{"id":249856,"date":"2026-11-11T00:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T18:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=249856"},"modified":"2026-11-11T00:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T18:30:19","slug":"akd-the-seduction-of-power-can-the-npp-remain-above-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/akd-the-seduction-of-power-can-the-npp-remain-above-corruption\/","title":{"rendered":"AKD & The Seduction Of Power: Can The NPP Remain Above Corruption?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Vishwamithra<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe only genuine backbone of all our actions, if they are to be moral, is responsibility\u201d ~ <\/i>\u00a0V\u00e1clav Havel<\/p>\n

Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa<\/a><\/span> has reportedly declared that no member of the National People’s Power (NPP<\/a><\/span>) is involved in bribery, corruption or fraudulent activity, adding that the party stands prepared to take disciplinary action should allegations against its members be substantiated.<\/p>\n

Congratulations, Minister.<\/p>\n

But congratulations must be accompanied by a warning.\"\"<\/p>\n

For nearly two years, the NPP has occupied the commanding heights of Sri Lanka’s political establishment. It controls the executive presidency, commands a formidable parliamentary majority and exercises authority over the machinery of government.<\/p>\n

Its claim to have maintained a political culture free from corruption deserves examination. But a government’s declaration of innocence cannot constitute proof of its innocence. Nor can the absence of a conviction establish that misconduct has never occurred.<\/p>\n

Indeed, allegations concerning the assets of several serving ministers have already been referred for investigation. Those investigations do not establish guilt, but they make the distinction between political assurance and independent verification indispensable.<\/p>\n

The more important question is not whether the NPP can congratulate itself today. It is whether the NPP can resist tomorrow the temptations that destroyed the credibility of so many governments yesterday. And that, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake<\/a><\/span>, may prove the most difficult examination of your political life.<\/p>\n

Power: The Most Seductive of Human Creations<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Power is an extraordinary human invention. Created to organize society, protect the vulnerable and administer collective affairs, it has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to enslave those entrusted with its exercise. Its corruption seldom begins with a spectacular theft. It begins with a concession.<\/p>\n

A minister accepts a privilege that should have been declined. A political supporter receives preferential treatment. A government contract is awarded without adequate scrutiny. A relative acquires access unavailable to an ordinary citizen. Each transgression is explained away as an exception. Soon the exception becomes the practice, the practice becomes the culture, and the culture becomes indistinguishable from government itself.<\/p>\n

The greatest danger is not that politicians suddenly become dishonest upon assuming office. It is that power gradually persuades them that their personal interests and the national interest are identical. And when that illusion takes possession of a government, corruption ceases to be an occasional offence. It becomes an organizing principle.<\/p>\n

The Rajapaksa Years: When Family and State Converged<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka’s recent political history offers a sobering illustration of the dangers of concentrated authority. The most controversial characteristic of the Rajapaksa political establishment emerged from the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009 with enormous popular support. Mahinda Rajapaksa possessed an electoral mandate reinforced by the prestige of wartime leadership.<\/p>\n

But military victory could not substitute for democratic accountability.<\/p>\n

The Eighteenth Amendment of 2010 removed the two-term presidential limit. The concentration of authority around the presidency intensified, while the influence of family members across major areas of government raised persistent questions about the separation of public responsibility from private political interests.<\/p>\n

The return of the Rajapaksas to power in 2019 brought another concentration of executive authority. The Twentieth Amendment of 2020 weakened important institutional checks, including safeguards governing appointments to independent bodies.<\/p>\n

The consequences of that governing culture cannot be reduced to corruption alone. Economic mismanagement, damaging policy decisions, institutional weakness and failures of accountability combined to produce a national catastrophe.<\/p>\n

In November 2023, the Supreme Court determined that Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa and several senior officials had breached public trust and violated fundamental rights through their handling of the economy.<\/p>\n

That judicial finding concerned economic governance and constitutional responsibility; it was not a blanket criminal conviction for corruption. Nevertheless, its historical significance is unmistakable. Those entrusted with extraordinary authority had failed in their obligations to the public. And the ordinary citizen paid the price.<\/p>\n

The <\/b>Aragalaya-22<\/i><\/b>: When the People Reclaimed Their Authority<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The Aragalaya-22<\/i> <\/a><\/span>was more than a protest against shortages, inflation and economic hardship. It represented a profound rupture between the governed and those who presumed an enduring entitlement to govern. The crowds demanding political change were rejecting a system in which proximity to power had too often appeared more valuable than competence, integrity or public service.<\/p>\n

Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation demonstrated that even an overwhelming electoral mandate cannot indefinitely protect a presidency that has lost public confidence. The uprising also exposed the limitations of replacing individuals without reforming institutions. For the political culture that enabled abuses did not originate with one family.<\/p>\n

The UNP-led governments, successive SLFP administrations and the Yahapalana<\/em> coalition all faced controversies concerning patronage, misuse of authority or corruption allegations. The Central Bank bond controversy during the Yahapalana period became a particularly damaging symbol of the distance between promises of good governance and the realities of political office.<\/p>\n

Even the presidency of Maithripala Sirisena, which began with substantial public expectations of reform, failed to escape that broader crisis of credibility. The lesson is uncomfortable but necessary.<\/p>\n

Corruption in Sri Lanka has never been the exclusive property of one political party. Its most enduring protection has been the willingness of successive governments to condemn it in opposition and accommodate it in office.<\/p>\n

AKD: The Burden of a Different Promise<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Anura Kumara Dissanayake did not arrive at the presidency through the familiar route of political inheritance, family prestige or established elite patronage. His political career developed through decades of opposition activity, party organization and ideological commitment. The NPP’s electoral appeal rested substantially upon the promise of systemic change. That history makes the expectations confronting AKD unusually demanding.<\/p>\n

He cannot merely claim to be less corrupt than his predecessors. His administration must demonstrate that the institutions under its control operate according to principles fundamentally different from those that governed the old political establishment.<\/p>\n

There have been significant developments in anti-corruption enforcement. In October 2026, Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala told Parliament that sixteen former ministers and three former state ministers had been convicted in bribery cases since the NPP assumed office. Those figures, as reported, warrant careful attention. Yet the ultimate measure of reform is not the number of former politicians investigated, arrested or convicted.<\/p>\n

It is whether the same institutions can investigate a serving minister with equal independence and determination. An anti-corruption campaign directed exclusively at yesterday’s rulers risks becoming an instrument of political advantage. An anti-corruption system that operates without regard to party allegiance becomes a democratic institution.<\/p>\n

The distinction is fundamental.<\/p>\n

The First Accusation Against One of Your Own<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Minister Jayatissa’s assurance that disciplinary action will follow substantiated allegations raises an immediate question. Who will determine whether an allegation has been substantiated? The party leadership? A ministerial committee? Or an independent investigative authority operating without political interference? Internal disciplinary proceedings have their place. But they cannot replace criminal investigation, prosecution or judicial determination.<\/p>\n

A government cannot credibly claim that its members are beyond corruption while simultaneously reserving to itself the authority to determine their innocence. Nor should the existence of a complaint automatically be treated as evidence of wrongdoing. The principles of natural justice must apply equally to government members and political opponents.<\/p>\n

But an allegation supported by credible evidence must never be suppressed merely because its subject wears the colors of the governing party. This is where AKD’s leadership will encounter its most demanding test. Not when an opposition politician is accused. Not when a former minister is arrested. But when a trusted colleague, an influential party organizer or a senior member of his own administration becomes the subject of a serious, credible investigation.<\/p>\n

Will political loyalty yield to public accountability?<\/b><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

That single question may ultimately determine whether the NPP’s promised system change becomes a historical achievement or another disappointed national expectation.<\/p>\n

The Danger of Moral Superiority<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

There is another temptation, less visible than financial corruption but potentially just as destructive. It is the conviction that one’s political movement possesses a moral superiority that places its conduct beyond ordinary scrutiny. Such confidence can become dangerous.<\/p>\n

A party that begins by believing its members are incapable of corruption may gradually become unwilling to recognize corruption when it appears. Its supporters may dismiss criticism as conspiracy. Its officials may confuse legitimate scrutiny with political hostility. Its leaders may begin to regard institutional independence as an obstacle rather than a safeguard.<\/p>\n

This is precisely the political psychology that reform movements must resist. Ideological commitment is not immunity from temptation. Personal austerity is not a substitute for transparent procurement. And the reputation of a president cannot replace independent institutions.<\/p>\n

AKD’s most valuable contribution would not be to establish that he personally rejects corruption. It would be to create a governing structure in which corruption can be exposed and punished regardless of the president’s personal preferences. That would be a more enduring achievement than any declaration of collective innocence.<\/p>\n

The Hardest Years Are Still Ahead<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The NPP’s early period in government has unfolded under intense public scrutiny and substantial expectations. But the seductions of power generally become more dangerous with familiarity. The official residence becomes comfortable. The ministerial privilege becomes customary. The political appointment becomes convenient. The government contract becomes an opportunity to reward loyalty.<\/p>\n

The danger grows when exceptional access is no longer recognized as exceptional. AKD must therefore insist upon transparent asset declarations, credible procurement procedures, effective parliamentary oversight and investigative institutions free from political direction. Above all, his government must welcome scrutiny rather than merely tolerate it.<\/p>\n

The Rajapaksa experience demonstrated how dangerous concentrated authority can become when institutions fail to restrain its exercise. The NPP has an opportunity to demonstrate how authority can be exercised within restraints that remain effective even when those restraints inconvenience the government itself. Whether it succeeds remains an open question.<\/p>\n

The Real Meaning of Clean Government<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Minister Jayatissa, your assurance is welcome as a declaration of intent. But the history of Sri Lankan politics demands something more substantial than assurances. The NPP’s credibility will not be secured by proclaiming that its members are incorruptible. It will be secured by demonstrating that no member is exempt from investigation, no officeholder is beyond accountability and no political relationship can obstruct the administration of justice.<\/p>\n

AKD’s challenge is not merely to govern without corruption today. It is to establish institutions that can resist corruption long after he has relinquished power. The true measure of an incorruptible government is not that its leaders declare themselves innocent, but that they build institutions capable of proving them wrong.<\/p>\n

That is the burden of power.<\/p>\n

That is the obligation of leadership.<\/p>\n

And that is the ultimate examination awaiting Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the National People’s Power.<\/p>\n

*The writer can be reached at vishwamithra1984<\/span>@gmail.com<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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