” he said, speaking at the Cabinet Decisions media briefing. 

“He should not have made such a statement through the use of an official Ministry letter head. President Sirisena has full authority over the removal and appointment of Ministerial Secretaries; therefore, Madduma Bandara’s statement is null and void. It does not carry any weight,” he insisted.

Rambukwella, Cabinet Co-Spokesperson and State Minister of Media and Information as appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena after the arbitrary removal of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his Cabinet, noted that the Parliamentarian may have been coerced to send the letter.  

But the State Minister expressed confidence in the Public Service to identify the legality of it. “They will not heed the empty words of a former Minister.”

Cabinet Co-Spokesperson Mahinda Samarasinghe, however, requested the Wickremesinghe camp to refrain from making such statements with the intention of sabotaging the public sector work. Calling the move sabotage, Samarasinghe insisted that all appointments after 26 October had been done within the parameters of the legal framework. “Even the Parliament staff has agreed to follow the Gazettes issued by the President, despite these threats,” he noted, referring to a statement made by the Secretary General of Parliament that the Government servants are bound by Gazette notifications issued by the President.  

Refuting allegations that the country’s administration is at jeopardy, as there are no Ministers for 13 key subjects, Rambukwella said that the administrative systems in place in the Ministries will ensure that the institutions are run smoothly. 

“We have time till 14 (November) to appoint all our Cabinet Ministers,” he said, adding that the Secretaries are managing the Ministries. “There are already 19 Cabinet Ministries and 10 State Ministers and 9 Deputy Ministers appointed, Secretaries are managing the Ministries; if a senior Secretary cannot manage that for two weeks the official is not fit to hold office,” he said.  

The Government will also continue all programs launched by the UNP-led Government, Samarasinghe assured, but will revisit the programs to ensure there is no politicisation of the process. 

“There were loopholes in some of the programs. President has always said that there shouldn’t be political involvement in giving jobs to the graduates, so we can’t always carry out as it is. We will carry it out after examining everything, Gamperaliya we are committed to carry out, there were issues in giving loans to entrepreneurs, so we will now ensure there are no issues and continue,” he said.