Gotabaya Rajapaksa has an issued a new gazette notification taking over several state institutions.

1.Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and Allied Institutions

2. Information and Communication Technology Agency and Allied Institutions

3. Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team

4. Colombo Port City Project

6. Sri Lanka Telecom and its Subsidiaries and Allied Institutions

7. All Information Technology Parks.

The institutions had previously operated with guidance and coordination at National Level for National Priorities but following the recent gazette have been brought under the Presidential Secretariat.

The purview of the state institutions under direct presidential control comes as the Defence Ministry and Internal Security, Home Affairs and Disaster management brought Thirty-Five institutions under its control in August. Alongside the recent gazette, this was a move to militarise the activities of the state and increase presidential influence.

Commenting on the increasing militarization of Sri Lanka’s economy and state, the Economist notes, that there is little reason to suspect that military men will “do a better job of running ports, reducing poverty or increasing crop yields”. The concern, they note, is accountability as, “the positions filled by officers have little civilian oversight”.

Read more from News Wire Lk and our earlier reporting.