‘I have told everybody except the Queen of England!’

Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera, president of the Public Service United Nurses Union, said that he has asked the President, Prime Minister and the Health Minister to appoint a new Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) immediately as the country is confronted with a grave health emergency.

“I have already told everybody in the higher echelons of power, and there’s no one else left to appeal to except the Queen of England”, he said.

“They are deliberately suppressing the DGHS position because they are not in favor of appointing the next-in-line, Dr. Amal Harsha De Silva, the senior-most medical administrator, who has proven his mettle as a hard taskmaster”, the prelate told The Sunday Island.

He said that it was Dr. De Silva who promptly arranged 400 beds at the Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital when the fresh Brandix garment factory cluster emerged.

“There are ‘weda beri udawiya’ (incompetent people) who are opposing his appointment as the DGHS”, Ven. Ananda thera said.

The Health Minister is unhappy over the developments, but she’s helpless as the power play is beyond her, the Chief Incumbent of the Abhayaramaya asserted.