Disclose former PM Ranil’s assets for 2015, 2016

The Right to Information Commission has directed the Presidential Secretariat to disclose the declaration of assets and liabilities of Ranil Wickremesinghe in his role as Prime Minister for 2015 and 2016.

The Commission has issued this order pursuant to the initial request filed by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL)on February 03, 2017.

The TISL said that the Commission’s decision would enable them to publicly release the asset declaration once received, as it has been obtained under the RTI Act.

TISL Executive Director Ashoka Obeyesekere told the media that this decision marked a major victory for Right to Information and the campaign to get asset declarations into the hands of the people.;

“We expect the Presidential Secretariat to take action to furnish a copy of the Asset Declaration of Ranil Wickrmesinghe in hs role as Prime Minister as directed by the RTI Commission which we will immediately share with the public,” Obeyesekere said.

Obeysekere added that having information in the public domain is the most crucial tool in the fight against corruption. “This is a win for everyone. This is a win for the public, Right to Information and the honest politicians who want to really see that the assets disclosure in the public domain”, he said

He added that having such in information in the public domain will help build public trust in the elected representatives at a time public trust in them is weaning.