<ul><li>Another 400,000 Aswesuma families to exit scheme in 2027</li><li>Govt. says phased reduction will continue under IMF-linked prog.</li><li>Economist warns many vulnerable households yet to recover from crisis</li></ul> The Government expects the gradual reduction of Aswesuma beneficiaries to continue beyond this year, with another 400,000 families set to be removed from the welfare programme in 2027.The move is part of a phased plan linked to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and commitments under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Economists, however, warn that many vulnerable households are yet to recover from the economic crisis.Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Social Security, and Community Empowerment Wasantha Piyathissa told The Sunday Morning that while around 400,000 families were due to exit the programme by the end of this year under the ongoing review, a similar reduction was planned annually, leaving only the extremely poor category eligible for benefits by the end of 2028.However, he stated that the review process was still underway and that the final list of beneficiaries had not been confirmed yet.“We are currently conducting a review. In about another week, we will know the exact situation. The agreement originally scheduled certain categories to be removed from Aswesuma earlier, but that has been slightly delayed. However, a significant group is scheduled to be removed by 31 December, as per the agreement,” he said.According to Piyathissa, the 400,000 families selected for removal belong to the highest-income category among the four groups currently receiving Aswesuma benefits.“We have categorised beneficiaries as extremely poor, poor, transitional, and another category. Out of these four groups, the approximately 400,000 families with the highest income levels are the ones being removed first,” he explained.He said that beneficiary classifications were determined using 21 assessment criteria, including household income, and that the selected category would be removed from the programme as a single group.Asked whether those removed from Aswesuma would be transferred to another welfare scheme, Piyathissa said there were no such plans.“They can reapply if they believe they are still entitled to Aswesuma. The reason some are being removed is because they are no longer eligible based on their income status,” he said.The Deputy Minister added that the Government expected the number of beneficiaries to continue declining over the coming years.“Another 400,000 will be removed next year and every year thereafter. According to the IMF conditions, by the end of 2028, everyone except those in the extremely poor category must be removed,” he said.He maintained that the Government’s long-term objective was not simply to reduce welfare recipients but to improve livelihoods through poverty alleviation programmes.“As a ministry and as a Government, our objective is to empower extremely poor and low-income families. We have already launched several programmes and believe that by 2030 we will be able to lift a significant number of people out of poverty,” he said.However, University of Peradeniya Department of Economics and Statistics Senior Professor Ananda Jayawickreme questioned whether the current economic climate justified such a significant reduction in welfare recipients, noting that many households continued to struggle despite improvements in macroeconomic indicators.“Since the 2022 economic crisis, conditions for many households have actually worsened. People are facing higher prices while incomes have remained stagnant, and some sources of income have disappeared altogether. Recent UNDP and World Bank reports also show that more than 33% of the population remains in poverty. That indicates people are not recovering,” he said.Prof. Jayawickreme said that he supported removing beneficiaries who had never been eligible for the programme but cautioned against reducing the welfare scheme solely to satisfy IMF targets.“If the Government can clearly identify those who were never eligible because their income levels were higher, then I fully support removing them and rationalising the programme. But if people are being removed simply to satisfy IMF conditions, then we are in trouble,” he said.He warned that asking affected families to reapply could leave genuinely vulnerable households without financial assistance for months while their applications were reassessed.“The only justification being given is that they can reapply. But reapplications take time, at least six months. How are those people expected to survive until then?” he asked.Prof. Jayawickreme added that although Sri Lanka’s economy had stabilised since the height of the crisis, the benefits of that recovery had yet to reach many low-income households. Given those circumstances, he questioned whether this was the appropriate time to remove 400,000 families from the Aswesuma programme.Launched in 2023, Aswesuma initially covered nearly 1.6 million beneficiary households across four income categories.

Social welfare: Government plans Aswesuma cuts till ’28

<ul><li>Whistleblower protection needs proper system for practical rollout&nbsp;</li><li>CIABOC being restructured with focus on improving efficiency, public access</li><li>CIABOC-ACRC MOU on cooperation under consideration</li><li>SL’s AIA developed based on Korea’s experience with UNDP support</li></ul> Global efforts on anti-corruption need to be practical and consistent to deliver implementable and tailored solutions, where institutions can provide the public with results which help build trust in the governance structure, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) Director General Ranga Dissanayake said on Friday (3) in Seoul, South Korea.He also highlighted the need for practical mechanisms to translate legislation into practical applications for effective anti-corruption efforts.The Director General further called for cooperation on building robust and simple anti-corruption systems that foster a culture of prevention and compliance and are practical to implement by enforcement authorities.&nbsp;Dissanayake made these remarks while addressing a high-level panel on ‘Reflections and Recommendations’ during the International Anti-Corruption Forum, held in South Korea, jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC).&nbsp;He said that Sri Lanka’s Anti-Corruption Initiative Assessment (AIA) was based on the ACRC model, which has been implemented in South Korea.He opined that whistleblower protection was difficult to roll out in Sri Lanka due to practical realities. While there is strong legislation in place for it, Sri Lanka wants to study international best practices and the experience from South Korea to fine-tune its delivery.When asked about the robustness of whistleblower protection in Sri Lanka, Dissanayake told The Sunday Morning: “We are fully equipped with the legislation, but we want a proper system for implementation.”He cited training provided by the ACRC for 10 CIABOC officials as a key capacity-building measure for the watchdog, pointing out that the training enabled CIABOC staff to clearly identify how corruption prevention measures could be implemented.&nbsp;Dissanayake added that the cooperation between the ACRC, UNDP, and CIABOC had been focused on the practical implications of anti-corruption measures.&nbsp;The CIABOC and the ACRC are currently exploring the possibility of entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation.The CIABOC Director General thanked the UNDP, ACRC, and UN’s Seoul Policy Centre for their continued support and cooperation with the institution.Dissanayake also said that the CIABOC was being restructured to improve operational efficiency, with staff capacities being increased while decentralising its services to improve access to the public. He highlighted that the introduction of the electronic asset declaration system was aimed at improving transparency, efficiency, and accountability.&nbsp;

Anti-corruption efforts need to be simple and practical: CIABOC

The Department of Motor Traffic’s (DMT) e-Motoring digitalisation project remains stalled eight years after it was procured, with the department confirming that the initiative is currently in ‘silent mode’ and that it has no information on its future.The project, formally procured in 2018, was designed as a comprehensive digital platform to replace the department’s outdated manual vehicle registration system dating back to 1996. It was expected to significantly reduce corruption risks, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen institutional transparency within the DMT.DMT Acting Commissioner General Tharaka Devapriya told The Sunday Morning that the project had made no recent progress.“There is no update on the project yet. It is silent. It is being handled at the ministry level, so we at the DMT have no information.&nbsp;“The procurement was done by the ministry, it was awarded by the ministry, and the execution was done by the ministry. Therefore, whether it will continue, has been discontinued, or how it will proceed in the future must be inquired from the ministry. Currently, it is in silent mode,” Devapriya said.Multiple attempts to contact ministry officials for an update were unsuccessful by the time the newspaper went to press.The prolonged delay in implementing the project has drawn renewed attention amid an escalating investigation by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) into large-scale vehicle registration fraud.&nbsp;Multiple high-profile officials, including former commissioners, have been arrested in connection with alleged fraudulent vehicle registrations and bribery networks. The continued reliance on the legacy manual registration system has allegedly created opportunities for manipulation and irregular transactions.The controversy intensified following a meeting of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) on 4 March. During the session, senior officials maintained that the legacy system remained operational and continued to receive updates.&nbsp;However, subsequent reports indicated that the external software vendor responsible for supporting the legacy database had discontinued its services by late 2024, leaving critical components without technical support.The failure to implement the e-Motoring system has also resulted in significant inconvenience to the public. The lack of synchronisation between the outdated vehicle registration database and other Government platforms has prevented newly registered vehicle owners from accessing essential services, including the national fuel quota system.Between 2021 and 2023, the e-Motoring project encountered major setbacks due to legal disputes, the withdrawal of a key international partner, and subsequent contract renegotiations. Although authorities reportedly resumed work on the project in 2024 after revised cost proposals were submitted for approval, the absence of any recent progress has raised fresh concerns over procurement management and administrative accountability.

DMT’s e-Motoring project still in ‘silent mode’

<ul><li>Alternative disposal arrangements in place to avoid collection disruptions: CMC</li><li>Opposition raises concerns over vehicle shortage, recurring technical faults</li></ul> The Colombo waste-to-energy plant will be shut down for 45 days for scheduled maintenance, with the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) assuring residents that alternative arrangements have been made to ensure waste collection continues without major disruption.Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Colombo Deputy Mayor Hemantha Weerakoon said: “We have been notified that the waste-to-energy plant will be shut down for repairs from 15 July. It will remain closed for 45 days.”Weerakoon explained that the plant was designed to generate around 10 MW of electricity while processing approximately 600 tonnes of waste from the CMC each day. However, the council currently supplies only around 450 tonnes daily.He acknowledged that the temporary shutdown would create logistical challenges but that the CMC had identified an alternative disposal site in Kerawalapitiya owned by the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation, where only organic and food waste would be disposed of.However, Weerakoon said that the site was already under pressure following the impact of Cyclone Ditwah: “Due to Ditwah, the waste pile has grown considerably, reducing the available space at the site. That has become a challenge.”He added that discussions were under way with the relevant authorities to increase the site’s capacity.Despite the shutdown, he maintained that waste collection across Colombo would continue with minimal disruption. “For these 45 days, we will dispose of the waste at the Kerawalapitiya site. There should not be any major disruption to waste collection. We are managing the situation.”Weerakoon added that the plant underwent an annual maintenance shutdown of around 45 days, although ageing machinery had resulted in additional operational interruptions this year. “Apart from the scheduled maintenance period, there have been several occasions since January when the plant has had to stop operations completely,” he said.Meanwhile, CMC Opposition Leader Riza Zarook of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) said that the recent operational disruptions had been caused by both scheduled maintenance and recurring technical faults. Zarook also highlighted a shortage of garbage collection vehicles, noting that several compactor trucks were undergoing repairs at present.“What we propose is that, instead of offering excuses, the Mayor and the administration should immediately hire or lease vehicles temporarily to ensure garbage is collected on schedule,” he said.Zarook added that he had been informed that the Government was preparing to allocate a temporary disposal site capable of accommodating up to 500 tonnes of waste while the plant remained out of operation.“That should address the immediate disposal issue, but the shortage of collection vehicles remains a concern,” he said.Zarook further stated that the current administration had sought approval from the Ministry of Finance to purchase four new compactor trucks and stressed that prompt action was needed to ensure uninterrupted waste collection across Colombo.&nbsp;

Colombo waste management: Waste-to-energy plant to shut for 45-day maintenance

<ul><li>PMB moves to clear old stocks ahead of paddy purchases</li><li>State releases paddy through Sathosa, fresh tenders</li><li>Farmers threaten legal action over alleged procurement delays</li></ul> The Government says it has begun clearing paddy stocks held by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to free up storage space for the ongoing harvest, amid concerns that warehouses filled with old stocks are delaying purchases from farmers.Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Secretary D.P. Wickremasinghe said that around 20,000 MT of paddy held by the PMB had already been supplied to Lanka Sathosa for distribution.“Tenders have been called to sell another 60,000 MT. Out of that, tenders for 40,000 MT have already been published and the remainder will be published within the week. The stocks will be released after evaluating the bids,” he said.He added that the board was taking steps to expand storage capacity while gradually releasing existing stocks.“We are repairing and expanding our storage facilities step by step. At the moment, we are operating at full capacity. We also have to ensure there are sufficient funds to purchase paddy from farmers,” Wickremasinghe said.He noted that the PMB was selling stocks through competitive tenders and distributing paddy through Lanka Sathosa, adding that the board could not dispose of stocks at a loss because they had been purchased using public funds.“We are also carrying out internal transfers between granaries to create additional storage space. There is still some time before harvesting begins in full in several areas, so we are trying to ease the pressure before then,” the official said.The Government’s response comes after the National Agrarians’ Unity (NAU) alleged that delays in clearing PMB warehouses had prevented the timely purchase of newly harvested paddy.NAU Chairman Anuradha Tennakoon claimed that harvesting under minor irrigation schemes was now peaking in the Eastern and Northern Provinces, including Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Mullaitivu, Mannar, and Vavuniya, while farmers were struggling to sell their harvest because PMB warehouses remained full.“The PMB currently has around 120,000 MT of paddy in storage,” Tennakoon said.He alleged that delays in disposing of existing stocks had slowed fresh procurement, noting that bids for a recently issued tender were scheduled to be opened on 8 July.Tennakoon further claimed that the PMB intended to sell around 15,000 MT of paddy at approximately Rs. 100 per kilo despite purchasing it at Rs. 120 per kilo.He alleged that, after accounting for handling and operational costs, the sale would result in a loss of around Rs. 370 million, while disposing of the entire 120,000 MT of stock could result in losses exceeding Rs. 3 billion.Describing the situation as unprecedented, Tennakoon claimed that it would represent the highest percentage loss in the PMB’s 55-year history.He also criticised the Government’s guaranteed paddy prices of Rs. 120 per kg for nadu, Rs. 130 for samba, and Rs. 140 for keeri samba, arguing that they did not reflect rising production costs, including fuel, fertiliser, and labour.Warning of possible legal action, Tennakoon said that the NAU would invoke the Anti-Corruption Act No.9 of 2023 over what it alleged was the misuse of public funds if the Government failed to address the issue.Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development said that it had launched measures to strengthen paddy procurement and improve post-harvest management.Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said that all PMB warehouses had been opened, while Lanka Sathosa and other State institutions had been instructed to accelerate paddy purchases to ensure farmers received fair prices.

Paddy procurement: Farmers agitate over PMB purchase delays

<ul><li>Cabinet approves tender for 20,000 MT of urea</li><li>Pvt. sector expected to import 85,000 MT</li></ul> Sri Lanka’s fertiliser supply chain is ramping up procurement efforts as both State agencies and private importers secure stocks ahead of the upcoming Maha cultivation season.Cabinet approved the proposal to call for tenders to procure 20,000 MT of urea for the upcoming Maha cultivation season, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said.The procurement comprises 10,000 MT of granular urea and 10,000 MT of prilled urea. The tender is scheduled to close on 7 July.Jayatissa said that the Department of Agriculture had estimated a total requirement of 169,635 MT of chemical fertiliser for crops cultivated during the Maha season, based on its fertiliser recommendations.Speaking to The Sunday Morning, National Fertiliser Secretariat (NFS) Director Chandana Lokuhewage said that a multi-pronged procurement programme was underway to meet the estimated seasonal requirement of 180,000 MT of urea.“Private companies are currently in discussions and have indicated that they will import approximately 85,000 MT for this season. Even the market price of urea has declined slightly,” he said.Lokuhewage also confirmed that a shipment of 12,000 MT of urea was being unloaded at present, while another 6,000 MT shipment was scheduled to arrive on 13 July.He noted that the Government typically accounted for only 10–15% of the country’s total fertiliser supply, with more than 20 private companies participating in the market.Meanwhile, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Secretary D.P. Wickremasinghe said the fertiliser market remained highly competitive.“There are currently around 40 companies importing fertiliser into Sri Lanka,” he said. “It is not just us supplying fertiliser; the private sector imports the majority.”Approximately 800,000 hectares of paddy land are expected to be cultivated during the upcoming Maha season. In addition to paddy cultivation, urea fertiliser is required for tea, vegetables, fruits, and other crops, while maintaining adequate national fertiliser reserves.&nbsp;

Fertiliser supplies: State, private sectors to import ahead of Maha

<ul><li>COPF gives Treasury 3 weeks to resolve impasse</li></ul> Customs officials this past week informed the parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF) that a proposed settlement to release more than 1,000 imported vehicles stranded at the Colombo and Hambantota Ports had been rejected by the Treasury, prolonging a long-running impasse.Following the revelation, the COPF had decided to give the Treasury three weeks to resolve the issue.The committee was informed that the Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) had agreed to cap demurrage charges at Rs. 1.5 million to facilitate the release of the vehicles. However, the proposal failed to proceed after the Treasury Secretary declined to approve it.The issue resurfaced during last week’s COPF meeting, where Chairman Harsha de Silva and Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe questioned why no resolution had been reached despite previous discussions, court-mediated settlement efforts, and repeated deliberations by the committee.De Silva expressed frustration over the prolonged delay, saying the vehicles had been left to deteriorate while importers continued to bear the consequences.“Plants must have sprouted in those vehicles by now,” he remarked, adding that many of the vehicles belonged to honest people.De Silva cited the case of a retired ministry secretary who had used his pension savings to import a vehicle, only for it to remain stranded at the port because of regulatory issues.Rejecting earlier suggestions that the vehicles could simply be re-exported, he said: “We told you not to tell such stories because they cannot be re-exported.”He argued that the continued stalemate served no public interest: “The Treasury is not getting any money, honest, genuine people do not have their vehicles, and nobody is making any money except the lawyers.”The committee was further informed that although a settlement had been proposed during court proceedings, it had not been implemented because the Treasury had rejected the proposed demurrage arrangement.De Silva stressed that if the courts had encouraged a settlement, the relevant authorities should agree on a reasonable demurrage payment that would allow vehicle owners to clear their imports while acknowledging the regulatory issues surrounding the original imports.Abeysinghe also questioned officials over the lack of progress, seeking clarification on why a settlement remained elusive despite previous discussions.“What we need to do now is inform customers that they can collect their vehicles after paying the demurrage charges, even though the Letters of Credit (LCs) remain in question. This is the proposed solution,” Abeysinghe said.Describing the issue as a long-standing public finance matter, the COPF said that it would formally intervene.“We are going to write to the Treasury and give it three weeks to resolve this matter,” Dr. de Silva said.More than 1,000 imported vehicles have remained stranded at the Colombo and Hambantota Ports since last year, creating significant congestion and affecting port operations. It was reported that most of the stranded vehicles were Japanese imports brought into Sri Lanka using LCs issued through third countries. The issue emerged following regulatory concerns raised in May last year, prompting several importers to seek legal action.The matter was previously discussed at a COPF meeting in 2025, when Treasury officials informed the committee that the Government intended to re-export the affected vehicles in line with the relevant legal provisions. However, they noted at the time that the matter was before the courts, preventing further action.Although court proceedings later explored the possibility of a negotiated settlement, the vehicles remain at the ports without any solution.&nbsp;

Vehicle imports: Treasury refusal leaves 1,000+ vehicles stranded at ports

<ul><li>Expert committee recommends embassy, postal, online, proxy voting</li><li>Election monitors urge parallel reforms for domestic voters</li></ul> Sri Lankan authorities are undertaking extensive preparatory work to implement voting for citizens living overseas, with the aim of completing the process before the end of 2026.The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government submitted an initial framework to the Cabinet in May. Following its approval, the Cabinet requested the Election Commission to develop a secure and practical mechanism for overseas voting.Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Deputy Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Prabha Ruwan Senarath said: “Although Cabinet approval has been granted, we are now undertaking the extensive preparatory work required to implement overseas voting. It is a complex process, but our goal is to complete it before the end of this year.”“At present, elections can only be conducted through our foreign missions in about 17 countries. We must determine how to facilitate voting in countries where Sri Lanka has no diplomatic presence, whether through online voting, designated polling centres, or other practical arrangements. These are among the key issues currently under consideration,” he added.The initiative marks the latest step in a policy discussion that has continued for more than a decade. Although previous governments approved similar Cabinet papers, implementation repeatedly stalled due to legal, logistical, and security concerns.&nbsp;In order to avoid further delays, an expert committee appointed to study the issue has proposed a comprehensive framework covering voter registration, voting methods, and election monitoring.Additional Commissioner of Elections – Legal and Investigation Chinthaka Kularatne, who chaired the committee, said it had recommended two methods of voter registration.“The first allows family members or relatives in Sri Lanka to register an overseas voter, subject to verification by the relevant grama niladhari. The second enables the voter to submit a registration request through the Sri Lankan embassy, after which the Election Commission would forward it to the relevant grama niladhari for verification before final approval,” Kularatne explained.The committee has also recommended four methods for casting ballots.“For the voting process, we have proposed four options: voting at Sri Lankan embassies, online voting at designated centres to safeguard the secrecy of the ballot, postal voting, and proxy voting, which would allow an overseas voter to appoint a representative in Sri Lanka to cast a ballot on their behalf,” he said.Kularatne said that any overseas voting system would be subject to security procedures comparable to those used in domestic elections. These would include the appointment of senior presiding officers, the maintenance of official voter registers, and mandatory identity verification using a poll card together with a valid National Identity Card or passport.The committee has also proposed a three-tier monitoring mechanism to strengthen transparency and public confidence in the electoral process.“Elections could be supervised by Election Commission officials, officials attached to Sri Lankan diplomatic missions, or representatives of the overseas branches of recognised local political parties. We have also recommended inviting independent observers from the respective host countries to further strengthen transparency,” Kularatne said.Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake confirmed that the commission had submitted its observations on each proposed voting option to Parliament for consideration.While welcoming the proposed reforms for overseas voters, election monitors cautioned that improving access to voting within Sri Lanka should also remain a priority.People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi welcomed the renewed effort, noting that the current administration had shifted its focus from domestic electoral reforms to extending voting rights to Sri Lankans living abroad.He also pointed to regional experience, noting that Bangladesh had enacted legislation permitting overseas postal voting in the 1970s but had only implemented the system last year.Hettiarachchi further argued that thousands of eligible voters within Sri Lanka continued to face barriers to exercising their franchise because of employment obligations, personal commitments, illness, disability, or imprisonment.&nbsp;He said that electoral reforms should also include measures such as advance voting, special polling centres, and mobile voting units, noting that similar arrangements had previously been introduced for displaced voters in Jaffna before 2010 and had also been explored during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sri Lankans overseas: End-2026 target for voting rights

<ul><li>Design transparency, accountability, controllability before efficiency</li></ul> Adoption of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools alone will not create legitimacy and reduce corruption without effective legislation and democratic safeguards implemented in parallel, experts warn.Daejin University Department of Law and Public Service Professor and Korea Anti-Corruption Law Association President Choi Yong-jeon, speaking at the International Anti-Corruption Forum in South Korea on Friday (3), pointed out that technology adaptation without proper constitutional legislation could allow for new forms of corruption to grow and act as a smokescreen to others.&nbsp;He advocated that democratic legitimacy and accountability must come before technical accuracy.Commenting on the use of technology to streamline governance and improve transparency, Choi told the gathering organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) that AI had a ‘dual nature’ which could be seen as both an anti-corruption tool and as an emerging corruption risk. He highlighted the prospective risk that AI tools, if not properly regulated and used with an effective transparency structure, could be misused.Discussing the use of new technologies for anti-corruption in a panel discussion of experts, Choi explained that AI could be used to improve corruption prevention, with it used for post hoc detection and risk management, and to analyse public procurement, fiscal, and audit data.&nbsp;AI can be used to detect collusion, conflicts of interest, and repeat-award patterns early, while AI tools can also be used to allocate audit and investigative resources strategically for effective investigations. AI can help detect abnormal patterns at an early stage and direct audit resources towards high-risk areas.However, Choi warned that the adoption of AI with effective legislation and institutional oversight could lead to AI becoming a new power structure that concealed corruption and made it harder to detect.He pointed out that anti-corruption systems could become channels for information monopoly/surveillance and evidence manipulation if safeguards and control management were not effectively implemented. “Rather than presuming AI to be a ‘fair tool,’ we should treat it as a normative object that reshapes power and accountability,” Choi opined.UNDP Global Programme Adviser on Anti-Corruption Anga Timilsina told the gathering that there was a need for stronger synergies between national digital or AI strategies and national anti-corruption strategies, with improved awareness and understanding of AI and related technologies in the Global South to effectively employ AI tools in governance.&nbsp;He highlighted that sustained investment in AI tools and technology platforms used for digital governance was required and stressed that there was a need to clearly define objectives and scope for AI initiatives and human verification, which should be kept as a safeguard.&nbsp;

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