ACC makes breakthrough in fight against corruption

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has made a breakthrough in the fight against corruption and proved its ability to bring powerful persons to justice and establish the fact that no one is above the law.
However, the commission should be more interactive with common people in its motivational campaign by taking steps to remove concerns of the people with regard to the target and goals of the anti-graft drive.
Prof Muzaffer Ahmad, chairman of the Trustee Board of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), observed this while talking to BSS about different aspects of the anti-corruption drive that visibly took shape one year ago after the present caretaker government took over.
"Common people's perception is that more big corrupt people are still out of the net," he said, adding that the ACC must dispel this notion by bringing more corrupt politicians and bureaucrats to justice.
The success of the anti-corruption drive as a whole depends on the future course of action of the ACC as to how it tries to dispel this notion and build people's confidence.
Appreciating the motivational campaign of ACC Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, he said more interaction with common people and involvement of young people in the campaign would bring the commission closer to people.
"I think some qualitative changes should be brought to the campaign. Earlier, the ACC chairman administered oath against corruption, though it was somehow dramatic. But it encourages people to come forward to combat corruption," he observed.
"But now he came back to Dhaka after giving speeches without any interaction with common people. I think he (ACC chairman) should be more interactive so that people have a feeling that he is close to them," Prof Muzaffer said.
The ACC should take people in confidence in a large scale and let people know about its problems to draw more public support, he added.
Pointing out the trail of the graft cases in the special courts, he said people are also confused with the legal aspects of the cases. The trial process of all graft cases should be more transparent, he added.
Prof Muzaffer said the present government made the ACC a free and functional organisation through necessary reforms of law and without interfering in its activities. It helped the commission build its capacity to handle more work, which it never have done before.
Justifying the priorities of the ACC to launch its drive at individual level, Prof Muzaffer said the commission will now have to focus on systemic corruption at different levels of the public sector.
He observed that some former employees, who are still working at different positions in the ACC, are involved in some sort of irregularities that led the commission to take swift action against such elements. As soon as the ACC will be cleared of the corrupt officials, it will be able to function properly, he said.
Laying importance on bringing changes to the mid-level positions in the public sector offices, he said that most offices, which were once blamed for rampant corruption, were reconstituted only at upper level. The mid-level officers and employees, largely responsible for such corruption, have remained in the same position, he added.
He did not agree with the proposal to show flexibility to the business community with regard to their corruption, saying that it would be similar to acknowledging corruption in business.
"If you allow corruption of businessmen, the bureaucrats and politicians might be entangled again in the vicious circle in the future," he said.
"I do not accept the theory that action against corrupt businessmen will hamper the economic progress," he said.
About cooperation between the TIB and the ACC, Prof Muzaffer said, "We are cooperating with the ACC in the motivational campaign and investigation of systemic corruption."
He ruled out the notion that the ongoing anti-corruption drive has slowed down the economic progress.
He said the speed of economic activities might be hampered if circulation of money is reduced, but economy cannot be sustained upon corruption. The anti-corruption drive would bring good results for the country in the long run, he added.