COLOMBO – Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Wednesday (Jan 1) that corruption has become a cancer spreading throughout the country and eliminating it requires a tremendous collective effort.

He made the remarks at an event held at the Presidential Secretariat to inaugurate the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ program.

“Our country has been plagued by widespread corruption, malpractice, and inefficiency within the state apparatus, political institutions, and society as a whole. Corruption has become a malignant cancer spreading throughout our nation, and eliminating it requires a tremendous collective effort,” he said.

Dissanayake also called on the law enforcement agencies to perform “their duties with the necessary diligence and support.” He said that institutions such as the Criminal Investigation Department and the judiciary bear the principal responsibility for transforming the country into one free from corruption and fraud.

“We believe these institutions will act with the dedication required to achieve this transformation. As political leaders, we are committed to setting an example through both our words and actions,” he said.

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka faces grave challenges.

“In 2023 alone, 181 people lost their lives in human-elephant conflicts, and 484 elephants were killed by human action. Although we possess an aesthetically and ecologically rich environment, we are a nation where 484 elephants die annually. Furthermore, floods and landslides displace significant populations; resulting in loss of life, and cause substantial economic damage,” he said.

“We have mistakenly elevated incorrect values to positions of importance, embedding them as the fundamental ethos of our society. It is crucial to establish a new framework of values.

“Where do we begin? The first step must be cultivating an appreciation for one’s own life. Sadly, many of our citizens lack a sense of self-worth or value for their lives,” he said, noting that in the past year, 550 people drowned, whether in the sea, reservoirs, wells, or ponds.

A total of 2,321 people died due to such incidents. These figures highlight the urgent need to foster respect for life in our society, he added.

Outlining the objectives of the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ project, he said it goes beyond merely cleaning up the environment.

“It aspires to restore the deeply eroded and deteriorated social and environmental fabric of our motherland. We aim to create cleanliness and rejuvenation across all sectors of society,” he added.

-PTI