Bangladesh has shown a remarkable progress in eliminating corruption as it has been placed 139th among 180 countries in the Transparency International’s (TI) annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2009. Bangladesh has moved eight steps up from last year’s 147th in the index with an increase of 0.3 point on a scale of 0-10, according to the report released in Dhaka on Tuesday at a press briefing.
BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday said that the speaker of the parliament has no right to form a probe body to investigate into corruption allegation against the former speaker, deputy speaker and chief whip. Delwar cited section 76 of the Constitution and Rules of Procedure in support of his contention.
Chief of the Anti-Corruption Commission Golam Rahman told the press the other day that the ACC which pursued high-level corruption cases during the period of emergency, cannot now function properly due to weaknesses in the legal process where he called for reforms.
Corruption could not be eradicated unless the parliament becomes active, speakers said at the youth convention of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in the capital today. They also pointed out that the corruption spreads at all the level including the government offices. Speakers also urged the political parties to respect people’s verdict on the ninth parliamentary election and their election manifesto to create an accountable parliament for the greater good.
After around three decades of passage of the Ombudsman Act, the government has finally started looking for a competent person for the position to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power by public authorities and recommend action.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday appointed an inquiry officer (IO) to probe the allegations of corruption against former Shipping Adviser Maj Gen (retd) MA Matin and eight others in the Tk 9-crore container handling deal for Chittagong Port brought by a parliamentary standing committee.
Finance Minister AMA Muhit today asked the tax officials to stop corruption and harassment of taxpayers to bring a change in the culture of the department. “Corruption has to be come down and collectors will not harass any taxpayer,” Muhith told a function to award the leading taxpayers of the country.
The parliamentary standing committee on information ministry has decided to inquire into the irregularities and corruption in Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (FDC) during the last seven years.
State minister for home Shamsul Haq Tuku said on Friday that law would take its own course regarding charges of corruption and misuse of power against Tarique Rahman, Arafat Rahman Koko and Giasuddin Al-Mamun. He rejected repeated demands by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) that all charges against BNP leaders including Tareque be withdrawn.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday urged the teachers to get ready with information communication and technology (ICT) dealing with the country's poverty, hunger and corruption.
