• CIABOC to slap fines on public officials yet to submit assets/liabilities  

Measures will be taken to facilitate the payment of spot fines issued by the Police for traffic violations through the use of the GovPay application from September, a Board member of the Information and Communication Technology Agency, Harsha Purasinghe stated.

He made this revelation while addressing a media briefing in Colombo. The launch of the new Online Traffic Fine Payment System from September has been confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has announced that fines will be imposed on public officials who fail to submit their assets and liabilities declarations after yesterday (14). The CIABOC stated that a considerable number of declarations are still expected to be submitted and that measures have been taken to impose fines on public officials who submit their declarations from today (15) onwards. The CIABOC has informed all heads of state institutions regarding this matter. 

In accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 09 of 2023, public officials are required to submit written declarations of assets and liabilities for this year until the centralised electronic submission system becomes operational. Officials who failed to submit their declarations by the initial deadline of 30 June were granted a two-week grace period. The CIABOC noted that as the grace period ended yesterday, institutional heads are now required to forward the list of public officials who have not submitted the declarations to the CIABOC in the coming days. The CIABOC emphasised that under the provisions of the new anti-corruption legislation, fines will be levied on the officials who continue to delay their submissions beyond the stipulated deadline.