Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe said He will re-appoint two ministers who resigned last year when the country saw thousands of people demanding a change of the government as his administration sees rising protests against tax and electricity tariff hikes.

Pavithra Wanniarachi has been appointed as the minister for wildlife and forest resources conservation.

WaNnniarachi was a close ally of ousted Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. She was one of the few members who met Chen Zhou Vice Minister of China’s Communist Party (CPC) in the Podujana Party delegation last week.

Jeevan Thondaman is the minister for water supply and estate infrastructure development.