Transparency International on Sri Lanka

 

Sri Lanka  continues to see huge protests against the ruling government and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa this week. The country is experiencing severe economic and political troubles, spurred by an acute shortage of foreign currency reserves for essential imports. As a result, people have been facing food and fuel shortages and power cuts that last up to 13 hours a day.       “… The current situation in the country has been caused by decades of misuse and mismanagement of public resources on a large scale, systemic corruption coupled with kleptocracy, and an overall lack of transparency and accountability in both governance as well as in the public service sector.” Transparency International Sri Lanka The blame for this crisis seems to rest squarely on the members and political allies of the Rajapaksa family – powerful figures in the upper echelons of Sri Lankan politics. And people in Sri Lanka are not hiding their outrage. So much so that the government imposed a nationwide curfew and a social media ban last weekend to deter protesters. Armed forces and violence met those who still took to the streets to demand that the President step down – which did little to calm the public outcry.   This is far from the first time that Rajapaksa and his clan are in hot water for corruption. Just last year, the Pandora Papers investigation reported that former Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband allegedly used anonymous companies to hide money around the world. Transparency International Sri Lanka filed a complaint with the Bribery Commission, requesting an investigation into their unexplained wealth.  Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (right) and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Image: Ruwan Walpola / Shutterstock. All across South Asia, populist politicians use frustrations about corruption to rise to power and then continue abuses themselves. What’s clear from the widespread protests in Sri Lanka is that people have had enough.  The Rajapaksas’ case proves once again that what regular people lose in public resources, the corrupt will gain in private funds. Anonymous companies and other loopholes in the global financial system make it easier to hide these ill-gotten gains and maintain their grip on power. It’s just such loopholes that we are trying to close through our campaign against kleptocrats. The attack on Ukraine has made wealthy Russians our first target but the measures we're asking for will impede all those who seek to abuse the financial system, no matter where they are or where they come from.   Today, accountability for Russia’s corrupt – tomorrow, taking down kleptocrats everywhere.   What do you think? Let us know @anticorruption.