COLOMBO — The economic and political upheavals Sri Lanka has faced in recent years, including its 2022 debt default and the mass protests that ousted former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, serve as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by poor governance and rampant inequality. A 2023 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) attributes the South Asian country's ongoing crisis to widespread corruption and fiscal mismanagement, underscoring the urgent need for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to implement bold structural reforms aimed at restoring public trust and promoting social justice.

At the heart of Sri Lanka's ongoing crisis is a deeply flawed institutional framework, plagued by inefficiencies and susceptible to political interference. The IMF report highlights the erosion of independent institutions, such as the Public Service Commission, the National Police Commission, the Audit Service Commission, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (Ciaboc), the Finance Commission and the Delimitation Commission, which led to the mismanagement of public resources and a chronic lack of transparency. Unless and until these fundamental governance issues are addressed, economic recovery will remain out of reach.