Parliamentarian Weerakumara Dissanayake has been appointed the State Minister of Mahaweli Development.
Dissanayake, a member of the Joint Opposition, crossed over to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in the run up to the Local Government election.
He was initially a member of the National Freedom Front, led by Wimal Weerawansa.
Dissanayake is a new entrant into the group of MPs holding positions in the government.