President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to revise the proposed amendments to Sri Lanka’s Anti-Corruption Act to ensure that the asset declarations of politicians continue to be made public, a senior government official confirmed to NewsWire.
The move follows concerns raised over a draft amendment published in the Gazette on July 24, 2026, which proposed changes to the asset declaration framework under the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023.
According to the senior official, the proposed amendment was initially formulated after considering that nearly 160,000 asset declarations are expected to be submitted under the law. Concerns had also been raised by several private sector professionals serving on government boards, who argued that mandatory public disclosure of their declarations could infringe on their privacy.
The amendment was therefore intended to address those concerns.
However, following discussions, President Dissanayake has instructed officials to revise the proposal so that while privacy concerns of non-political individuals are addressed, the asset declarations of all elected representatives and politicians will continue to be publicly accessible.
The official said the changes would preserve the public’s right to scrutinise the assets and liabilities of public representatives, while introducing a different framework for other categories required to submit declarations under the law.
The revised amendment is expected to be presented following the President’s instructions. (Newswire)