President appoints seven ministry secretaries

COLOMBO (News1st): President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed seven new ministry secretaries including a military official on Monday, amidst the country's battle against the coronavirus. Major General Sanjeewa Munasinghe was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Healthcare and Indigenous Medical Services. He is a Consultant Radiologist at the Army Hospital and also the Director-General of the Army Health Services. The newly appointed health secretary had once served as the President of the Sri Lanka College of Military Medicine and was once the Colonel Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps. A.K.S Perera, a one-time major general was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development. He had previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Army and also as the Commander of the Central Security Force Headquarters. The retired major general had once served as director-general at the Army Headquarters. S.M. Mohommed has been appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights & Legal Reforms, according to the President’s Office. She had been serving as the secretary to the tourism ministry under the present administration. During the previous government, Mohommed served as the secretary to the Ministry of Postal Services & Muslim Religious Affairs. J. Ratnasiri was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils & Local Government. He was serving as the secretary to the justice ministry under the current government. Ratnasiri also served in the capacity of Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration under the previous government. Meanwhile, Siripala Hettiarachchi has been appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. He had been serving as the secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government under the present administration. Hettiarachchi has over 35 years of experience in different governmental organizations and has served in many positions including Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Defence for more than a decade. Among the other appointments was Neel Hapuhinna who was assigned as the Secretary to the Ministry of Women & Child Affairs and Social Security. Hapuhinna had been serving as the secretary to the agriculture ministry at the time of his new appointment. He is also a former Samurdhi Commissioner and the Former Director of Litro Gas Lanka. Bhadrani Jayawardena was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Internal Trade, Food Security and Consumer Welfare. She had been serving as the Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services at the time of her latest appointment.