The duties, functions, departments and statutory institutions that fall under the newly assigned ministries were gazetted in an Extraordinary Gazette last Friday, affirming earlier reports but there were a few surprises as well.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ravi Karunanayake has been entrusted with National Lotteries Board and Development Lotteries Board while Minister of Mass Media and Finance, Mangala Samaraweera has been entrusted with the duties and functions of providing information and publicity material to Sri Lankan Missions abroad. This function of the publicity division of the foreign ministry will now come under a director general.
According to the Gazette notification, the Department of Government Printing, National Film Corporation and State Printing Corporations are under the Minister of Public Administration and Management under Minister Vajira Abeywardena.
However, the functions and scope of these institutions are listed under the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media, Minister Mangala Samaraweera. The Ministry of Development Assignments headed by Minister Tilak Marapana has been entrusted with the Department of Project Management and Monitoring, Employees’ Trust Fund and Academy of Financial Studies (Miloda).Eight institutions including
the Lands Department, Land Reform Commission, Department of Land Settlement, Survey Department, Institute of Surveying and Mapping, Land Survey Council, Department of Land Use Policy Planning and Kantale Sugar Company are mandated with
the Minister of Land and Parliamentary Reforms, Gayantha Karunathilake.