The government has got over the problem of appointing ministers and deputy ministers, but the problem it is grappling with now is appointing suitable heads for government corporations and institutions. This appears to be an even more complicated operation than the appointment of ministers. On the 8th Saturday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa went to Kandy to open two new buildings of the Sri Chandananda Buddhist Vihara which is affiliated to the Asgiriya Viharaya. The next day, he paid courtesy calls on the Malwatte and Asgiriya prelates. The Mahanayake of the Asgiriya chapter told the president that he must be more vigilant about our ambassadors overseas. He said that some ambassadors were very weak and that they did nothing for the country, and nothing was being done to counter the propaganda of the pro-Tiger elements in the west. When the president went to see the Malwatte Mahanayake, he told the president that re-instituting the Buddha Sasana Ministry was a good move. The president said that he has assigned a Kandyan to handle the ministry so that he could work closely with the prelates.

Last week, UNP stalwarts gathered in various places to discuss the proposed internal reforms in the party. The UNP had named a five member committee to look into the reforms. It comprised Joseph Michael Perera, John Amaratunga, Kabir Hashim, Wijedasa Rajapakse and Ronald Perera. Anybody could present their views to this committee. Ranil went before this committee on Friday May 7. He was accompanied by Tissa Attanayake. Ranil instructed the committee to collect all views, even those against him. He said that the committee should not be swayed by anyone’s influence. Later, he summoned a meeting of Attanayake, Sajith Premadasa, Kabir Hashim and Wijedasa Rajapakse at his Cambridge Place office. He told the assembled UNP stalwarts that the reforms committee will present their views to the working committee and that until such time, everybody should refrain from expressing their personal views to the press. Wickremesinghe also instructed Attanayake to inform all electoral organizers not to hold any balamandalaya meetings until the proposals of the reforms committee are put out.

Even though Wickremesinghe told Sajith not to express his personal views to the press, there was no dearth of such views on the matter in the press last week. Sajith told the press that all positions in the party should be filled by election. Ravi Karunanayake said that it was not necessary to elect people into such posts. Among those who expressed their personal views to the press last week were Premadasa, Karunanayake, Gayantha Karunatilleke, Lakshman Kiriella, Ranjith Maddumabandara and Buddhika Pathirana. On the 10th Wickremesinghe and his wife Maitri left for India. Before leaving, he instructed Attanayake to wait for the report of the reforms committee and to summon meetings of the parliamentary group and the working committee and that he would return for any such meeting but not to summon or hold any meetings before the report of the reforms committee is out. In the meantime, rumours began to float around that Wickremesinghe had gone to India to worship at various Devales.

While all this was happening, a certain group of people were engaged in an attempt to bring General Sarath Fonseka into the UNP and to make him the party leader. The crisis with regard to the appointment of an opposition leader for the Central Provincial Council had turned serious. The UNP members of the CPC were summoned to Colombo by Karu Jayasuriya and the head of the Local Government and Provincial Councils committee of the UNP Vajira Abeywardena. Karu explained to them that the post of CPC opposition leader had been given to the Nuwara Eliya district because not a single UNP MP had been elected from the district and it was to shore up the confidence of the voters in that district. The provincial councilors present said that this should have been explained to them earlier and that they were against arbitrary decisions imposed from above. Finally the PC members present agreed to the appointment of K.K.Piyadasa to the post of CPC opposition leader.

A meeting of UPFA party leaders was held on the 11th. The main matter under discussion were the proposed constitutional reforms. This meeting was attended by Maitripala Sirisena, Dinesh Gumawardena, Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and others. Weerawansa said that what was expected was wide ranging changes. He stated since terrorism had been defeated, separatist tendencies should not be allowed to raise their heads again and that such tendencies should be blocked through the constitution itself. He drew attention to what the TNA was doing and said that they should not be allowed to propagate separatist views again.

While in India, opposition leader Ranil wickremesinghe met the Indian Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna and discussed the political situation and the foreign policy of Sri Lanka. The Indian FM’s main concern was the resettlement of the displaced people in the north and east. He said that the opposition leader could render a great service by seeing whether this was being done expeditiously.

K.D.Lal Kantha said that the first duty that Higher Education Minister S.B.Dissanayake had performed had been to encourage the setting up of private universities. Dissanayake seems to regard the absence of private universities to be our biggest problem. But there are shortages of resources and qualified lecturers said Lal Kantha. Tilvin Silva said that the government was trying to destroy the national universities system and that they were trying to do the same to the health service as well.

Last week, JHU Secretary Omalpe Sobitha thero phoned Minister Champika Ranawaka and said that they would like to be informed about the scope of his new ministry. When the JHU central committee met last week, Ranawaka explained the scope of his ministry. After the explanation Sobitha thero said that Ranawaka was an electrical engineer and that he knew the subject. After this the discussion turned to the use of alternative means to generate electricity.

In the meantime Karu Jayasuriya and Jayalath Jayawardena visited the Mihintale Rajamaha Viharaya in Anuradhapura. The purpose of the trip was to examine the damage to the Mihintale Chaitya which had been struck by lightening. The Viharadhipathi said that even though there were people in the government who should look into this, only they of the UNP had been thoughtful enough to come and see the damage for themselves. He said that the prime minister had come to Anuradhapura and visited all other places but had not come to the Mihintale. Karu and Jayawardena pledged to inform the government of the damage and to get them to effect the necessary repairs.

By last week all ministers had assumed duties. What we saw thereafter was the assumption of duties by heads of institutions. Basil Rajapaksa’s ministry brings together many institutions dealing with economic development. The highest executive officer is the ministry secretary and below him are four directors general handling various subjects. The former Chairman of the National Youth services Council, Senanka Gunaratne, had been appointed to the development division. The Director General in charge of the rural economy is Dr Dhamma Dissanayake. Dr Sunanda Madduma Bandara has been appointed as the DG Communications, and Dr Pathiraja as the DG Wildlife. In the meantime, Dr Charitha Herath has been appointed as the Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority. Dr Jagatha Wellawatte has been appointed as the Chairman of the State Mortgage and Investment Bank.

The UNP reforms committee has been finalizing their report. Some UNP stalwarts had been insisting that the reforms committee should come up with a proposal for the removal of Wickremesinghe as party leader. Some seniors who had experience of previous reform committees said that what was being enacted now was nothing but a sham and that nothing will ultimately happen. Some party stalwarts were even threatening to go down to the grassroots and explain the need to have the party leader replaced.