The Promise of Change and the Reality: A Balance Sheet – Part 1
Photo courtesy of Bloomberg
This article comprises three parts. Part 1 focuses on the electoral mandate of the NPP, the paradox of continuing IMF policies despite campaign promises, achievements and challenges in the first year and the symbolic versus substantive nature of anti-corruption efforts. Part II will examine economic realities including persistent poverty, the impact of Cyclone Ditwah, the concept of political entropy, the gap between efficiency and effectiveness in transitional justice and external economic pressures. Part III will explore participative governance, the need to work within bureaucracy, leadership challenges including burnout and the path forward for sustainable transformation.
The 2024 electoral victory of the NPP represented more than a change of government. Securing 159 of 225 parliamentary seats, the NPP rode a wave of unprecedented public frustration into office. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his team arrived with bold pledges: dismantling patronage politics, eliminating bloated parliamentary privileges, combating corruption and providing relief to citizens still reeling from the 2022 economic collapse. The electorate’s message was plain. Traditional political machinery had failed completely and incremental reforms would no longer suffice. The country demanded a fundamental system change.
This electoral mandate was for implementing a social-democratic agenda that emerged from years of accumulated grievances. Citizens had watched their economy crumble, their savings evaporate and their standard of living plummet while political elites appeared insulated from consequences. The promise of the NPP was not merely better management of existing systems but a complete rewiring of how power operated. The question facing the new government was whether such transformation could be achieved within the constraints of economic reality and international commitments.
The IMF paradox
Once in power, a troubling paradox quickly emerged. Despite fierce campaign criticism of the IMF agreement, despite promises of radical departure from failed policies, the NPP administration found itself implementing virtually similar macroeconomic measures as the previous government it had condemned. The $3 billion IMF bailout continued uninterrupted. Revenue-based fiscal consolidation proceeded as planned. Cost reflective utility pricing, requiring citizens to pay market rates for electricity and fuel, remained in place.
Nevertheless, the government attempted to soften these harsh realities where possible. Working within tight fiscal constraints, they provided subsidies to shield vulnerable populations from economic shocks. They also navigated carefully between India and China, two regional giants whose loans and investments came with competing geopolitical expectations. This delicate diplomatic dance required keeping both creditors satisfied while maintaining national sovereignty. Yet the fundamental economic framework remained unchanged, raising questions about how meaningful change could be when operating within inherited constraints.
This continuity reflects a broader challenge facing the NPP. They had won power by promising to break decisively with the past, to forge a completely new path. Instead, they found themselves trapped by international commitments signed by previous governments. Those commitments were stark fiscal realities that could not be wished away. They severely limited manoeuvring room available to a small island economy facing debt crisis, natural disasters and global economic headwinds.
Achievements and ongoing challenges
As of January 2026, the NPP government has fulfilled a sizable portion of its initial election pledges, particularly in fiscal discipline and anti-corruption, according to the Verité Research manifesto tracker Anura Meter. As of November 2025, the government had fulfilled 10 of 30 key promises. Those achievements are significant. The government achieved the highest state revenue since 2007 and recorded the lowest budget deficit since 1977. It also secured Sri Lanka’s first-ever primary account surplus. Parliament voted to strip former presidents of state-sponsored benefits, including housing, allowances and official staff. Duty free vehicle permits for MPs were eliminated.
The Bribery Commission was restructured. The Attorney General’s office received authority to pursue high profile corruption cases. The outcomes are yet to be seen. Monthly payments for low income families under the Aswesuma program increased from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 10,000. Similar increases have been made for individuals with disabilities and chronic kidney disease patients. The proposed increase to the minimum daily wage for Malaiyaha workers is to start from this month. It includes an additional Rs. 200 a day government incentive.
However, significant challenges remain to be overcome. A central theme of the NPP’s system change agenda, abolition of the executive presidency, is yet to realise. The government has proposed to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act with a new counter-terrorism law, Prevention of State from Terrorism Act (PSTA). However, the proposed draft is facing severe criticism for retaining repressive powers.
Significant reforms to the national curriculum for Grade 6 were deferred to 2027 due to backlash over certain content and inadequate consultation. Still, investigations into high profile cases like the Central Bank bond fraud have seen little concrete action. Allegations are made about certain compromises made in judicial and home affairs at the highest levels at the initial stages. The government appears to be providing considerable attention to rebuilding the country following Cyclone Ditwah, which necessitated significant relief spending from national reserves.
The anti-corruption drive: Symbolism and substance
Independent analysts began documenting a widening chasm between campaign promises and actual performance throughout 2025. The anti-corruption drive generated impressive headlines. The arrest of a number of former heavy hitters, including ex-President Ranil Wickremesinghe, suggested the new government was serious about accountability. Finally, consequences appeared to be coming for those who had pillaged national resources.
Yet critics argued these high profile arrests were largely theatrical, symbolic victories. Those grabbed attention but failed to dismantle the intricate patronage networks underlying governance for decades. The real test was not arresting prominent figures but whether the system itself would be subjected to change. The evidence suggests that it is not so. Furthermore, loss making state enterprises like Sri Lankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Railways continued operating exactly as before despite earlier pledges of comprehensive structural overhaul.
More troubling still, certain individuals alleged to have dealt in black money and money laundering operations allegedly have not been held accountable and their activities not investigated. Whispers circulate about shady influencers at the highest levels protecting these figures from scrutiny. This pattern raises fundamental questions about the depth of the government’s commitment to systemic change versus its willingness to engage in performative actions that will satisfy public demand for accountability without addressing root causes.
The state enterprise crisis
State-owned enterprises seriously contribute to the country’s economic crisis. Multiple government. run entities, including flagship operations like Sri Lankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Railways, have become synonymous with massive losses, chronic mismanagement and relentless political interference. They consume vast amounts of public funds while delivering diminishing returns, creating a fiscal black hole that undermines the entire economy. Boards of Inquiries were appointed, and reports were issued but discarded in the same hurry, doubling the wastage of taxpayer money.
The problem runs deeper than simple inefficiency. Some employees in high positions allegedly exploit their positions for secretive profits at institutional expense. Yet, warning signs should follow many predictable patterns and such signs can and should betraceable. For example, individuals at loss making institutions suddenly displaying lifestyle upgrades wildly mismatched to their official remunerations; exhibiting possessive behaviour over specific tasks or clients; becoming unusually secretive or defensive about routine matters; and misusing institutional resources to prop up private businesses can be cited. Unexplained profit drops that do not correspond to market conditions will indicate financial red flags.
The Weliamuna report, which recommended criminal investigations into the entire re-fleeting process of the Sri Lankan Airlines, is a prominent example. It had concluded that the major contributory factors were the management culture of the institution and external interference into its business operations. The Minister of Public Enterprise Development at the time requested conducting a forensic audit on the financial affairs referred to in the report. However, the Minister abandoned the decision apparently due to “the high cost involved”. Nevertheless, the airline stated that it had taken all action possible to address the internal and disciplinary issues highlighted in the report.
In a similar vein, the National Audit Office (NAO) identified systemic mismanagement and corruption within the Sri Lanka Railways. Commuters were experiencing continuing train delays leading to chronic unreliability and poor facilities. Despite ongoing investment operational inefficiencies remained rampant. An audit revealed failed procurement practices and a culture of impunity among officials exacerbating the situation. The past failures highlight a troubling legacy of negligence and mismanagement within the institution. The final audit report for the year 2024 also does not indicate much pleasing progress.
This situation highlights the need for systematic safeguards addressing the ongoing issues affecting such institutions. Institutions should verify vendor information against employee records to catch conflicts of interest. Significant transactions should require dual authorisation, preventing any single individual from approving questionable deals. Unusual data transfers need to be monitored. Employees should be required to disclose outside business interests. When suspicious activity emerges, formal investigations must gather solid evidence before taking disciplinary action, ideally with legal consultation to ensure accountability stands up in court.
The NPP’s failure to meaningfully reform these enterprises will represent a critical test of its transformative agenda. Without addressing the structural issues plaguing state-owned enterprises, fiscal sustainability remains elusive and the promise of economic recovery rings hollow. The question is whether political will exists to confront entrenched interests that benefit from the current dysfunctional system.
