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UN recognises SL for outstanding governance agility in Asia-Pacific
- SL listed alongside India and Philippines in demonstrating speed and efficiency in responding to new information, unexpected events
- Points out SL created an enabling environment for different actors to come together and lobby for change
- Says collective action helped uphold democratic values and enabled a peaceful transition to a new government
By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
The United Nations in its latest Human Development Report for 2024 listed Sri Lanka as one of the three nations that stood out in Asia and the Pacific in showing agility in governance.
Alongside India and the Philippines, Sri Lanka was identified as one of the countries that demonstrated speed and efficiency in responding to new information, unexpected events or shifting priorities, without
major disruption. The 2022 crisis provided an opportunity for a national change in direction but the unprecedented economic crisis later evolved into a political crisis that resulted in widespread civic unrest.
However, this created an enabling environment for different actors to come together and lobby for change, regardless of their social class, religion or political affiliations, the UNDP pointed out. “The ouster of the president and prime minister exposed structural weaknesses in governance and could have led to an anarchic situation.
But the collective action of organised protesters and civil society, alongside different segments of the political spectrum, helped uphold democratic values and enabled a peaceful transition to a new government,”
the UNDP’s Regional Human Development Report 2024 for Asia and the Pacific showed.
According to the agency, the series of efforts taken brought hope for the country, which was emerging from many previous cycles of violent unrest, with the prospect of engaging multiple stakeholders and actors in a process of crisis mitigation and recovery.
The UNDP pointed out that at its core, agility calls for flexible governmental structures, processes and mindsets, enabling rapid adjustments as situations evolve. This extends to rapidly mobilising both human and financial resources to address problems before they intensify or seize opportunities before they dissipate.
It went on to point out that agility also benefits from public participatory budgeting, that is by engaging citizens in budget decisions to foster understanding of trade-offs, the trade-offs may become less sharp, creating new options for government action.
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