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President asks P.B. Jayasundera to leave earlier than planned

03 Jan 2022

  • Letter of resignation had last day as 31 Jan.
  • Prez negotiates an early exit on 15 Jan.
  • Gamini Senarath to take over immediately afterwards
President’s Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera is set to leave his post on 15 January 2022, upon a request by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, despite his resignation letter stating that his last day in the post would be 31 January 2022, The Morning learnt. The early exit had been requested by the President to enable Dr. Jayasundera’s replacement, Gamini Senarath, the current Secretary to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, to take over immediately afterwards, well-placed sources told The Morning yesterday (3). Meanwhile, despite speculation that Dr. Jayasundera is likely to function as an Advisor to the President after he vacates the President’s Secretary post, The Morning learnt that he has expressed a reluctance to serve in an advisory capacity following his resignation from the post. Dr. Jayasundera submitted his resignation letter to the President Rajapaksa in late December and The Morning reported earlier that it was accepted by the President. The resignation followed continued conflicts between Dr. Jayasundera and the Cabinet of Ministers, with many ministers going on record stating that there are officials within the Government who wield greater power and influence than the ministers and who are responsible for the crisis facing Sri Lanka at present. Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa, in a programme on TV Derana in December, questioned Dr. Jayasundera’s capabilities. “Why was he not elected the President if he is so good at this job? He seems to be the one knowing everything about the US dollar crisis and the World Bank. If he is that smart, then why could he not predict and prepare for the crisis we are in now?” questioned Weerawansa. Dr. P.B. Jayasundera boasts a decades-long career in the state sector. He joined the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) as an Economist in 1974 and was later promoted to Senior Economist in the 1980s, following his postgraduate studies in the US. In 1990, he was seconded to the Treasury (Ministry of Finance) as Economic Advisor. In 1995, he was appointed as Director General of the Department of Fiscal Policy and Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance and from 1997 to 1999, he served as the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury. He served as Secretary to the Treasury and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance from 1999 to 2001. He then served as Chairman of the Public Enterprises Reform Commission, Senior Policy Advisor at Ernst & Young Sri Lanka, and as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Dr. Jayasundera was reappointed as Secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance in 2004. A past pupil of Maliyadeva College in Kurunegala, Dr. Jayasundera graduated from University of Sri Lanka in 1973 with a Bachelor in Economics degree. He also obtained a Master in Development Economics degree from Williams College in 1980 and a PhD in Economics from Boston University in 1984. Gamini Senarath is an experienced senior officer in the Sri Lanka administration service and was appointed as the Secretary to the Prime Minister in August 2020. He had served as the Additional Secretary and the Chief of Staff to the President during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Meanwhile, Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) Parliamentarian Tissa Attanayake yesterday claimed, in reference to Dr. Jayasundera’s resignation, that the Government is trying to “evade its failures by sending its secretaries home”. “When the Government’s failures surface, the Government cannot just ask secretaries to resign and escape from its responsibilities. The latest resignation is that of Dr. Jayasundera. Who made these appointments? If a certain individual is not suited for a role, then the person who made the appointment is also wrong. By appointing people who are not suitable for high positions in the Government, economic failure is made inevitable,” claimed Attanayake, while speaking to the media.


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