The roots of corruption
Monday, 9 January 2012
Gopal Sengupta
Corruption is prevalent in Bangladesh as there is no political will to eradicate the bad practice. Another reason has been identified by the Civil Society groups such as Transparency International Bangladesh, Centre for Policy Dialogue and many more similar organisations. They have highlighted the election procedures that encourage people to indulge in corruption. About the ineffectiveness of the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) in curbing corruption, the present government did not ratify the ordinances that were promulgated by the last caretaker government. That is why ACC is having initiations in hunting the corrupt. It is a fact that corrupt people go unpunished in our land. Many corrupt people have gone scot-free because of procedural mistakes rather than a lack of substance in the charges framed against them. It can be blamed that the lengthy legal procedures are responsible for increasing corruption especially financial crimes that are on the rise because of absence of proper laws and the use of sophisticated technology by the criminals. The existing system does not permit the ACC to probe the financial crimes.
An independent and effective judicial system is vital for eradicating corruption. It has been observed on the recent quashing of cases against many high ups, perhaps substantial matters were there for the decision. A day will come when honest businessmen will be driven out of the market by dishonest businessmen. For an example by referring to the recent share market scandal, games are being played on the stock market as a result of which the small investors have already been affected badly as the Securities and Exchange Commission is keeping mum despite knowing all the things. Political will of the government alone cannot root out corruptions.
As said by the Roman historian Tacitus, "In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous". Simply that we are mirroring the trends in society, at any given time smuggling was an issue in the seventies, corruption is an issue today, and we faithfully reflect those issues. Still, corruption and oppression are far too common threats to the democratic society. Corruption is inevitable where the people with a questionable integrity sit in the parliament as lawmakers. In fact, not only military juntas, our political parties and military backed last caretaker government are responsible for giving corruption an institutional shape. Like many, I am in doubt if the election manifesto of the ruling party will at all be implemented against the present reality. Eradication of corruption as well as implementation of the election pledges of the ruling party seems to remain a far cry. The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference. The beast for us is greed. Whether we read Dante, Swift, or any of them, it always boils down to the same thing: the corruption of the soul.
Gopal Sengupta writes from Canada. He can be reached at email: gopalsengupta@aol.com
Corruption is prevalent in Bangladesh as there is no political will to eradicate the bad practice. Another reason has been identified by the Civil Society groups such as Transparency International Bangladesh, Centre for Policy Dialogue and many more similar organisations. They have highlighted the election procedures that encourage people to indulge in corruption. About the ineffectiveness of the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) in curbing corruption, the present government did not ratify the ordinances that were promulgated by the last caretaker government. That is why ACC is having initiations in hunting the corrupt. It is a fact that corrupt people go unpunished in our land. Many corrupt people have gone scot-free because of procedural mistakes rather than a lack of substance in the charges framed against them. It can be blamed that the lengthy legal procedures are responsible for increasing corruption especially financial crimes that are on the rise because of absence of proper laws and the use of sophisticated technology by the criminals. The existing system does not permit the ACC to probe the financial crimes.
An independent and effective judicial system is vital for eradicating corruption. It has been observed on the recent quashing of cases against many high ups, perhaps substantial matters were there for the decision. A day will come when honest businessmen will be driven out of the market by dishonest businessmen. For an example by referring to the recent share market scandal, games are being played on the stock market as a result of which the small investors have already been affected badly as the Securities and Exchange Commission is keeping mum despite knowing all the things. Political will of the government alone cannot root out corruptions.
As said by the Roman historian Tacitus, "In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous". Simply that we are mirroring the trends in society, at any given time smuggling was an issue in the seventies, corruption is an issue today, and we faithfully reflect those issues. Still, corruption and oppression are far too common threats to the democratic society. Corruption is inevitable where the people with a questionable integrity sit in the parliament as lawmakers. In fact, not only military juntas, our political parties and military backed last caretaker government are responsible for giving corruption an institutional shape. Like many, I am in doubt if the election manifesto of the ruling party will at all be implemented against the present reality. Eradication of corruption as well as implementation of the election pledges of the ruling party seems to remain a far cry. The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference. The beast for us is greed. Whether we read Dante, Swift, or any of them, it always boils down to the same thing: the corruption of the soul.
Gopal Sengupta writes from Canada. He can be reached at email: gopalsengupta@aol.com