Bad bureaucracy: Hyderabad officials top the corruption list
Most of the cases were registered against revenue and police departments.
KARACHI:
Hyderabad officials proved to be even more corrupt than their Karachi counterparts, as data shared by the anti-corruption establishment minister revealed on Thursday.
The department registered 180 cases against Sindh government officials while 110 officials were arrested for their alleged involvement in corruption cases last year, said the minister, Abdul Haq Bhurt, at a press conference.
He said that Hyderabad had the highest number of cases compared to other divisions in the province, with 63 cases registered there, out of which 45 officials were arrested. Meanwhile, 44 cases were lodged in Sukkur, 33 in Karachi, 29 in Larkana and 11 in Mirpurkhas. Most of the cases were registered against revenue and police departments.
Bhurt said that his department would focus on the education and health departments this year. They plan to conduct surprise raids at basic health centres, schools and offices of Executive District Officers (EDOs).
While several cases have been registered against government departments including police, revenue, local government, health, irrigation, Zakat and food, Bhurt maintained that corruption has gone down in the last two years.
Cases have also been registered against cooperative societies and builders, allegedly involved in fraud.
He also said that the present government is going to bring drastic changes in the rules of the anti-corruption department, for which a summary has been forwarded to the Sindh chief minister. “We want to seek powers to initiate [an] open inquiry and [the authority to] arrest corrupt officials without waiting for the approval of officials concerned,” he said.
The data provided by the minister revealed low conviction rates, to which he said that most of the cases are under trial.
The district-wise data shared with the press showed that in Karachi, only four people were convicted while in Hyderabad, three people were convicted, four in Sukkur, three in Larkana and none in Mirpurkhas division.
Published in The Express Triune, January 28th, 2011.
Hyderabad officials proved to be even more corrupt than their Karachi counterparts, as data shared by the anti-corruption establishment minister revealed on Thursday.
The department registered 180 cases against Sindh government officials while 110 officials were arrested for their alleged involvement in corruption cases last year, said the minister, Abdul Haq Bhurt, at a press conference.
He said that Hyderabad had the highest number of cases compared to other divisions in the province, with 63 cases registered there, out of which 45 officials were arrested. Meanwhile, 44 cases were lodged in Sukkur, 33 in Karachi, 29 in Larkana and 11 in Mirpurkhas. Most of the cases were registered against revenue and police departments.
Bhurt said that his department would focus on the education and health departments this year. They plan to conduct surprise raids at basic health centres, schools and offices of Executive District Officers (EDOs).
While several cases have been registered against government departments including police, revenue, local government, health, irrigation, Zakat and food, Bhurt maintained that corruption has gone down in the last two years.
Cases have also been registered against cooperative societies and builders, allegedly involved in fraud.
He also said that the present government is going to bring drastic changes in the rules of the anti-corruption department, for which a summary has been forwarded to the Sindh chief minister. “We want to seek powers to initiate [an] open inquiry and [the authority to] arrest corrupt officials without waiting for the approval of officials concerned,” he said.
The data provided by the minister revealed low conviction rates, to which he said that most of the cases are under trial.
The district-wise data shared with the press showed that in Karachi, only four people were convicted while in Hyderabad, three people were convicted, four in Sukkur, three in Larkana and none in Mirpurkhas division.
Published in The Express Triune, January 28th, 2011.