Call to ensure independent ACC
Visitors at a cartoon exhibition at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day yesterday.Photo: STAR
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) observed International Anti-Corruption Day yesterday by calling upon the government to ensure independent functioning of the anti-graft watchdog through the commission's laws. “If the commission has laws that ensure its independent functioning, corruption would definitely come down significantly in the next few years,” said ACC Chairman Ghulam Rahman. He was speaking to The Daily Star after participating in a rally in the city marking the day. His remarks are a bleak reminder that the cabinet, ignoring criticism by civil society and media, passed a set of ten amendments to the ACC's laws, curtailing its independence and authority. ACC had stated strict reservation on at least six of the amendments, an issue which the government has kept hanging for over two years since it assumed power in January 2009. Ghulam hoped that Bangladesh would easily be able to raise its score up to five on the corruption perception index of Transparency International in the next three years if the government, civil society and media work together. On a scale of 1 to 10, Bangladesh scored 2.7 this year, 0.3 points higher than the previous year, securing the 13th position. Scoring below 3 represents severe form of corruption and above 5 represents moderate control over corruption. The highest scorer among South Asian countries is Bhutan (5.7), a sign of its steady and remarkable development in curbing corruption in comparison to Poland (5.5), South Korea (5.4), Hungary (4.6), Czech Republic (4.4) and Italy (3.9). TIB holds eight issues responsible for pulling back the progress in curbing corruption, which includes the controversial proposal to amend ACC law. Earlier in the morning, ACC formed a human chain in front of Jatiya Press Club. Corruption prevention committees formed by the commission observed programmes across the country yesterday while TIB began its fortnight programmes, marking the day.
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