Basil Rajapaksa, the youngest of the Rajapaksa siblings, was sworn in as Sri Lanka's Finance Minister on Thursday, marking the further consolidation of the family's power within the government. Basil, 70, became the fourth Rajapaksa brother after President Gotabaya, Prime Minister Mahinda, Agricultural Minister Chamal to enter the Cabinet. With the entry of Basil in the Cabinet, there are as many as 7 family members in the top echelons of the government.
The Finance Ministry until Thursday morning was under Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mahinda has now been given a new portfolio of economic policy and plan implementation. Namal, the elder son of Mahinda, is the Cabinet minister of sports, while Shasheendra the son of Chamal is a state minister. Nipuna Ranawaka, a government backbencher is the nephew of the big four. Basil was seen as the livewire and the intellectual pillar in the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration between 2010 and 2015.
A dual citizen of the US and Sri Lanka, Basil headed all key task forces from economic management to environment under the current administration of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Basil, who did not contest the last parliamentary election in August 2020, entered parliament through the national list of elected parliamentarians. A ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP or Sri Lanka People's Front) national list MP resigned this week to make way for Basil to enter parliament.
Only the members of parliament are eligible to become ministers. The ruling SLPP believes that Basil's entry as a key political strategist would revive the government's fortunes amidst the pandemic.
The government of late has come under the hammer for sluggish economic performance, rapidly dwindling foreign reserves, a huge external debt portfolio and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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