IMF’s corruption-focused governance diagnostic report to be completed by September
COLOMBO – The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) corruption-busting governance diagnostic report is expected to be completed by September and the global lender will spell out measures to improve the island nation’s governance system, a top IMF official said.
Sri Lanka is the first country in Asia to undergo an IMF governance diagnostic under the global lender’s key structural reform to address corruption vulnerabilities and enhance growth.
“Anti-corruption and governance reforms are imperative to ensure the hard-won gains from the reforms benefit the Sri Lankan people,” Krishna Srinivasan, Director of IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department told a media briefing after concluding a four-day visit in which the global lender’s delegation met key officials of Sri Lanka.
.”The IMF governance diagnostic report is expected to be published by September this year—the mission visited Colombo in March and engaged closely with stakeholders and civil society organizations on this critical reform area.”
“This was done on the request of authorities.”
He said the governance diagnostic exercise will identify key governance weaknesses and corruption vulnerabilities that are macro economically critical in six key areas – fiscal governance, financial sector oversight, central bank governance, market regulations, rule of law, and AML (Anti Money Laundering) safety.
“It also assesses the adequacy of the anti-corruption framework,” Srinivasan said, adding that the report will be used to formulate measures to improve the governance framework and reduce corruption and the measures will be factored in the IMG program going forward.
Sri Lanka has committed to introduce anti-corruption legislation in line with UN Convention Against Corruption which includes both asset declaration and asset recovery.
Asset declaration part is going to be addressed in the near term, the anti-corruption law, which is expected to be presented to the parliament soon.
The asset recovery laws are expected to be passed by March 2024, the IMF has said in March.
The governance diagnostic is also expected to recommend specific reforms in the anti-corruption area.
-economynext.com
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