Sri Lanka business sector is to be directed towards the elimination of corruption to overcome the challenges faced by companies in doing business.
Corruption and waste have become a stumbling block for the progress of companies making it difficult for them to carry out best practices in business such as transparency, accountability, integrity, fair market competition and fair pricing, several business leaders claimed.
The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) recently entered into a strategic collaboration with Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) to launch an initiative under the theme ‘Business Against Corruption’.
Under this theme, the two institutions will work together to facilitate and enable businesses to mitigate the risk of corruption.
The roadmap planned over a three-year time horizon includes a series of programs and activities to create awareness on the issue, key stakeholder engagements, training programs incorporating international best practices in business .
The aim is to instill ethical practices among business sector creating awreness on sound values of transparency, accountability, integrity, fair market competition, fair pricing, credible leadership and building a strong inner resilience framework.
SLID Chairman Faizal Salieh said: “We are mindful of the current state of affairs, the ground realities, and the challenges faced by companies in doing business.
He added that therefore, our approach on this journey is pragmatic and practical and will enable businesses to proactively and progressively mitigate the corruption risk using preventive measures, checks and balances on a voluntary, ‘best efforts’ basis.”
TISL Executive Director Nadishani Perera said: “Businesses play a critical role in any nation’s efforts against corruption.
At this unique and transformative moment in Sri Lanka’s history, as the citizens have risen against corruption, it is of utmost importance that the business community also commits to do its part towards this mission.
Both SLID and TISL are committed to working closely with the business community to raise the integrity of our nation and make it a better investment destination.
SLID said corruption has been identified as a root cause of the current political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka by several analysts.
It exists at the business, public, and Government levels and needs to be addressed in the national search for solutions to the present crisis with a view to ensuring the country’s economic recovery and long-term sustainability.
Corruption endangers and discourages investment, leads to the misallocation of resources, creates uncertainty, and results in high social costs. Mitigating corruption will make way for Sri Lanka to become an attractive destination for good, long-term investments.
Corruption has plagued Sri Lanka for many years and still continues to do so. Sri Lanka is ranked 102nd in Transparency International’s most recent Corruption Perception Index (2021), which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.
