COLOMBO: Sri Lanka´s leftist president marked the anniversary of independence from Britain on Tuesday with a pledge to change the impoverished island nation´s image as a “corrupt” country.
Self-avowed Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake dispensed with the usual elaborate military pageantry of jet flyovers and horse parades to mark the 1948 handover of power.
His government instead staged a scaled-down military march in keeping with his pledge to pare lavish spending on government officialdom.
“We are committed to transforming Sri Lanka´s global image from a country known for corrupt governance,” he said in a message to the nation.
“Despite countless obstacles and the deep-rooted flaws of the past corrupt political system, the people´s government, built by the collective will of the citizens, is steadily progressing forward.”
Dissanayake´s government concluded a long-delayed debt restructuring with both bilateral and private creditors late last year, ending Sri Lanka´s status as a bankrupt nation.
Sri Lanka had defaulted on its $46 billion external debt in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange to finance the import of food, fuel, medicines and other essentials.
The unprecedented economic meltdown forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.
His successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, secured a $2.9 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund.
