Independent Anti-corruption Commission Essay
Introduction: Corruption has become an
enduring pattern in our public life. At present corruption is rampant in essential services,
like – healthcare, education, police, judiciary, land administration, taxation, and power. It also affects the government, business community, political
system, NGOs, financial sectors, etc. It is practically posing a threat to our
democratic process. It is obstructing the operation of market forces, creates
bottlenecks in the administrative system, prevents justice and fairness,
discourages the spirit of public services, and impedes sustainable
development. Multilateral donor agencies such as World Bank and UNDP estimate
that 30 to 40 percent of the development fund of Bangladesh is misappropriated by
corrupt means. In fact, corruption has become synonymous with misgovernance in
Bangladesh. The surveys of the World Bank, TIB, and other surveys show how acute corruption is in government, semi-government and non-government offices,
education sectors, financial sectors, and socio-economic organizations.
Prospects of Anti-corruption
Commission: When political leaders and officials engage in bribery and graft,
they are accountable to an impartial judiciary called the Anti-corruption
Commission. With this view the government of Bangladesh formulated an independent
Anti-corruption Commission in the month of November 2004 and the commission has
started its office. This is unfortunate that even the donor agencies have
clearly stated that it is not a lack of resources, it is rather the weakness of
institutions that is responsible for the slow growth of Bangladesh's economy. So
long as politicization continues the government will never be able to build up
any strong institution. Politicization has already made the weak and
inefficient bureaucracy almost non-functional. In a branded corrupt country
like Bangladesh, how can we expect that a Commission consisting of three members
and headed by a retired high court judge will be able to handle the tremendous
task of controlling corruption in Bangladesh? It is difficult for us to believe
that the Commission can take strong decisions unpleasant to the corrupt people.
The Commission declares that it would be able to bring significant improvement
in the country’s corruption situation within a stipulated period. At the same
time, the recently retired ACC chairman also commented it was a “toothless tiger”.
It has, however, not disclosed the strategy it desires to adopt to perform this
extremely challenging task. It has, however, admitted that it would not be
possible for it to root out corruption totally from the country though it
can be reduced to a great extent.
Conclusion: We do not know the extent
of satisfaction of the donor agencies in establishing the Commission. It
depends on the quality of performance of the Commission. Despite defects and deficiencies
in the Commission, we should not be totally disappointed if all concerned fully
support the Commission and allow it to work smoothly, coolly, and courageously
so that it is not regarded as a poor substitute for the defunct Bureau of
Anti-corruption (BAC) and no more a toothless tiger.
