Editorial
Move to clip ACC wings
Government must not take such a step
ANY move to dilute the authority of the Anti-Corruption Commission can only send out very bad signals to the country. There is a clear reason why. In these past two years and more, the degree to which the ACC was empowered to handle acts of corruption (and that was per courtesy of the caretaker government) was without question something that rekindled hope among people about the future of democratic governance. To be sure, the ACC has not been above criticism and has indeed been condemned for some of its more controversial acts. But what surely cannot be denied is the principle upon which it has been working since early 2007. Whether the body will continue to wield that kind of authority in the future now depends on what the present political dispensation means to do about it. If reports of a possible clipping of the ACC's wings turn out to be true, all one can say is that it will be a regressive move that can only impede the nation's journey to a full and meaningful democratic order.
Our understanding is that proposals are being readied that will leave the ACC in a badly emasculated state. Briefly, these proposals would have bureaucrats, policy makers and lawmakers acquire immunity from any prosecution by the ACC. If that comes to pass, one does not require much wisdom to understand that the organization will be effectively and swiftly reduced to the state the old Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC) was in before the concept of the ACC came in. Then again, the ACC was not much of a credible organization until the caretaker government, through placing former army chief Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury at its helm, injected much needed vitality to it. The fact that Chowdhury enjoyed ministerial status and was free to investigate corruption went a long way in convincing people that things were finally on the right track. But the ACC received a jolt when circumstances (and they are not hard to understand) compelled Chowdhury to quit. His successor was not to enjoy the ministerial rank that underlined his authority. Even so, new chairman Ghulam Rahman made it known that he would vigorously pursue corruption and that the ACC would not falter.
Of course, the ACC has not faltered. But the way in which the political classes have remained busy to slice away at its authority is not only regrettable but outrageous as well. If now it is put in a straitjacket (and that is what will happen if bureaucrats, lawmakers and policy makers have their way), it will become a redundant body. The more important point here is that if with an elected parliament in place, the ACC or for that matter other such organizations lose their power and so their effectiveness, it will be transparency and accountability that will be the casualty.
The government must think twice before embarking on such a backward move. Diminishing the ACC will only debase the structure of democracy.
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