Ensuring accountability: Minister blames corruption for terrorism
Speaking at a seminar held to observe International Anti-Corruption Week from December 3 to 9, Hussain said collective effort is required to “fight this menace”. The seminar, organised by the National Accountability Bureau’s provincial chapter, was held at Nishtar Hall.
Corruption is not confined to a few institutions, but is spread across the government and the private sector, Hussain said.
Giving examples of neighboring countries, Hussain said Iran, Bangladesh and India have good governing structures with organised systems in place. “Accountability begins at home,” he stressed.
A 2010 Transparency International Pakistan report titled ‘National Corruption Perception Survey’ rates K-P as the most corrupt province in the country. The police and the power sector lead the list of being the most corrupt.
“K-P is the first province which has launched a three-year anti-corruption strategy, while other provinces are still in the process of doing so,” said NAB Director General (K-P) Khurshid Khan.
“We must focus on educating our next generation about the menace of corruption. We can prevent it if justice is served and the rule of law upheld,” added Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir.
‘Awareness, Prevention and Enforcement’
Khurshid Khan outlined three phases of fighting corruption and holding a society accountable: Awareness, Prevention and Enforcement.
“Individuals and society as a whole must be aware and cautious about being exploited. In K-P, NAB has collaborated with the education and information departments to create a sense of self-accountability among the masses, focusing especially on the younger generation,” said the director general.
“We have established character building clubs at public and private universities that arrange seminars in different districts for government officers, to remind them of their role and responsibility as public servants,” he added.
NAB is also collaborating with the K-P government and has established prevention committees, which have government and NAB representatives to study rules, regulations and grey areas. The committee’s job is to make government organisations more people-friendly and service oriented, and to crackdown on embezzlement, said Khan.
Highlighting NAB’s performance, he said the bureau has recovered Rs1.2 billion through voluntary return and plea bargains. Giving a further summary, he said Rs625.26 million was recovered indirectly, Rs2.6 billion through indirect savings and Rs1.9 billion through court fines and litigation. About Rs197.8 million has been distributed to scam victims as monetary compensation.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ