Steps on to bring transparency in LGRD by Jan 30: ACC chief
Friday, 5 December 2008
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) will take steps by January 30 next to bring transparency in the process of taking up projects and ensure local people's participation in project implementation, reports BSS.
The division would also ascertain a benchmark by June next year for the mayor and councillor candidates of the local bodies so that inefficient and corrupt people cannot be elected to these positions.
Local Government Division (LGD) Secretary Shaikh Khurshid Alam in a meeting with the ACC chairman spoke of the ministry's plan to make it free from corruption and ensure transparency at all levels.
Two commissioners of the ACC M Habibur Rahman and Abul Hasan Manzoor Mannan and chiefs of different organisations under the division and senior officials of the ministry attended the meeting.
Briefing journalists on the meeting, ACC Director General Colonel Hanif Iqbal said Thursday's meeting was a follow-up of the ACC chairman's meeting with the LGD secretary held on November 6 as part of the Commission's move to check institutional corruption.
The ACC in its preliminary inquiry found that unbridled corruption lay with LDG's project management and implementation, procurement process of the ministry, manpower recruiting, budget allocation, monitoring and evaluation, leasing process of haats, markets and water bodies.
Due to the corruption in the local government bodies, which were directly responsible for rural development, public interests were being frustrated hampering development and draining out huge public money every year.
According to the ACC, the management and monitoring system of the ministry ranging from project preparation to implementation was very weak and non-transparent. The ministry had taken no measures to make the officials accountable. Hanif Iqbal said the secretary informed the meeting of formation of an internal anti- corruption prevention cell which will identify the areas of corruption and take steps for their prevention.
He said the LGRD would also introduce 'one stop service' to provide service to the people and make easy the service providing procedure as well as arranging interactive meetings with common people from time to time.
He said the LGRD was going to take the measures in light of a 14-point recommendation of the ACC to make the ministry an efficient service-providing agency suiting to public aspiration.
The division would also ascertain a benchmark by June next year for the mayor and councillor candidates of the local bodies so that inefficient and corrupt people cannot be elected to these positions.
Local Government Division (LGD) Secretary Shaikh Khurshid Alam in a meeting with the ACC chairman spoke of the ministry's plan to make it free from corruption and ensure transparency at all levels.
Two commissioners of the ACC M Habibur Rahman and Abul Hasan Manzoor Mannan and chiefs of different organisations under the division and senior officials of the ministry attended the meeting.
Briefing journalists on the meeting, ACC Director General Colonel Hanif Iqbal said Thursday's meeting was a follow-up of the ACC chairman's meeting with the LGD secretary held on November 6 as part of the Commission's move to check institutional corruption.
The ACC in its preliminary inquiry found that unbridled corruption lay with LDG's project management and implementation, procurement process of the ministry, manpower recruiting, budget allocation, monitoring and evaluation, leasing process of haats, markets and water bodies.
Due to the corruption in the local government bodies, which were directly responsible for rural development, public interests were being frustrated hampering development and draining out huge public money every year.
According to the ACC, the management and monitoring system of the ministry ranging from project preparation to implementation was very weak and non-transparent. The ministry had taken no measures to make the officials accountable. Hanif Iqbal said the secretary informed the meeting of formation of an internal anti- corruption prevention cell which will identify the areas of corruption and take steps for their prevention.
He said the LGRD would also introduce 'one stop service' to provide service to the people and make easy the service providing procedure as well as arranging interactive meetings with common people from time to time.
He said the LGRD was going to take the measures in light of a 14-point recommendation of the ACC to make the ministry an efficient service-providing agency suiting to public aspiration.