In November 2023, Verité Research released a research brief scrutinizing Sri Lanka’s public procurement system, revealing critical deficiencies. Titled “Backwards in Blacklisting: Gaps in Sri Lanka’s Procurement Framework Enable Corruption,” the report underscores two key inadequacies.
Firstly, it highlights a legal loophole whereby procurement guidelines lack provisions for blacklisting contractors/suppliers engaged in fraudulent activities. Secondly, it exposes a compliance gap manifested in the absence of a blacklist for defaulting contractors. Comparing Sri Lanka unfavourably to its South Asian counterparts, the brief underscores their superior implementation of blacklisting mechanisms and the maintenance of up-to-date online databases of banned firms.
The study underscores the urgent necessity for Sri Lanka to enact robust blacklisting measures and establish a comprehensive online registry of banned entities. These reforms are deemed essential to combat corruption effectively and ensure transparent and efficient allocation of public resources.
