State and Deputy Ministers to be sworn in on Tuesday

The new State Ministers and Deputy Ministers of the National Government are to be sown in on Tuesday (8), along with 5 more Cabinet Ministers, sources said.

A total of 45 State Ministers and Deputy Ministers are expected to take oaths while 27 of them will be from the United National Party (UNP). The remainder will comprise of SLFP Parliamentarians.

A 42-member cabinet was sworn in on Friday, sixteen days after results of the August parliamentary poll were declared.

Foreign Minister Managala Samaraweera was sworn in soon after the election and before the visit of a top level US delegation last month.

Five more Cabinet members are expected to be appointed as the government this week obtained parliamentary approval for a 48-member Cabinet.

Four of the ministerial portfolios are expected to go to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the other to the UNP.

Meanwhile the portfolios of the of the New Cabinet is to be gazetted within next week, according to sources.

This will be done after the names of the new cabinet ministers are gazetted.

The Government Printer will receive the list of names today or tomorrow, a spokesman said.