COLOMBO:  , Sri Lanka’s leftist president marked the anniversary of independence from Britain on Tuesday ( Feb 4 ) with a pledge to change the impoverished island nation’s image as a” corrupt” country.
Anglo-American Communist Anura Kumara Dissanayake abandoned the customary military parades and flyovers to celebrate the 1948 transition to power.
His government rather staged a smaller military protest in accordance with his commitment to reduce the amount of money spent on government officialdom.
In a message to the land, he said,” We are committed to changing Sri Lanka’s international image from a state known for dishonest governance.”
” Despite numerous obstacles and the deep-rooted defects of the previous corrupt political system, the people’s state, built by the collective will of the citizens, is rapidly progressing forward”.
Dissanayake’s authorities concluded a long-delayed loan reform with both diplomatic and private creditors late last season, ending Sri Lanka’s reputation as a penniless nation.
After running out of international exchange to pay for the transfer of food, fuel, medicines, and other essentials, Sri Lanka defaulted on its US$ 46 billion additional debt in April 2022.
The then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to step down due to the unprecedented financial panic. His son, Ranil Wickremesinghe, secured a US$ 2.9 billion loan payment from the International Monetary Fund.
Dissanayake, who defeated Wickremesinghe in elections last September, is maintaining the tough austerity procedures introduced under his counterpart’s management and has vowed to continue the four-year IMF loan program.
” As the innovative state, over the past four decades, we have laid the foundation for a stable economy and introduced a new social society”, Dissanayake said.