President calls on New Ministers to work in Unison to take the Country Forward

President Maithripala Sirisena said the members of the new cabinet has a special responsibility as they belong to different political parties but working in unison to take the country forward in the backdrop of a new political culture.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Cabinet of Ministers at the Presidential Secretariat, he said he was confident that the newly appointed ministers have the intelligence, vision, capacity, commitment and experience to face challenges and work as a team to take the country forward to the satisfaction of the people.

President said as we rightly consider that Buddha did not even have sinful thoughts, the politicians must not only refrain from corruption, but also refrain from even thought of corruption.

Quoting Buddha that ‘happiness is the greatest wealth’, the President said some MPs may not be happy about the ministries they got, and those MPs who did not get portfolios also may not be happy. However there will be important responsibilities for them when the government appoint some MPs as heads of District Development Committees, Pradesheeya Development Committees and Parliamentary Working Committees, he said.

The President added that all the MPs will be provided with decentralized budget allocations for development work undertaken by them.

He said that a committee will be setup to ensure that suitable individuals are appointed to government institutions, and requested the ministers to send proposals to that committee for consideration.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the new government of President Maithripala Sirisena would fulfill the hopes and aspirations and asked al the ministers to extend fullest support and cooperation for the implementation of the policies of the government.