A ‘Blueprint for a Rational Government in Sri Lanka‘, created by Verité Research and Manthri.lk, seeks to implement the recommendations from the White Paper on “A Rational Method for Cabinet Formation in Sri Lanka“, published in 2020. It lists down the duties and functions, institutions and acts to be implemented under the 15 ministries proposed in the annexures of the White Paper, following revisions that were supported by extensive expert consultation.
This document is the blueprint by which governments can solve 3 key issues relating to irrational cabinet formation:
1. Misalignment of subjects
Unrelated subjects being grouped together under one ministry.
2. Fragmentation of subjects
Related subjects being split across different ministries.
3. Not having a fixed structure for ministries and their institutions
Ministry purviews often change alongside ministerial appointments and shuffles, resulting in institutions shifting from ministry to ministry.
The document takes on the form of an extraordinary gazette, and serves as a starting point for a more effectively and efficiently structured form of government.