Editorial
TIB on the state of corruption
A wake-up call
The Transparency International Bangladesh's survey report on the extent and severity of corruption during July 2006 to June 2007 portrays a more dismal picture than we had expected. The expectations, however, wouldn't seem to be that much belied if we were to take into account that only six months of the caretaker government has been covered in the report. It is the first half year of the government that saw a massive anti-corruption drive against financial misdeeds and abuse of power in high places including wealth statements procured from people thought to have been above reproach.
This is only to stress the point that graft in the institutions and petty forms of corruption that had taken deep roots in the various service sectors over time remained virtually unaddressed in the first six months of the government. It is only latterly that institutions like Chittagong port, RAJUK, WASA, DESA were brought under scrutiny leaving out an array of other institutions.
It is, therefore, not surprising that people had to pay Taka 5443 crore in bribes to receive services from public and private sectors; incidence of graft heightened in education, health, local government and NGOs; even though corruption declined a little among law enforcement agencies, its magnitude remains staggering; and land administration emerges as the worst culprit.
The TIB findings should be regarded as a wake-up call for the government, and the ACC in particular, to take stock of things and fill in the void in the anti-corruption drive where necessary. The lessons to draw are these: first, the free-for-all corruption among the leaders infected the institutions and offices with the virus of corruption. Secondly, and equally importantly, none of the institutions had any internal accountability mechanism, or whatever little was there, got swamped in the high tide of corruption.
So, institutional reforms would have to be carried out by this government, failing which during the brief remainder of its tenure, it could perhaps put this on the table in their dialogues with the political parties to have it addressed in fullness by an elected government.
Let's give due credit to the ethos of the last 18 months of the caretaker government's anti-corruption drive. The culture of impunity has taken a drubbing, fear has been struck in the minds of the pathological thugs and looters of state property and public demand for accountability has reached a new high. A sense of accountability has been instilled in the minds of the people across the board and this will have to be now given an institutional shape.
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