Transparency International’s national chapter in Sri Lanka releases this week two new reports analyzing the country’s governance structures and anti-corruption institutional framework: the National Integrity System (NIS) assessment and the Governance Report for 2010.
The National Integrity System (NIS) assessment is based on a methodology implemented by Transparency International and evaluates 13 institutions considered to be the main pillars to the country’s integrity system. Apart from basic institutions such as the three government branches and the electoral commission, the study also takes into account the Human Rights Commission and the Commission Investigating Allegations Against Bribery and Corruption active in Sri Lanka. Important actors such as political parties, media, civil society and the business sector are also integrated to the assessment.
The study takes as reference the period between December 2009 and December 2010 and it is the first ever published for Sri Lanka. The main findings are that the business sector is the pillar with the best capacity to fight corruption, whereas the media, the Bribery Commission and law enforcement agencies, among others, are relatively weak in that respect. Some of factors that explain these institutions’ defficiencies are insufficient financial and human resources, a weak culture of public accountability and the absence of whistleblower protection legislation.
The Governance Report, differently than the NIS assessment, is published annually by TI Sri Lanka in partnership with other authors and seeks to foster public debate on specific issues. The 2010 edition focuses on Centralization of Power as a topic.
Read the full article published on TI Sri Lanka’s website. The full versions of the NIS Study 2010 and the Governance Report 2010 are also available online.
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