Sri Lanka president vows to end island’s ‘corrupt’ image
Sri Lanka's leftist president marked the anniversary of independence from Britain yesterday with a pledge to change the impoverished island nation's image as a "corrupt" country.
Self-avowed Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake dispensed with the usual elaborate military pageantry of jet flyovers and horse parades to mark the 1948 handover of power.
His government instead staged a scaled-down military march in keeping with his pledge to pare lavish spending on government officialdom.
"We are committed to transforming Sri Lanka's global image from a country known for corrupt governance," he said in a message to the nation.
"Despite countless obstacles and the deep-rooted flaws of the past corrupt political system, the people's government, built by the collective will of the citizens, is steadily progressing forward."
Dissanayake's government concluded a long-delayed debt restructuring with both bilateral and private creditors late last year, ending Sri Lanka's status as a bankrupt nation. Sri Lanka had defaulted on its $46 billion external debt in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange to finance import of food, fuel and other essentials.
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