Apr 18, Kathmandu- Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa became the only member of the family to retain a Cabinet position in his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa's new Cabinet of 17 ministers appointed on Monday, as the island nation was facing the worst economic crisis.

The new Ministers have been appointed with the aim to ensure the smooth functioning of the administration. They were sworn in at the President's house.

This is the third Cabinet reshuffle carried out by President Rajapaksa. While the new Cabinet consists of eight former Ministers, it will have a number of new faces, Colombo Page reported.

 The entire cabinet of 26 Ministers except for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from their respective portfolios amidst the worst economic crisis in the island's history on April 3.

On the next day, President Rajapaksa appointed four Ministers to maintain the legitimacy and stability of Parliament and other functions of the country. 

The island nation is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices, and power cuts affecting a large number of the people, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation.

Sri Lanka's economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the crash of the tourism sector. Sri Lanka is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has affected its capacity to import food and fuel.

The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries. The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of PM  Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Earlier, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa in a special address to the nation had requested people to remain patient and stop taking to the streets in order to enable the government to resolve the situation.

See the full list of new ministers below:

1. Dinesh Gunawardena – Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government

2. Douglas Devananda – Minister of Fisheries
3. Dr. Ramesh Pathirana – Minister of Education and Plantation Industries
4. Prasanna Ranatunga – Minister of Public Security and Tourism
5. Dilum Amunugama – Minister of Transport and Industries
6.Kanaka Herath – Minister of Highways
7. Vidura Vickramanayake – Minister of Labour
8. Janaka Wakkumbura - Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation
9. Shehan Semasinghe – Minister of Trade and Samurdhi Development
10. Mohan Priyadarshana de Silva – Minister of Water Supplies
11. Wimalaweera Dissanayake – Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation
12. Kanchana Wijesekara – Minister of Power and Energy
13. Thenuka Vidanagamage – Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs
14. Dr. Nalaka Godahewa – Minister of Mass Media
15.16.Prof. Channa Jayasumana – Minister of Health
16. Naseer Ahamed – Minister of Environment
17.Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon – Minister of Ports and Shipping