Mar 17, Colombo: Minister of Justice Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said yesterday (16) that the draft anti-corruption bill to curb the bribery of corrupt government officials and politicians will be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department today (17).

Addressing a press conference held at the Ministry of Justice on the Department of Community Based Corrections, the Minister Rajapakshe pointed out that the Sri Lankan government, which signed the United Nations Anti-Corruption Charter in 2004, has not been able to create a strong mechanism to curb corruption,.

He said the current government, which has been working to fill that gap, forwarded the new anti-corruption bill to Cabinet of Ministers on March 15. The minister also indicated that a machine will be prepared.

The present Government, which to fill that gap, forwarded the new anti-corruption bill to the cabinet on March 15 and a strong anti-corruption mechanism will be prepared by that bill.

The Minister also emphasized that this new act will establish an independent strong bribery or corruption commission with powers to replace the ‘retirement room’ of the existing Commission to Investigate the Allegation of Bribery or Corruption.

The Minister said that after being appointed as the Minister of Justice in 2015, he started drafting of the anti-corruption bill. He said the new draft was prepared in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and that the draft was prepared after obtaining opinions from civil organizations, institutions and citizens of the country.

The Minister pointed out that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has focused on the government’s program to eradicate corruption in this country and pointed out that it is timely to adopt an anti-corruption policy while borrowing from the Monetary Fund.

The Minister pointed out that the government of Sri Lanka has taken loans from the Monetary Fund 16 times before, and if corruption is not curbed, the country will fall into the abyss again.