Transparency
International: Sri Lanka: Saturday, August 31, 2019.
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| The Sri Lankan Parliament Building in Colombo |
Earlier
this year marked a historic moment in Sri Lanka as five members of parliament
(MPs) from across party lines came together to take a significant leap forward
to improve the transparency and accountability of elected representatives.
At
a press conference convened by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TI-SL),
the five MPs released their declarations of assets and liabilities for
2017–2018, making this information public for the first time and becoming the
first elected representatives in the country’s history to do so.
A
secrecy provision in existing law
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The five MP’s taking a step towards transparency:
Hon. Tharaka Balasuriya, Hon. M.A. Sumanthiran,
Hon.Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Hon.Eran Wickramaratne
and Hon. Vidura Wickramanayake
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TI-SL
has been a long-standing advocate for the public disclosure of asset
declarations of elected representatives, primarily because this information is
an invaluable tool in the fight against corruption. This is especially true
given the political backdrop of corruption allegations around wealth
accumulation of government officials.
Whilst
all members of parliament in Sri Lanka are required to submit their declaration
of assets and liabilities to the competent authority annually, the existing law
does not provide for public dissemination.
In
fact, although any member of the public may procure a copy of an MP’s asset
declaration for a fee, the law prevents the sharing of this information more
widely, with up to two years imprisonment for offenders.
For
four years, TI-SL worked to challenge this secrecy provision and change the
status quo. Our goal was to advocate for increased public scrutiny of elected
representatives to help curb corruption.
Right
to information (RTI)
The
enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2016 (PDF) was a critical
and necessary first step towards public disclosure of MP asset declarations.
The
provision placing the RTI Act above all other written law preceding it, meant
that if asset declarations could be obtained through RTI applications, the
secrecy provision under the existing law (PDF) would be rendered null and void.
As
such, when the RTI Act came into force in February 2017, TI-SL filed RTI
applications with the Presidential Secretariat and Prime Minister’s office,
seeking copies of the asset declarations of the country’s apex political
leaders.
A
pivotal decision
Despite
the new RTI Act and stated commitment of the political leadership, the Sri
Lankan government initially refused the RTI requests to release the President
and Prime Minister’s asset declarations to the public.
After
a long, drawn out appeals process the newly established RTI Commission issued
an order directing the Presidential Secretariat to release the asset
declaration of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
In
addition, the RTI Commission encouraged President Maithripala Sirisena to make
his own asset declaration public, noting that whilst the law does not require
it, there is a growing trend for Presidents worldwide to do so to improve
transparency.
Advocating
for change
Immediately
following the RTI Commission’s decision, TI-SL stepped up its advocacy campaign
to encourage MPs to follow suit.
Using
social media and traditional media, we created a public awareness campaign for
International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December 2018 to highlight the issue. As
a result, several MPs expressed their willingness to disclose their asset
declarations to the public and work across party lines to put accountability
before partisan politics.
On
28 February 2019, a group of five MPs comprising a state minister, two senior
opposition members, a leader of a minority party and a first term
parliamentarian took a stand for transparency and accountability. Instead of
scoring partisan political points, this group worked together towards changing
political culture for the better.
A
way forward
Since
February, five more MPs have submitted their asset declarations to TI-SL for
public disclosure and we will continue to advocate for more MPs to do the same
in the coming months. Our goal is to publish at least 25 per cent of all MPs
asset declarations before the next general election in 2020.
Through
TI-SL advocacy, asset declarations are also included in the second national
action plan under Sri Lanka’s commitments to the Open Government Partnership
(OGP). One of the specific commitments involves the establishment of an online
asset declaration system to ease submission, verification and public access.
Together
with greater transparency of MP assets and an organised system for
verification, we can help strengthen accountability and empower Sri Lankan
citizens to hold their elected representatives accountable.
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