Editorial
A good augury
Give full cooperation to the external panel
We welcome the World Bank's constitution of a panel of international experts to assess transparency and credibility of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)'s investigation into alleged corruption in the Padma Bridge project. A little over a fortnight since the revival of its loan deal in September 20, the WB has taken this forward-looking step. The sense of urgency conveyed by this move to see the dream project materialise for Bangladesh finds a resonance with the people of Bangladesh.
The three-member external panel is constituted by men of considerable experience and impeccable credentials in their respective fields that they will bring to bear on their assignment. The team will be headed by Luis Moreno Ocampo, a former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with Timothy Tong, a former commissioner of the Independent Commission against Corruption in Hong Kong and Richard Alderman, a former director of the UK Serious Fraud Office as members.
The importance of the mission is reflected on the fact that based on its findings on the status and progress of the investigations being made by the ACC, the World Bank will go ahead on the project.
Actually, we believe it is an extraordinary opportunity for Bangladesh government to gain in two ways: First, by way of identifying the gaps between the international multilateral financing agency's expectations and our approaches. This will help raise our standards in terms of transparency, public accountability and governance. Secondly, the government has the opportunity to redeem and vindicate itself. This is necessitated because of the way the government handled the issue with the World Bank which admittedly tainted the image of the country.
Thus, the job is cut out for the government, and the ACC in particular to extend their fullest cooperation to the external panel in fulfilling our goal to ensure integrity of the implementation of the project from the very word go. It is heartening to note that the government has given positive vibes to provide cooperation to the World Bank's panel.
It is in everybody's interest to put the whole controversy behind and move ahead on getting the project on the ground without further loss of time.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments