Speaking at the event, President's Counsel and Director General of the Commission Sarath Jayamanne said that the eradication of bribery and corruption from a country requires a vision which must be displayed to the entirety of the nation in the form of an action plan.
“This action plan is a culmination of a task which we received the mandate for in October 2017. Since then, CIABOC has travelled all over the country seeking and consulting with ordinary citizens on the changes they wish to see,” he said. “The true ownership of these publication rests with the individuals representing a cross-section of the society, who contributed to the intellectual discourse over a period of one year. We aim to create a new generation instilled with positive values and virtues, a public and private sector of integrity and a law enforcement system which is just and equal to all.”
Speaking at the ceremony, speaker Karu Jayasuirya commended the work of the CIABOC adding that it had his and the parliament’s fullest support in forging ahead in this fight against corruption. “I am fully aware of the very difficult and trying situations that these CIABOC and other law enforcement agencies have worked under. Whilst commending their work, I assure them of our support to achieve these endeavors.”
He added that the Nation Action Plan should be enforced by all, irrespective of their political party and other affiliations.
CIABOC along with the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Public Administration brought together stakeholder institutions to collage information. There had been 50 such consultations out of which four were held in parliament.
The Action plan sets out four strategies for combating bribery and corruption in Sri Lanka. This includes preventative measures, value-based education, community engagement, institutional strengthening of CIABOC and other law enforcement agencies, law and policy reforms.
Additionally four handbooks were released along with the action plan, these handbooks set out the decisive factors which is meant to shape the course of combating bribery and corruption. The four handbooks include, draft proposal on gift rules, draft proposal on conflict of interest, integrity handbook for state officials and proposed amendments to laws related to bribery, declaration of assets and liabilities’, CIABOC, regulation of election campaign finance and whistleblower protection.
The Action Plan has been translated into both Tamil and Sinhala and is available for download from the CIABOC official website on www.ciaboc.gov.lk.
