Sri Lanka president vows to end island’s ‘corrupt’ image

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.