NAB’s anti-graft efforts recognised

Chaudhry says international organisations have noted performance improvement

Efforts made by the top anti-corruption watchdog against graft in the country have been recognised by both national and international organisations.

This was stated by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry while chairing a meeting at the bureau’s headquarters to review progress on implementing new initiatives taken by the body, read a statement issued by the body on Friday.

While addressing the meeting, the NAB chairman said that their top priority of was to eradicate corruption with iron hands without any fear and favour, across the board, by adopting a zero tolerance policy. He added that as the apex anti-corruption organisation, Chaudhry said they had been tasked with eradicating corruption and recover looted money.

In this regards, he said that the bureau had devised a proactive and comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy. Feedback on these new initiatives, he said, was quite encouraging since the incumbent management of the body had recovered Rs45 billion which had been deposited in the national exchequer by realising it as a national duty.

Moreover, Chaudhry said that their conviction ratio was about 76 per cent, which was comparatively higher than those of other anti-corruption organisations which were investigating white collar crimes.

He added that new initiatives taken by the NAB had been acknowledged by all reputable organisations such as PILDAT which, in its report, had noted that over 42 per cent of people trust NAB.  By comparison, 30 per cent trust police and 29 per cent trust government officials.

Similarly, a recent report of Transparency International also increased Pakistan’s ranking in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 126 to 116.

Pakistan, the NAB chief said, had emerged as a role model for SAARC countries in eradicating corruption and was elected as the first chairman of the SAARC Anti-Corruption Forum.

In the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum, Pakistan’s ranking improved from 126 to 122.

He said that through detailed introspection and analysis of organisational weaknesses, an overhaul of procedures and business processes, all pillars of the organisation such as operations, prosecution, human resource development and awareness and prevention have been reactivated.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2017.