Former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said that former president Mahinda Rajapaksa kept a mammoth staff of 1600 but did not run any ministries.

Speaking to media following a meeting with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Kumaratunga said that although Rajapaksa kept both Finance Ministry and Defence Ministry under him, his brothers actually ran them.

One brother handled the Finance Ministry while another handled the Defence Ministry, Kumaratunga said.

She also pointed out that she handled six ministries with a staff of 283.

Kumaratunga also said that the bad financial policies of the former government have done much harm to the country. She pointed out that foreign loans are usually obtained at less than 2 percent interest. However, on some occasions, the former regime took loans at interest rates as high as 9 percent, she said.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said that the government was trying to reduce the ill effects of such policies and move the country forward.