- CIABOC to get temp. officers from various services including the State, corps., Police, Audit, Provin. Govt. services
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked cash-strapped Sri Lanka yesterday (9) to strengthen its anti-corruption agency (the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption [CIABOC]) and accelerate prosecutions after a review of a bailout that began in 2023.
The IMF said that Sri Lanka’s reforms were paying off, but that the South Asian nation should maintain the momentum amid the “heightened downside risks” posed by global trade uncertainties.
The Washington, District of Columbia, United States (US)-based lender said that it had concluded the fifth review of Sri Lanka’s economy since granting a $ 2.9 billion, four-year bailout loan in March 2023.
The island had suffered its worst economic meltdown the previous year (2022) that led to political turmoil.
Sri Lanka should be able to draw down the next tranche of $ 347 million once the IMF Board approves an agreement reached in Colombo yesterday.
IMF Mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou said that Sri Lanka must increase staffing at the independent CIABOC to tackle a backlog of complaints. “Recruitment at the CIABOC should be accelerated and its independence safeguarded in line with the Anti-Corruption Act,” he said in a statement. “Structural reforms will be key to lifting Sri Lanka’s potential growth.”
CIABOC has said that it needs five times its current staff of 169 to effectively pursue politicians and handle high-profile corruption cases.
This week, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to appoint appropriate officers among those engaged in the State service, the Police service, the Audit service and the Provincial Government service as well as in State corporations, on a temporary basis, to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).
The CIABOC has been given necessary provisions by the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023 to appoint a unique staff to the Commission. Furthermore, the Act consists of provisions to recruit a certain officer or an employee to the CIABOC on a temporary basis.
Accordingly, the Cabinet approved the proposal furnished by the President. This is per the provisions furnished in Sections 26(4), 26(5), 26(6), 26(8) and 26(9) of the Act in order to maintain efficiency in the CIABOC’s activities.
The leftist Government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power a year ago on a pledge to tackle endemic corruption blamed for the unprecedented 2022 economic crisis.
Sri Lanka ran out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports, such as food, fuel and medicines, leading to months of street protests that eventually toppled the then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The IMF said that it expected Sri Lanka’s growth to remain strong and noted that revenues had improved thanks to taxes on imported motor vehicles, which were allowed into the country in February of this year (2025) after a five-year ban.
The World Bank announced two days ago that Sri Lanka’s recovery was “uneven and incomplete”, with many households yet to regain livelihoods lost during the 2022 crisis.
(Agence France-Presse)