Sri Lanka's Accountability Crisis: Calls Grow for Permanent Auditor General 🚨

• Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and activists have expressed serious concern over the President's failure to appoint a permanent Auditor General (AG) since April 2025, leaving the supreme audit institution without stable leadership. • This "institutional vacuum" is seen as undermining crucial financial accountability, robust oversight, and democratic governance, especially amidst Sri Lanka's ongoing crises, including the Cyclone Ditwah disaster response. • Critics warn that relying on short-term acting appointments erodes the AG's institutional independence, creating space for inefficiency, mismanagement, and corruption in public financial management. • The delay is particularly critical as the country nears financial year-end, risking a fragmented audit cycle and compromising the integrity of public sector financial accountability. • TISL and endorsing organisations urge the President and authorities to urgently appoint a suitably qualified, independent AG through a transparent and constitutionally sound process to restore public trust and uphold accountability.