A plethora of functions that were previously under the purview of Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi have been reassigned to different Ministers leaving her with a small number of duties such as the submission of Cabinet papers.
With the appointment of Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle as the new State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemiology and Coronavirus Disease Control by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday (30), all relevant subjects pertaining to the control of COVID-19 have been assigned to Fernandopulle.
President Rajapaksa had already assigned a significant number of institutions that were previously under the Health Minister's portfolio to Prof. Channa Jayasumana, the State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals.
With her scope being limited periodically, she has been left with only a few institutions.
A senior leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), she played a key role as a member of the Joint Opposition during the previous administration.
Minister Wanniarachchi is considered to be a 'Mahinda loyalist' and her husband, former Provincial Council Minister Kanchana, is considered to a hardcore supporter of Basil Rajapaksa.
