Corruption in Sri Lanka harmful to investments, a source of distrust of leaders by people - Japanese Ambassador

• People are discouraged from being responsible citizens when leaders are corrupt
• Japanese companies strictly observe compliance obligation, never offer bribes or kickbacks   
• If that kind of culture remains in Sri Lanka, no prospect for Japanese investment   

By Kelum Bandara 

Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki said yesterday that corruption had become of source of distrust of its leaders by people in Sri Lanka in addition to it becoming harmful to attracting foreign investments.   

Delivering a lecture themed ‘the History of Japan’s Development and the Messages for Sri Lanka’ the ambassador delved in the evolution of Japanese society in terms of economic development while addressing the issue of corruption.   

He said overcoming corruption is very important for the development of Sri Lanka.   

“Observing Sri Lankan politics since I came here, I would like to point out two aspects of problems of corruption in Sri Lanka. First, corruption is a source of distrust of leaders of the country by the people, and it discourages people from being responsible citizens of the country when leaders are corrupt. It gives convenient excuses to tax payers for tax evasion. Secondly, it is very harmful when Sri Lanka wants to attract foreign investment. 

Transparent and predictable business environment is essential to gain trust from foreign investors,” he said.   

He said, “As Sri Lankan people having chosen a new leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, so committed to overcoming corruption, there is a unique opportunity to eradicate this malady that has been spoiling this country for a long time,”   

The ambassador said the Japanese companies are nowadays strictly observing the compliance obligation and therefore never offer bribes or kickbacks.   

“If that kind of culture remains in Sri Lanka, there is no prospect for Japanese investment coming into Sri Lanka. I am saying this because I would like to see more Japanese investment in Sri Lanka to support economic growth. Sri Lankan people have chosen a leader who has promised to eradicate corruption as his No.1 agenda. I have mentioned earlier that Japan ranks in 20th place out of 180 as least corrupted countries. Sri Lanka’s ranking is No.101. I hope, Sri Lanka will draw lessons from experiences of various countries, including Japan, to develop effective anti-corruption mechanisms. Last week I met Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, the new secretary to the President who has studied in the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Japan and completed MA and PhD, and he is an expert on the corruption issue. I offered him to share the experiences of anti-corruption measures that Japan has been taking to date,” he said.  Meanwhile, during the question and answer session, the ambassador said he observed some Sri Lankan politicians and bureaucrats act with self-interests trying to secure projects for businessmen with whom they have links.