Combating corruption

Corruption in Bangladesh has assumed such large proportions and variegated forms that large numbers of the public have come to believe that it is impossible to get rid of this malaise. In such an atmosphere of pervasive cynicism, one of the things that the guide repeatedly emphasizes - and quite correctly - is that the scourge can be managed or controlled. Other countries have been notoriously corrupt in the past but have succeeded in tackling the problem through a mixture of administrative and electoral reform. But in a country which buckles under the gigantic burden of corruption and struggles to find a way to overcome its oppressive weight, any step towards giving the still-nascent anti-corruption movement a fillip deserves to be warmly commended. The media reports and editorials acknowledge the need for a variety of strategies to fight corruption, ranging from general measures such as the simplification of rules and procedures and the application of information technology to specific steps such as trapping corrupt public servants. While agencies such as the ACC can play a vital role, any comprehensive strategy to combat corruption would have to involve other bodies such as NGOs and the print and electronic media.
Wide publicity should be given to it and copies must be made available to the public on demand. It is shocking to learn that India is one of the most corrupt countries in the world; more corrupt than Somalia and Afghanistan. At the other end of the scale was Somalia, which barely qualifies as a nation given its non-stop civil wars and economy based mostly on spectacular acts of piracy.
Corruption is a fixture in countries like Egypt, India, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan, where 60% of executives surveyed reported having been solicited for a bribe. Transparency International figures bribes consume an estimated $20 billion to $40 billion a year worldwide, money that could be used for productive investment and jobs.
Although it may hurt the pride to admit it, Bangladesh is one of the most corrupt countries on the world map. The latest Corruption Perception Index conducted by Transparency International, a Berlin-based NGO which conducts an annual survey which attempts to aggregate perceptions of corruption within countries, ranks Bangladesh a lowly 139 out of a list of 180 nations. The war against corruption is formidable and not going to be easy to win. Wherever government money is spent or collected there should be tight scrutiny.