Sri Lankan main Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa is to implement a program to seek compensation from those identified as key figures responsible for the island nation’s current economic woes after a court held that the former rulers were to blame.
“This is a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court and it is only fair that the people affected by the economic turn down be compensated from those responsible. The court ruling serves as a stark reminder that those in power must exercise caution and responsibility in formulating and implementing policies. Accountability is paramount”, Premadasa told Parliament.
In a ruling earlier this week Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court named the Rajapakse political family for being responsible for the country’s economic chaos that heaped burden after burden on the common citizenry.
The family includes two former Presidents, Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapakse and a sibling Basil, who was in charge of Economic Development.
The family was in power for nearly one and a half decades before being ousted at a Presidential election 2015.
However Gotabaya was elected as President in 2019 in a landslide victory but was forced to flee the country two years later following a massive public revolt against him and his Government.
Sri Lanka’s current President Ranil Wickremesinghe from the United National Party (UNP) who had just a single slot in the 225-member Parliament was later appointed President through a provision in the Constitution.
The Rajapakses for their part have been accused of mass-scale corruption involving billions of US dollars borrowed from foreign agencies among other irregularities that pushed the country’s economy into the doldrums and finally bankruptcy.
Meanwhile Executive Director, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), Attorney-at-Law, Nadishani Perera said that it would be the responsibility of the Parliament and relevant institutions to take appropriate actions in the wake of the landmark Supreme Court judgment pertaining to the unprecedented economic crisis.
The TISL is an independent political think tank made up academics, journalists, politicians and a mixed bag of professionals among others.
