ACC seeks changes to its constitution

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday proposed bringing amendment to its constitution in order to determine its status as "independent, self-governed and impartial" instead of the present "independent and impartial".
The commission yesterday sent a letter to the Cabinet Division regarding the proposal as it has been facing difficulties in carrying out different tasks, including recruitment and formulation of recruitment rules.
Although the preamble to the ACC constitution declares the commission as independent, the anti-graft body will not be able to work effectively if it is not made self-governed, said officials at the ACC.
ACC Secretary Mukhles Ur Rahman, who submitted the proposal to the Cabinet Division yesterday, said, "In order to run the commission independently and work faster and better, it is necessary to have the commission self-governed."
The commission has recommended bringing amendment to section 3(2) of the ACC Act 2004, which declares it as independent and impartial.
ACC sources said the Cabinet Division has already initiated moves regarding the proposal.
Under the present status, the ACC has not yet been able to recruit manpower for its 1,200-strong organogram approved by the government earlier this year.
At present the ACC has to go through at least 12 stages to get government approval for any of its initiatives. If its proposal is approved, getting government approval will require less time.
For recruitment, the ACC now requires its own approval once, thrice from the Cabinet Division, once at the secretary level, once each from the Public Service Commission and the law ministry, and then the final approval from the chief adviser.
If the ACC proposal is approved, recruitment will require approval once from the commission, twice from the cabinet and once each from the law ministry and the head of the government.
The ACC Act was passed in parliament on February 23, 2004 and the commission came into being on November 21 that year.