'Free media can help curb corruption'

16 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Corruption can be reduced even in a situation of political competition if it is ensured that the media of a country is free and the financing of political parties is transparent, speakers said at a public lecture yesterday. “Indeed, political competition does hinder corruption in a situation with the free media, through which political scandals can be discussed and brought to light,” said Prof Ulrich von Alemann, renowned German scholar in the field of party financing and corruption. “The abuse and evasion of rules are a very broad field when it comes to party financing. In order to avoid a limit, donations might be separated into several units,” said the German professor. Alemann, head of political science and current vice-president of Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany, was giving a public lecture on “Political parties, financing and corruption.” Political science department at Dhaka University (DU), German embassy in Dhaka and Institute of Government Studies (IGS) and Brac University jointly organised the programme at RC Majumder Auditorium at DU. “In our country, political parties are hardly institutionalised. The parties must have specific sources of funds and use of black money in election campaign must be checked,” said DU Pro-vice Chancellor Prof Harun-or-Rashid. The lecture was presided over by Prof Shawkat Ara Husain, chairman of the political science department at DU.