History
The corruption in Sri Lanka has historical roots to the days of the
independence. Successive governments had disregarded this trend for
their own survival and prosperity. Currently, corruption had
infiltrated into every branch of Sri Lankan society and unfortunately,
corruption and manipulation of the system had become a norm. If
analyzed retrospectively, many of the present day ills can be linked
back to corruption. For an example, the conduct of corrupt police and
political officials back in 1983 resulted and abetted the three
decades lasting terrorism cancer. The corruption that existed in the
military during nineties was a major impediment to the military
victory. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, the present military leadership
expurgated corruption from all branches of military. This was a major
factor in winning the war. However, abysmal corruption in all other
structures including politics, police and public service continues
unabated.
Potential and Dangers
Sri Lanka has a great potential for economic development. Here is a
country with a high literacy rate and well-established infrastructure
struggling to develop itself for the last fifty years! Some political
analysts may source this to the terrorism and ethnic conflict but an
in-dept analysis of history will clearly illustrate the fact that war
and terrorism is not the source but another by product of corruption.
Currently, Sri lankans rejoice at the end of the war, however, unless
the current extreme levels of corruption is reduced, it will be a
matter of time till Sri Lanka will confront another national tragedy.
Developed countries
Some argue that corruption exists even in developed nations. This
argument is somewhat valid yet very much misleading. Although there
are isolated cases of corruption, most develop countries lacked a
systematic and established forms of corruption like what one sees in
Sri Lanka. The corruption in Sri Lanka is multi-layered. The
institutionalized politicization of law enforcement agencies also
contributed for the perpetuation of the corruption menace in Sri
Lanka. The ruling executive regime has the clear control of the police
force thus any independent investigations become unfeasible. With the
non-existent law enforcement system of checks and balances of ruling
regime, higher level corruption thrive perpetuating and nourishing a
grand circle of corruption in the country,
Reforms
Establishment of an independent police commission is one of most vital
steps in eradicating corruption in Sri Lanka. Once an independent
police commission is established, proper investigations can be done
irrespectively of political interference. This will also be the basic
infrastructure in re-establishing democracy and good-governance in Sri
Lanka.
Udara Soysa is an author, a journalist, an editor and a commentator on
Comparative Politics, International Relations and Economics. He is a
graduate of Oglethorpe University and currently resides in Atlanta,
Georgia, United States.
