Dengue, governance and accountability

Revisiting the Statutory Responsibilities of the Colombo Municipal Council

- By Shelton Dharmaratne

SRI Lanka’s worsening dengue epidemic is not merely a public health emergency. It is also a test of urban governance, institutional accountability, and the rule of law.

With over 53,000 reported dengue infections and 31 deaths recorded during the first half of 2026, the nation is once again confronting the devastating consequences of a disease that is, to a significant extent, preventable.

The sharp surge in infections during June, following increased rainfall, underscores the urgent need not only for effective vector control but also for a critical examination of whether public authorities have faithfully discharged the statutory responsibilities entrusted to them.

Beyond epidemiology and public health

Behind these alarming statistics lies a question that extends beyond epidemiology and public health. It is fundamentally a question of governance, public administration, and the rule of law.

When a preventable disease reaches epidemic proportions within a city, citizens are entitled to ask whether the public authorities entrusted with protecting urban health have adequately discharged the legal duties imposed upon them. In Colombo, that inquiry must inevitably include the performance of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), the local authority principally responsible for maintaining municipal infrastructure, environmental sanitation and public health within the city.

The purpose of raising this issue is neither to politicise a public health emergency nor to assign blame without evidence. Rather, it is to reaffirm a principle that lies at the heart of democratic governance: every public authority exercising statutory powers must also be answerable for the manner in which it performs the statutory duties entrusted to it.