Capacity building: NAB to collaborate with UK crime agency on training

Course contents, agreement expected to be finalised soon

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau, while stressing that there is no shortcut to hard work, commitment and honesty, the bureau is hoping to secure an agreement for training with United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

This was stated by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry in a statement issued by the bureau on Wednesday.

Chaudhry said that corruption is a curse which must be put down with iron hands. In this regard, he directed officers of the anti-corruption watchdog to double their efforts in eradicating corruption.

To further improve the capacity of NAB’s investigation officers, Chaudhry said that the NCA carried out a Training Need Analysis (TNA) of NAB in consultation with the concerned division.

Soon, the course contents will be finalised and five courses in six fields will be offered in Pakistan as identified by the experts.

He added that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is also expected to be signed between NAB and NCA for cooperation in anti-corruption efforts and sharing of training facilities after approval of respective authorities in both countries.

The NAB chief added that the bureau is committed to eradicating corruption by adopting a zero-tolerance-policy. For this purpose, he said that they have chalked out a proactive anti-corruption strategy to eliminate corruption through a holistic approach to awareness, prevention and enforcement to the arrest corrupt and recover looted money.

He added that the figures of complaints, inquiries and investigations have almost doubled from 2015 to 2016 in the same period.

Moreover, comparative figures for the last three years showed the hard work being put in by all ranks of NAB staff in an atmosphere of renewed energy and dynamism, where the fight against corruption was being taken as a national duty.

The increase in the number of complaints also reflects enhanced public trusted in the NAB, Chaudhry said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2017.