ACC's need for an unencumbered start

A fresh start by the ACC is what we are looking forward to, but the downside to it is that it may cause further delay in the commission becoming serviceable.

As it is, considerable delay has occurred in floating the organisation which is latched on to fight corruption. The government is into the fourth year of its tenure, and has already lost four months over the staff absorption issue and taking up of the cases left by the now-defunct Bac since the inception of the ACC. The government had decided to include the Bac staff through a screening procedure that apparently defied any formulation. Then came another spate of confusion triggered by bickering at the top with the chairman and the two members of the commission airing conflicting opinions on some rudimentary issues. Differences between the government and the commission also surfaced interminably. As long as the bickering at the top level continues, the rest of the organisation can't be expected to remain unaffected.

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The reservations about media coverage of the goings-on are hard to explain. The media reported what had happened. So, why blame it for your own failings? It is patently contradictory that an organisation created to establish transparency and accountability, should turn its back to media coverage of facts and figures. The media is only performing its duty by pointing to a delayed start due to an administrative mess-up that couldn't be hidden from public view. Frankly, insofar as combating corruption goes, the commission will only benefit by allowing the media to serve the people's right to know -- even about itself.