As Sri Lankans step into another rotation around the Sun, we do so with high hopes for our little nation. We have been through gauntlets and immersed, battered, bruised but still fighting. And we have made monumental changes to our political order and clearly and loudly expressed ‘We want change’! Our message has been heard near and far.  

Many Sri Lankans used their franchise to vote in a new political party, new faces, fresh blood and hopefully, a fresh political culture to govern us for the next five years. Many Sri Lankans, though today more politically aware than ever before, seem to be of the school of thought, that they have done their bit. And that the rest is up to the new National People’s Power (NPP) Government. Herein lies the problem. This is a repeat of a fundamental mistake Sri Lankan citizens have made in the past. Our democracy may be strong, but our governance is still in a transitional period. As such, it is our civil duty to ensure that the new leaders we have empowered with our sovereignty act as the custodians of it and deliver governance in a way we called for. The struggle is far from over for us average Joes.  

In other words, while the people in authority have changed, we citizens must now engage with the governance mechanism and keep them focused on the policy changes which are needed. The public has a vital role to play in ensuring that the change they asked for is delivered. For this, the actions of the State must be scrutinised in an objective manner. This is why in democracy, transparency and accountability are key to a healthy and functional democratic system. The public has a right to seek transparency and accountability from the State and the government they elected. There must be robust debate about the new policies which are being rolled out, to ensure we do not repeat past mistakes.

Ever since the historic events of 2022 that saw Sri Lanka hitting rock bottom following the official declaration of bankruptcy and subsequent eviction of an elected President and installation of an interim one, the people’s primary aspiration has been corruption-free governance. The failure of the former interim administration to recognise that aspiration and consequently not doing anything in that regard in the two-and-a-half years it wielded power resulted in it being thrown out lock, stock, and barrel at two consecutive polls this year, despite it being credited with having restored the economy from bankruptcy – a substantial enough achievement to assure handsome electoral rewards under normal circumstances. As such, one focus of the public should be ensuring that the anti-corruption agenda does not lose steam, as the Government gets more ‘absorbed’ into the existing state system, and begin to see that corruption as part of the process, like many predecessors have.

While the NPP Government is still indeed in its ‘early days’ going by the performance seen thus far, the risk of ‘serious corruption’ not being targeted – like with the many new governments of the past, is becoming closer to reality. This slow descent to a well-rooted mechanism of corruption that exists within the State governance systems, must not be allowed. While the Government has made quite a song and dance about some anti-corruption efforts, and have gone after low hanging fruit, no ‘big fish’ have been netted. At least not up to now. The People are asking for results not because the regime has completed 100 days in office or for some other reason, but because it was this leadership which during campaigning promised that ‘dozens of rogues’ would be locked up within the first week in office, hundreds in the first month, etc. So now people are reminding those who made these promises to honour them.

As such, it is the citizenry of Sri Lanka which must act as the checks and balances for this new Government, and do their civic duty by seeking anti-corruption action, more transparency and accountability, not only of politicians, but also of public officials, both high and low. The cleanse must be through. Continue to do your duty, you did it at the ballot box, now follow through with the rest. Do it until we have the ‘better Sri Lanka’ we demanded for our children.