Apesalli website against fraud and corruption in Sri Lanka

People will be able to use the platform to report offences using their mobile phones. The trilingual website (Sinhala, Tamil and English) was launched on International Anti-Corruption Day.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has created a website called Apesalli to monitor fraud and corruption in the South Asia country.

Both fraud and corruption “are rampant throughout Sri Lanka, but are hard to see. This is why the new Apesalli website will be a valid tool for honest citizens,” said some Sri Lankans, speaking to AsiaNews.

The website will be useful in the case of election as well, noted Wajira Sirimanne, who monitors elections in Gampaha for TISL.

“As election observers we have seen corruption cases several times,” he told AsiaNews. Now "Apesalli gives us the opportunity to make more accurate assessments and reports.” The fact that the website is trilingual – Sinhala, Tamil and English – helps a lot, he added.

Sirangika Lokukarawita, the Galle District coordinator for the TISL election monitoring team, agrees.

“The TISL initiative is a great opportunity for all citizens who care about public money to report any type of fraud” in real time.

“Apesalli allows citizens to fulfill their social responsibility. Reports can also be easily filed using mobile phones,” Shirani Cooray, another election observer, told AsiaNews.

TISL launched Apesalli to coincide with the International Anti-Corruption Day on 9 December. It allows reporting of electoral fraud as well as abuse of state assets.

“This year we had to monitor various situations: the tax amnesty granted earlier in the year, the bill on the Colombo Port City Economic Commission, and the corruption scandals related to the sugar and fertiliser trade,” said TISL executive director Nadishani Perera

“People should be aware of the harmful effects of corruption,” Perera added. “This [the website] will increase the public demand for accountability of government officials.”