Ministers must come out clean

Efforts merely from the Anti-Corruption Commission will not able to reduce corruption in Bangladesh unless ministers prove themselves honest with their activities, ACC Chairman Ghulam Rahman said yesterday.
The country will save $1.5 billion to $2 billion annually, if corruption can be brought down to a minimal level, he mentioned.
The ACC chief said this while he was speaking as chief guest at a certificate giving function in its auditorium with Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) Rector Delwar Hossain in the chair.
“Only efforts from the Anti-Corruption Commission will not reduce corruption. Everyone including ministers must be honest in their thinking and activities. If ministers and government high-ups pledge to be honest, subordinates will definitely follow them,” said Ghulam Rahman.
Urging all to practice honesty in workplaces, he said the government must have a strong commitment to this end.
A total of 50 ACC officials were given the certificates after they completed intermediate level training course and basic training course, jointly organised by Asian Development Bank, BPATC and ACC.
Corruption inflicts a huge loss that ranges from 1.5 percent to 2 percent of annual GDP said Ghulam adding, "The present status of our country is the result of widespread corruption.”
The ACC chief suggested the government hasten the process of disposing corruption cases.
“If corruption cases remain pending for years, it will encourage the corrupt people. If at least 100 cases can be disposed of annually and this trend continues for a couple of years, nobody will dare to indulge in corruption,” he said.
He urged the government for making the young generation aware of the issue so that they can fight against corruption.