ACC’s performance must improve

We believe that corruption must be meaningfully tackled not just to drive prosperity and ensure political stability, but to prevent the country’s social fabric from fraying any further. The all pervasive corruption is eating away at the vitals of Bangladesh’s economy and the society in general.

A recent report published in The Business Post stated that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) did not investigate more than 94 per cent of the total number of corruption allegations it received from Bangladesh over the past six years. This information while deeply disturbing is hardly surprising.

The lack lustre performance by ACC has disappointed observers who have expressed their disappointment at the performance of ACC officials. Even the higher ups of the organisation have at times admitted that ACC officials failed to execute their knowledge and techniques acquired from trainings in their work. Consequently the anti-corruption drives often runs out of steam.

 The ACC – as indicated in the report – has repeatedly been found weak in responding to corruption complaints. The prosecution rate is still poor compared to the complaints lodged. There is hardly any mechanism to address the special needs of marginalised groups including the poor and women. Overall, the perception of ACC’s performance is not encouraging and reflects a lack of trust.

We appreciate the government’s zero-tolerance policy against corruption. However one of the core implementing institutions ACC is not making much of the headway regarding the policy.

However it also should be said that the powers that be are always ready to utter platitudes about the need to curb corruption. However, they are not willing to empower the ACC to investigate the higher judiciary, the prime minister’s office, or even to effectively pursue the lower-level officials who make life an expensive hell for Bangladeshis seeking driving licences, passports and other important documents. Our country has a rather poor record in creating and maintaining institutions that are free from political interventions.

Corruption is a method and a technique adopted just to bypass the rule of law and engulfing the whole system into socio-economic turmoil. Furthermore, corruption, being the mother of all ills, gives birth to multifarious problems including nepotism, favouritism and negating meritocracy, transparency and accountability. It is an established fact that the cruelty shows its influence as the rule of law is abrogated. Banking scams, industrialist’s monopoly to create baseless crises, bypassing the constitutional supremacy, lavish living styles of the ruling class, foreign tours under the head of national exchequer, general apathy, neglect, carelessness and an attitude of indifference towards national issues are all the outcomes of corruption which is root cause of all evils in the country.

The poor are side-lined, the rich are bestowed, the needy are ignored and the affluent are delivered. However, the story does not end here. The socio economic situation is much more dubious and gloomy than as expected. Lack of accountability is an outcome of nepotism and favouritism. How can a corrupt person be held accountable by a corrupt authority? All in all the entire unfortunate system is prone to the monster of corruption.

We cannot deny that according to the strict definition of the term the common people of this country are also corrupt. With the system being what it is they have no option but to indulge in some form of corruption. It is a matter of survival.

In such dismal state of affairs, the question of accountability does not arise. Only lucrative and emotionally charged speeches and pledges can never come up to the expectations of the people. Rule of law is the only option that can pave way for accountability.

The economic costs of rampant corruption are well known.  Studies have shown that corruption stunts economic growth (while making it less inclusive), limits tax revenues and deters both domestic and foreign investment. Corruption doesn’t just skew income distribution, it makes us all poorer.