Sri Lankan President scraps 13 ministries

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has abolished 13 ministries ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections, officials said Thursday.

Kumaratunga’s office said in a statement Thursday that the move was aimed at saving money spent on the upkeep of the ministries, the political bosses of which she sacked last month as part of a power struggle. The ministries of science and technology and housing development were among the 13 non-cabinet rank portfolios that were being scrapped completely, the President’s office said. Officials said the move was aimed at further tightening her hold on the government ahead of the parliamentary election and preventing the prime minister’s party having any advantage of incumbency. —AFP

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