Transparency International 2003

Admittedly, the so-called study is not based on statistics or verifiable data but just the impression of some individuals. Some of these expatriates happen to suffer living in poor countries such as Bangladesh in order to make a bit of money but otherwise they hate every minute of putting up with the miserable living conditions of the poor country. Perhaps keeping in mind countries such as Bangladesh, Peter Eigen tried to soften his blows by saying that the CPI, even with 133 countries is only a "snapshot". He added, "There is not sufficient data on other countries, many of which are likely to be corrupt." His judgment is certainly very harsh even though the judgment is passed without the benefit of any data. Peter Eigen has certainly found an excellent field in which he can do no wrong because he does not deal with "data" but with "perceptions" that are essentially subjective opinions based on unverified newspaper reports, preconceived notions, prejudices and perhaps gossips in expatriate drawing rooms and above all, hearsay. I wonder if anyone has asked him whether these are reasonably sound grounds for making an index that gives the false impression that it is a scientific exercise based not on gossips and hearsay but statistically sound data.

Despite the essential weaknesses of the TI exercise, it is not easy for Bangladesh to question the CPI grading. How can we claim that the TI report is wrong when on the same day of the publication of the report there was another report in the Press on the alleged corruption by two honourable judges of the highest court of Bangladesh? The allegation is made by no less than the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. The Chief Justice is reported to have asked for a report on the complaint. Hundreds of delegates of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) are in town to read the juicy reports on the bad habits of the naughty people of this country! These people even do not know how to play their own national anthem!

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The TI report is based on the comments by businessmen and journalists and also some academics, both local and foreign. There is certainly irony in this decision. After all, it is the businessmen who are the other half of the coin. If the politicians and civil servants are the bribe takers, then who are the bribe givers? How come the businessmen, whether they are local or expatriate, became the judge and the jury at the same time? Peter Eigen's organisation certainly knows their role and yet their self-serving comments are taken by them to be the basis of their devastating judgment. This is indeed a fundamental flaw in the TI system. People who often take advantage of the system go back to tell a tale depicting themselves as lilywhite symbols of honesty and integrity.

Publication of the TI report has come for the BNP-Jamaat government not only at an awkward moment. People have not forgotten the unseemly glee of the BNP leaders at the 2001 report. It was published in June 2001 when the Awami League government was in office and the general election was just a few months away. They did not think for a moment that such a report could tarnish the image of the country. Instead, the BNP leaders considered the TI report to be a gift from the Heavens and used it to condemn the Awami League government. It was used to make the "Shabash Bangladesh" video programme that set a very low standard of political propaganda in Bangladesh. The table has now turned. BNP leaders are squirming! The finance minister has suddenly woken up to the hypocrisy and double standard of the rich countries! Consistency in remarks was never his strong point and now his partisan and biased remarks stand exposed. Despite what the finance minister or other ministers may say, there is a growing feeling in the country that BNP-Jamaat government has failed to fulfil its electoral commitments to the nation. In the matter of fighting corruption, they have no successes to report.

Today lots of things are going wrong in Bangladesh. The tightening grip of corruption is certainly a critical one but perhaps the question of security of life and liberty and law and order have over-shadowed all other issues. There have been the repression of political opponents, use of police for partisan purposes, release of 70 thousand criminals from jail on the ground of their being BNP activists, patronage of wanted criminals (a number of them were nominated by the BNP for Dhaka City Corporation commissioner election), politicisation of civil service, (650 officers have been superseded for political considerations and more than 350 officers have been cast aside as OSDs. As many as 35 secretaries of ministries out of 55 have been appointed on 'contract', largely on the basis of their partisan loyalty), then the Parliament has been made dysfunctional and settled issues such as the peace accord in the Chittagong Hill Tracts are being reopened. Due to steady increase in prices of essential items of daily life there is growing unrest among the common people.

Against the backdrop of escalating violence, crime and deteriorating economic conditions and bad governance in general, is it surprising that corruption will extend its tentacles further? All over the country people talk in hushed voice about a certain "House" where one has to pay tribute in order to get anything done. It seems to be the most widely known secret in this country. These are the hard facts of life in Bangladesh. However much we may hate the CPI there is no escape from the reality that is staring at us. No one believes that the so-called Anti-Corruption Commission that the BNP-Jamaat government is talking about is a serious initiative. It is just a PR exercise, perhaps designed to please the World Bank and the IMF.

What about the past? Of course, corruption in Bangladesh is not a new phenomenon. It has been there from the British and Pakistani days. During the military regimes the strongmen started with all kinds of high-minded statements about eradicating corruption but ended up wallowing in it. Coming to power after more than two decades, the Awami League government started with a clean slate. It had given a reasonably good government during its term but public image began to be frayed in the concluding period. Despite success in achieving steady economic growth, price stability, disaster management, export growth, increase in investment and employment, food self-sufficiency and success in signing the Ganges Water Treaty and the Chittagong Hill Tracts peace accord, its public image suffered when crime and insecurity in certain pockets of the country took their toll. I will not claim, for obvious reasons, total objectivity in describing the situation in those days and I know that others may hold a different view. TI report on corruption in 2001, disseminated by the BNP and the Press, found willing listeners. Will the present TI report affect the present government's image? Even without the CPI the image of this government is so poor that the report can only accentuate the impression of a corrupt regime making a mess of governance. Even supporters of BNP-Jamaat are embarrassed at its ineptitude, corruption and incompetence.

As the finance minister in the Awami League government I criticised the 2001 index that put Bangladesh at the top of the list of corrupt countries. Do I criticise it now? Yes, I do. As I mentioned earlier, the methodology used by TI is essentially subjective and is seriously flawed. In fact, I believe it is not very fair on the part of a group of self-appointed guardians or conscience keepers to make such sweeping judgments with devastating results for some countries. TI simultaneously plays the role of prosecutor, judge and jury over the reputation of some nations. Instead of helping a country that suffers from poor governance including corruption, the TI report makes sure that foreign investors would shun the country as if it were infested with plague. Of course one may argue that having seen its name in the bottom of CPI, the government and the people would immediately rush to rid themselves of all corrupt practices. Such expectations are most unrealistic. Given the complexity of the corruption syndrome, a serious effort to combat this problem will have to have behind it strong political will, honest and clean leadership, genuine commitment and support of all the political parties and the media. No one should therefore be under the illusion that it is an evil that will go away by just one day's bad publicity. Political parties will try to take advantage of the timing of the report as the BNP did in 2001. Who can blame the Awami League if it seeks to do the same now? The CPI will end up as a political tool to be used by some clever politicians at their convenience. In my view, the TI index will not make even a small dent in this massive problem unless there is a national consensus to fight this menace that is undermining governance, threatening our efficiency and performance as a nation, damaging our image and reputation and gnawing at our confidence and self-esteem. The inspiration and the urge to stand up against corruption must come from within our heart and soul, not from Germany.

Shah AMS Kibria is the former Finance Minister.