Editorial · 2015. 7. 9. · Tawfique Nawaz and members: Professor Khan Sarwar Murshid Professor Muzaffer Ahmad, Samson H Chowdhury and Mahfuz Anam. Dr. Kamal Hossain, who is currently

Congratulations

Best wishes to every-body in TIB. The role ofTIB in the anti-corruptionmovement of Bangladeshis something that thePakistanis should emulate.It is not very easy to fightagainst corruption. Buteverything is possible withthe help of the Almighty.

Shaukat Omri

Piles of file at the secretariat

The biggest depot ofgovernmental corruptionis the secretariat. The offi-cials working in the secre-tariat release files accord-ing to their own sweet will.It is well-known to thosewho have suffered thatnobody knows when a filewould see the light of dayonce it has entered the sec-retariat. The gain of the offi-cers and employees of thesecretariat in the process isinversely related to the suf-ferings of the general peo-ple. The SecretariatInstructions- 1976 stipu-lates that an officer of therank of Assistant Secretarycan hold on to a file for amaximum period of 72hours. An officer of the rankof Deputy Secretary canhold on to it for 48 hoursand for joint secretaries andSecretaries the time limit is24 hours. But this rule is notbeing followed in any way.We want an end to this.

Mahbuba IslamDepartment of Sociology,

Dhaka University

Uprooting corruptionurgently needed

Corruption has becomethe principal problem of

Bangladesh. The subject isnow being discussed notonly nationally but alsointernationally. The imageof Bangladesh as a corrup-tion-ridden country isindeed very unfortunate.The people of the countrycan now feel quite intense-ly the porosity of corrup-tion in all spheres of socie-ty every passing moment.Presently, corruption takesplace in the countrythrough collusion of indi-viduals and groups,through various loopholesand through different waysand means. This corrup-tion is found everywherestarting from traffic policeto government offi-

c i a l s ,from politicians to states-men. Everyday, innumer-able news items on corrup-tion are being published inthe newspapers. It isunfortunate but true thatthe experiences of adegenerating corrupt soci-ety has now become partof our ordinary day to daylife. Uprooting these hin-drances toward building acivil society is now ani m p o r t a n tdemand oftime. It is notdesirable thatB a n g l a d e s hremains iden-tified as a cor-rupt country.

We feel that the govern-ment, intellectuals andgood peopleshould give iturgent consider-ation. We hopethat corruptionwould beuprooted fromthe civic life ofour dearestmotherland.

Omar Khaled SaadiSurya Sen Hall,

Teacher’s Quarter, Dhaka University

List of corrupt peopleCorruption has spread to

all layers of our civic

life andhas now reached an unbe-lievable magnitude. Thepractice of mass-beatingthat is being observed in thecountry is in fact an aggres-sive expression of people’sfury against corruption. Theresponsibility of the civilsociety is to give construc-tive shape to this awareness.During the last generalelection in Korea, the civilsociety of that country col-lectively took a praisewor-

thy initiativeagainst thecorrupt politi-cians. Theypublished alist of corruptc a n d i d a t e sbefore elec-

tion on the basis of unanim-ity. Most of the candidates

mentionedin the listwere notsuccessful inthe election.The time ofn a t i o n a lelection isapproachingin our coun-

try. Different organisationsof the civil society can col-lectively and unanimouslytake the initiative to publishthe names of those individu-als who are well-known tothe countrymen as corrupt.This can have favourable

impact on the selectionof candidates by thepolitical parties.

AKM Motahar HosseinRajshahi

Black Money

The amount of blackmoney in the countryis presently Taka 57thousand crore, whichis 30 percent ofnational income.Smuggling aloneaccounts for Taka 50thousand crore. Onethird of Taka 2 lakh43 thousand croreworth of local com-modities are ‘blackmoney commodi-

ties’. The govern-ment is losing Taka 10000crore revenue in the sector.The whole economy of thecountry has now becomehostage to an unimaginablecriminal influence of illicittrade and commerce, licens-es and permits, hoarding,contractual anomalies,under-invoicing, over-invoicing, bribes, corrup-tion, avoidance of taxationand duty payments throughnepotism, etc. This state ofaffair needs to come to endif we are to stand beside thedeveloped nations.

Mahfuzul Islam Khondokar423, Thomas Hall

657 Pratt Drive, IndianaPA 15701, U.S.A.

0808T I B n e w s l e t t e r

TIB NEWSLETTER Editor: Manzoor Hasan; Executive Editor: Mohammed Imam Uddin. Transparency InternationalBangladesh, 121/C (3rd floor), Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. Telephone & Fax: (880-2) 9884811, 8826036;E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.ti-bangladesh.org

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Delay in appointing‘Ombudsman’ not desirable

The office of the ‘Ombudsman’ plays animportant role in bringing transparency,dynamism and efficiency and in checkingcorruption, nepotism and irregularities inthe administration. Article 77 ofBangladesh Constitution stipulates thatthe parliament may, by law, provide for theestablishment of the office ofOmbudsman and the Ombudsman shallexercise such powers and perform suchfunctions as Parliament may, by law, deter-mine, including the power to investigateany action taken by a ministry, a publicofficer or a statutory public authority.Since the passage of the Ombudsman Actin 1980, the issue still remains unresolvedalthough there have been vigorous discus-sions regarding the setting up of the insti-tution at different times. The present government submitted a pro-posal to the ministries of finance and

establishment in June, 1998, with the aimof appointing an Ombudsman and soughta sanction of Taka 36.7 million and 127posts. The ministries of finance and estab-lishment ultimately approved 35 posts.What remained to be done then was toappoint an Ombudsman. But it was gath-ered then that the Ombudsman could notbe appointed due to lack of a suitable can-didate. Now it is being said that the gov-ernment is amending the OmbudsmanAct of 1980 whereby the Ombudsmanwould be given sweeping powers for check-ing the corruption of ministers and bureau-crats.The Ministry of Law, Justice andParliamentary Affairs has prepared a draftreport on the establishment of theinstitution of Ombudsman withthe assistance of the Danishembassy and is now elicitingthe opinion of the repre-sentatives of various class-es and professions. Theaim of the government isto make the Ombudsmanreally powerful, expand itsarea of inquiry and tomake the post an effectiveone in the light of Article 77of the Constitution (1972).We want that no crack develops in

the confidence of the public regarding theinstitution of the Ombudsman and that itdoes not become a powerless puppet. Thegovernment must keep these aspects inconsideration. Nobody should think thatappointment of an Ombudsman would besufficient for combating corruption, con-trolling bureaucracy, ensuring accounta-bility of the government and bringingtransparency in different sectors. In manycountries of the world, there are morethan one Ombudsman. In Europe, thereare 24 types of approved schemes forOmbudsman. The Ombudsman conceptis active in such diverse fields as parlia-mentary affairs, health-care, local govern-

ment, housing, banking, insuranceand even supervision of funer-

al rites. In India, there are13 Ombudsman in the

banking sector alone.Ombudsman shouldbe appointed at allthanas and importantorganizations of thecountry for checkingcorruption and build-

ing an accountableadministration. So,

there should not be anymore delay in the appoint-

ment of an Ombudsman.

T I B n e w s l e t t e r 0101

Volume: 4 Number: 1 June 2000

Editorial

‘Like sunlight, which is thebest disinfectant, trans-parency can be the best rem-

edy for corruption'. This was observedby Dr. Kamal Hossain at a receptionhosted by the TIB in connection withthe opening of its new office premises.Dr. Kamal Hossain formally inaugurat-ed the office complex on June 25evening at Dhaka's Gulshan Avenue.Among those present on the occasionwere US Ambassador to BangladeshJohn C. Holzman, Swedish

Ambassador Anders Johnson, diplo-mats from various embassies, Mr.Ronald P. Hicks of the IMF, formerComptroller and Auditor General M.Hafizuddin Khan, Executive Chairmanof the Board of Investment M.Mokammel Haque, former Director ofthe Bureau of Anti-corruption MIKhan, former Information MinisterBarrister Nazmul Huda MP, AbdulMannan MP, Abul Kalam Azad MP,Executive Director of Democracywatch Taleya Rehman, Chairman of

Transparency is the best remedy for corruption

Dr. Kamal Hossain at the TIB reception

Transparency is the best remedyfor corruption

From the News-scan database of TIB

Seminar on role of newspapers incombating corruption

Tidbits of Corruption

Corruption in the eyes of theworking class

TIB Activities

Letters

123466

8

Holzman said that all segments of Bangladesh society fromtop down are victims of corruption

the Board of Trustees of TIB SyedHumayun Kabir, Secretary GeneralTawfique Nawaz and members:Professor Khan Sarwar MurshidProfessor Muzaffer Ahmad, SamsonH Chowdhury and Mahfuz Anam.

Dr. Kamal Hossain, who is currentlythe chairman of the Advisory Council ofthe Berlin-based anti-corruption organ-ization Transparency international,briefly mentioned about how the organ-ization came into being. He said thatpeople who are concerned about thewelfare of humanity have welcomedthis initiative and are giving encourage-ment to its work. He pointed out that inBangladesh, all organs of the state areseriously afflicted by corruption. Hecalled upon the patriotic citizens tocome forward with a firm determina-tion to free the society from this viciouscurse and thereby build a corruption-free society. Internationally reputedhuman rights activist Dr. KamalHossain said that corruption can bechecked if transparency can be ensuredin the workings of the gov-ernment and non-govern-ment organizations.

The US AmbassadorJohn C Holzman said thatall segments of Bangladeshsociety from top down arevictims of corruption. Heopined that initiativeshould be taken to combatcorruption on an urgentbasis if the country is to bedeveloped. Mr. TawfiqueNawaz said that someleading personalities of thecountry are now involvedin this anti-corruptioncampaign. The importanceof this organization and

the anti-corruption move-ment can be gauged from this factalone. Professor Khan SarwarMurshid said that they have startedthis campaign to remove the moun-tain-high obstacles of corruption infront of the general masses.

He expressed the optimismthat although he might not be able tosee the outcome of this campaign, butposterity would certainly derive bene-fits out of it.

M. Mokammel Haque emphasizedon generating public opinion about thecosts of corruption as a first step. He

called for ensuring trans-parency not only in gov-ernment bodies but alsoin non-government ones.The Executive Directorof TIB welcomed every-body present and dwelton the National IntegrityProgram of the organiza-tion, generation of data-base on corruption,preparation of reportcards and other ongoingresearch projects.Multimedia presentationof various activities, pro-grams and objectives ofTIB were made on theoccasion.

0202 TIB newsletter

TIB's News-scan Databaseteam has compiled a total of661 news items on corruption

covering Janurary, February andMarch by scanning 9 nationaldailies and 1 weekly. Someimportant data on this corrup-tion-related information are pre-sented below.

Corruption in the Policedepartment: During the periodunder review, the police were

found to be involved in maximumnumber of incidents (138) related tocorruption. Among these, 55 wererelated to abuse of power,bribing

accounted for 26, there were 18cases of extortion and 37 cases ofnegligence of duty.

Corruption in banks: There were14 cases of embezzlement in differ-ent state-owned and autonomousbanks, 10 cases of fraud and 8instances of abuse of power.

Corruption at district level: Bystudying news-scan database, it isstated that there were 70 instancesof corruption in Dhaka district, 16

in Chittagong, and 9 in Jhenidahand Moulvibazar districts. Incase of other districts, there were8 or lesser number of instances.

Corruption in various organi-zations: The police tops the listof offenders with maximumnumber of cases (138) followedby banks (33), customs (29),

forest department (28), union

From the News-scan database of TIB

councils (24), land administra-tion (19) and otherorganizations (18 orless). It may be men-tioned here thatTIB's databasecovers cor-ruption-relat-ed news of 96organizations.

C l a s s - w i s ecorruption: It isseen from thedatabase thatmaximum num-ber of newsitems (169) arerelated to cor-ruption com-mitted byclass one offi-cers. There were120 items in case ofclass two officers, 51 incase of elected or higherofficials, 38 in case ofclass three employees,and 21 instances of corruptiondone by fourth class employees.

Actions against corruption:Among the 661 cases of corruption

s c a n n e dduring the 3-month peri-

od, actionswere takenin only 161

i n s t a n c e s .T h e s e

actions weretaken by theBureau of Anti-

cor rupt ion ,c o n c e r n e d

ministries, rel-evant depart-

ments andeven thep e o p l e .

Actions takenincluded filingof cases (91),inquiries underprocess (32),s u s p e n s i o n(19), submissionof complaint tothe authority (7),

framing of charge-sheet (6), withdrawalof cases (5) andfound guilty (1).

0303TIB newsletter

An independent press free ofcontrols acts as a deterrentagainst people indulging in

corruption. A free press not only bringscorruption into focus, it helps bringtogether people engaged in fightingcorruption. The above view wasexpressed by the participants at a sem-inar organized on 28 March 2000 bythe Bangladesh Chapter ofTransparency International (TIB).Held at the auditorium of ChittagongChamber, the theme of the seminarwas 'Role of Newspapers in CombatingCorruption'. Professor of the politicalscience department of Chittagong

University Dr. Muhammad YeahiaAkhtar presented the keynote paper atthe seminar that was presided over bythe Executive Director of TIBManzoor Hasan. The principal discus-sant was poet and journalist AbulMomen.

Fifty representatives from variousprofessions and social classes took partin the four hour long deliberation start-ing from ten in the morning. The dis-cussants included Professor Dr.Hamida Banu of the department ofPhysics, Chittagong University, Deanof the Arts faculty Dr. Imran Hossein,Golam Sarwar Chowdhury of the

English department, Dr. ShairulMashreque of Public Administration,Ruhul Amin, Hossain Kabir,Sirajuddowla, Shahidullah Lipon ofJournalism department, Dr. ImdadulHaque, Mohit-ul-Alam, journalistMoinuddin Quaderi Showkat, formerGeneral Secretary of CUJ- poet andjournalist Abu Taher Muhammad,Senior Assistant Commissioner ofChittagong Metropolitan Police BanajKumar Majumdar and businessmanand social worker Nurul Islam.

In the concluding session of theseminar, a subject-wise presentationwas made on the research and analysis

Seminar on role of newspapers in combating corruption held

Table 6Actions taken against corruption

Actions taken NumberFiling of case 91Inquiry (under process) 32Suspension 19Submission of complaint 07Charge-sheet 06Withdrawal 05Found guilty 01TOTAL 161

Table 5Class-wise corruption

Category No. of corrup-tionElected officials 51Higher officials 51Class one officers 169Class two officers 120Class three employees 38Class four employees 21Non-government officials 98Others 113

Table 2Corruption in Banks

Type of corruption No. of corruptionEmbezzlement 14Fraud 10Abuse of power 08Extortion 01TOTAL 33

Table 3Extortion at district level

Name of district No. of corruption

Dhaka 70Chittagong 16Jhenidah 09Moulvibazar 09Others 08 or less

Table 1Corruption in Police department

Type of corruption No. of corruptionAbuse of power 55Bribe 26Extortion 18Fraud 01Misuse of resources 01Negligence of duty 37TOTAL 138

Table 4Department-wise corruption

Name of department No. of corruptionPolice 138Bank 33Customs 29Forest department 28Union council 24Land administration 19 Others 18 (each)

TIB is gathering information on corruption throughout thecountry. Some data on corruption covering January, February

and March this year have been presented here by TIB'sresearch assistant M. Abdul Alim

Transparency International Bangladeshorganized a seminar on the role of

newspapers in combating corruption on 28 March, 2000 at Chamber House in

Chittagong and a cross section of civil society took part ...

Inauguration of TIB’s new office

the three-day workshop as instructors.The inaugural working session of

the workshop started at 2 p.m. on 21March. Executive Director of TIBManzoor Hasan welcomed the partici-pants in his inaugural address. After theintroductions were over, Dr.Gopakumar of the PAC gave a briefoutline of the 'report card concept'. Hesaid that the report card methodology isvery useful in gauging public opinionon services provided by various govern-ment agencies. It is used for realizingvarious goals such as evaluating thelevel of people's satisfaction regardingservice-provider government organiza-tions, encouraging the people in play-

ing a role ine n s u r i n gaccountability

and transparency ofpublic servants and toencourage the gov-

ernment agencies to implement wel-fare-oriented projects for the benefit ofthe general people.

On the second day ofthe workshop on 22March, Professor JamalMunshi of TIB explainedin detail the basics of astandard report card. Inthe concluding session ofthe second day, a docu-mentary film on the prepa-ration of report card by thecivil society of India focus-ing on the qualificationand future plans of candi-dates in a local municipalelection was screened.

In the first session ofthe third day, Dr. Gopakumar discussedhis experiences in Mumbai regardingthe use of report card method.Manzoor Hasan then elaborated on the

ongoing programs of the TIB. Hesought cooperation of the participating

organizations and theirrepresentatives in theinitiative taken by TIB toset up 'committees ofconcerned citizens'(CCC) in six thanas ofMymensingh district. Heinformed that the reportcard methodology wouldbe applied in the CCCs.

In the following ses-sion, the participantswere divided into fivegroups and each groupwere given a questionpaper containing fivequestions on how to con-

duct research on report cards. It wasfollowed by eliciting opinion of the par-ticipants regarding the workshop.

0505TIB newsletter

that TIB is currently carrying outon corruption-related news itemspublished in various dailies and week-lies. It covered the news items pub-lished up to February 2000.

Many participants expressedtheir satisfaction at the presence ofTIB in Chittagong for the first time.They praised the role being playedby the organization in checking cor-ruption. They expressed the hopethat TIB would continue its opera-tions in the port city- the hub of thecountry's trade and commerce.

The Executive Director of TIBManzoor Hasan thanked the partici-pants and informed the audienceabout TIB's ongoing programs. Heinformed that TIB would continueits activities in this second largestcity of the country and sought thecooperation of all concerned in thisconnection.

An workshop on 'Report CardMethodology' was held at theBangladesh Academy for

Rural Development, Comilla on 21-23March under the joint auspices ofTransparency International Bangladesh(TIB) and the Public Affairs Center(PAC) in cooperation with Action Aid -Bangladesh. Nine organizations partici-pated in the workshop. The organiza-tions were TIB, Action Aid -Bangladesh, Ain O Shalish Kendro,Democracy Watch, Khan Foundation,Fair Election Monitoring Alliance(FEMA), BRAC, Bangladesh Legal Aid

and Services Trust (BLAST) andMadaripur Legal Aid Association.

Dr. K. Gopakumar of Bangalore ‘sPublic Affairs Center, ExecutiveDirector of TIB Manzoor Hasanand Associate Professor ofCalifornia State University (cur-rently TIB's Research Fellow)Dr. Jamal Munshi were present at

0404 TIB newsletter

Physicians' corruptionThere are allegations against five physi-

cians of misappropriating crores of taka fromgovernment exchequer. Between 1996 and1998, these civil surgeons, in collusion withthe officials of ministry of health and familywelfare and the department of health havemisappropriated medicines and equipmentworth Taka 140 crore. The civil surgeons ofBogra, Rangpur, Satkhira, Tangail andGopalganj have been charged with thisoffence by a parliamentary sub-committeewho carried out an inquiry on the subject.The final report of the parliamentary sub-committee has been submitted to the parlia-mentary standing committee on the ministryof health and family welfare on 31 May. Thesub-committee has recommended legalactions against these corrupt physicians.

Source: The Daily Jugantor, 1June,2000

Loan defaults increase by Taka 3772crore in one year

Loan defaults in the banking sector have risenby Taka 3772 crore in one year. Ofthis, the nationalized banksaccounted for Taka 2137crore. Loan defaults inspecialized banks haverisen by Taka 1815 crorewhile it is only Taka 3crore in case of for-eign banks. Onthe other hand,loan defaults inlocal private bankshave decreased byTaka 181 crore.

In terms of percentage,loan defaults haveincreased to 40.97percent inDecember, 1999,compared to 39.24percent in December,1998.

Source: The Daily Sangbad, 16 April,2000

Taka 180 crore misappropriatedeach year

Some corrupt officers and employees ofChittagong Port are misappropriating on anaverage Taka 180 crore each year from theincome of the port. They have been misap-propriating this amount by showing excessexpenditure, same expenditure under dif-

ferent heads and by not spending the sanctioned amount.This has been revealed in a preliminary

report of the parliamentarystanding committee on

estimates. According tot h e

report, evidences have emerged aboutmisappropriation of Taka 900 crore during

the five years from 1994-95 to 1998-99.Source: The Daily Jugantor, 4 June,2000

Corruption in religious institutionsThe Madrasas are considered to be religious institu-

tions. Nobody expects that there would be corruptionhere. But in reality, the size of corruption in theseMadrasas is almost unbelievable. Out of 150 thousandexaminees appearing at the secondary level Dakhilexamination under the Madrasa Education Board, 23thousand have been found to be fakes. Out of 8000Madrasas under the board, 3000 have been found to beinvolved in this corruption. The Madrasa Board hasmade this sensational discovery after a lengthy and secret

inquiry. A high-level inquiry committee has been formedby the board to identify the people involved in this forgery.

Source: The Daily Bhorer Kagoj , 26 June,2000

Corruption in Customs The National Board ofRevenue has served

show causenotices on

42 officials of Chittagong Customs on charge of corruption.They have been asked to reply to the show-cause within 15days. In the show-cause letters sent on 21 and 22 June by theNBR, these corrupt officials have also been directed to fur-nish details of their assets and properties. Earlier, the NBRmade a list of 97 officials of Chittagong Customs who havebeen charged with amassing properties worth crores of taka.Of them, 61 were specifically identified as corrupt. TheCommissioner of Chittagong Customs sent the list of 61 tothe NBR last May. And now, 42 among them have beenserved with show-cause notices in the first phase. The restwould be asked to show cause later on.

Source: The Daily Jugantor, 25 June,2000

Taka 2 million by selling tokensThe monthly income of Satkhira Police is Taka 2 million

which they earn by selling tokens. Smuggled goods worthmillions of taka are entering the country daily through theborders in collusion with the unscrupulous BDR-men andpolice. Token slips given by the police are used in theprocess. Tokens have to be bought from the police if thesegoods are to be carried inside the country. Otherwise, the

smuggled goods are siphoned off by the police. The cashierof the police station sells these slips incollusion with local middlemen. Source: The Daily Jugantar, 10 June 2000

Teachers top the list of disci-pline-breakers

The college teachers top thelist among those government offi-

cials who have committed theoffence of breaking discipline. Thepolice officials are ranked second in

this list. This has been revealed inthe Annual Report-1999 of

Bangladesh Public ServiceCommission. The number ofoffences related to breach ofdiscipline were found to be162 in 1994, 122 in 1995, 75in 1996, 91 in 1997, 88 in1998 and 46 in 1999.

Source: The Daily ManobJamin, 11June,2000

Tidbits of CorruptionEveryday there are items

in the newspapers dwellingon murders, rape, smug-

gling, trafficking, embezzle-ment, misappropriation,

laundering, fraud, extortionand corruption. We havebecome used to reading

news items on bribery andcorruption, as they are nowsso commonplace. Physicians,

police, customs officials,teachers are all involved in

corruption

Doctor

PoliceTeachers

Customs

ReligiousEducationalInstitutions

DESA

Workshop on

Report CardMethodology

The report card methodology was very usefulin gauging public opinion onservices provided by various government agencies. It is used for realizing variousgoals such as evaluating the level of people's satisfactionregarding service-provider gov-ernment organizations...

0707TIB newsletter0606

Corruption has now over-whelmed this country on sucha massive scale that the ques-

tion of checking corruption arises when-ever development issues are taken upfor consideration. The anguish of thecountry's citizenry regarding corruptionknows no bound. Various donor coun-tries and international organizationsincluding the World Bank have repeat-edly criticized the all-pervasive corrup-tion existing in the administrative appa-ratus of Bangladesh. They say that cor-ruption is the main obstacle to socio-economic development of the country.The Prime Minister herself said in theJatiya Sangsad on 6 June, "With whomwill I fight corruption? Corruption hasinfiltrated all layers of our society’.She further said, ‘ It is very unfortu-nate that a corruption case does notsee the light of day once it enters acourt of law in this country’. Whenthe Prime Minister herself expressesher helplessness about corrupt people,it can be well-understood how seriousthe problem of corruption is in thiscountry!

Bangladesh is one of the poorestnations of the world. The prevalenceand extent of corruption is comparative-ly more in poorer countries. And thepoorest societies are harmed most bycorruption. There is least opportunityfor the ordinary people to indulge incorruption. It is mostly the affluent andthe wealthy who engage in corrupt prac-tices. Social awareness on corruption isnow gradually rising. Some people areeven thinking of resisting this malaise.

But what are the views of the work-ing class of this country who are mostaffected by corruption? Abdur Rahmanis a Rickshaw driver. His age is aboutfifty. He lives in the BNP slum ofAgargaon, Dhaka. Abdur Rahman con-siders corruption as something bad. Hethinks that those who take drugs andwine or sell them are corrupt. There aremany such corrupt people in his slum.But van driver Idris has a different idea.

In his view, ‘Everybody in this countryare more or less corrupt. The big goonsshould be shot dead first. Then every-body else would cool down’. Idris livesat Taltala, Khilgaon. 40-year old Idris isdeeply worried about the fate of thiscountry, its society and politics.

Alimuddin is a seller of cigarettesand betel leaf. He knows how to drive.He was in that profession for two years.But he could not maintain his family asthe salary was inadequate. That is whyhe has changed his profession.Alimuddin- who has passed the SSC

examination- is of the opinion that theowners of cars and buildings are themost corrupt people. He is of the viewthat the small traders have no scope forengaging in corruption. But the policeand the musclemen indulge in cor-ruption. They often pester himfor tolls.s.

Harun sells tea in theparliament area. He is 25. Hehas never received education.It has not been many days thathe came to Dhaka fromhis ancestral home at

Mymensingh. When asked about whatcorruption is, his innocent reply was'politics'. Saying this, he left the placewith his flask.

Altaf Hossein is an activist of a bigpolitical party. He always participates inmeetings and processions. He is also alow-salaried employee of a printingpress at Fakirerpool. In his opinion, it isthe bureaucrats and businessmen andnot the politicians who are most corrupt.It is the businessmen and bureaucratswho engage in smuggling, bribery, illicittransactions, and repression of workersand employees.

It is not very easy to prove acts ofcorruption in this country even if some-body commits it. In India, there areorganizations like the CBI (CentralBureau of Investigation) to investigatecases of corruption. The corrupt peoplecan not escape their watchful eyes. Butthere is no such organization inBangladesh. In India, there is anotherorganization called CVC or CentralVigilance Commission. Nagerajan Vittalis its chairman. Sometime ago, hereleased the names of 125 corruptbureaucrats and police officials via com-puter. It created uproar throughoutIndia. Question was raised that a personcan be charged with a corruption case,but he can not be dubbed corrupt

unless he is proved corrupt. Nagerajan'sversion about the matter was, ‘I releasedthe list, now it is their responsibility toprove that they are not corrupt’.

‘The whole country is submerged incorruption; nobody is doing politics forthe sake of reducing corruption.Everybody is thinking of owning housesand cars’. These were the

utterances ofH o t e l -

worker

Siraj ofN a w a b p u r

road. In his opinion, ‘what isthe use of writing or saying any-

thing on corruption? It wouldn't dimin-ish in this country’.

Beauty and Mukta break stones andbricks for their living. They do notunderstand the word 'corruption'. Butthey understand

injustice, bullying and terrorism. Theybelieve that if these were brought to anend then there would be peace and hap-piness.

‘When pay does not tally with workdone, that is corruption’. These are thewords of Shilpi- a garments worker. Sheworks for a salary of Taka 1200 permonth at a garments factory inMaghbazar. She believes that corruptpeople should be punished severely ifcorruption is to be eliminated. FerozaBegum hails from Daudkandi. She isabove fifty. She sells bread on thestreets. Her opinion about corruption isquite clear. Feroza says, ‘the more theintensity of corruption, the more is thepain. Corruption was less in the past, soour sufferings were also less. There wasnothing called adulteration. But that sit-uation no more exists.’

Let us finish our discourse by quot-ing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaagain. In the closing session ofParliament's budget session, she said,‘Today, irregularities and corruptionhave infiltrated all corners of society.Now one can not even get a job withoutbribery. Whatever the position, bribe isequired’. This is the present reality.

Why does corruption take place?And who are the corrupt people?Volumes have been and are still

being written about it. Seminarsand meetings on the issue arealso being held. It can not be

said that nothing has come outof it. People are now becoming

more conscious. Now people canunderstand who are the corrupt

and who are not. Even thosepeople who sweat while driving

rickshaws in the heat of mid-dayunderstand what corruption is,

who does it… and other workingpeople can also understand

A members' meet-ing of TIB was held on22 June afternoon at itsnew office premises inGulshan, Dhaka. TheExecutive Director ofTIB welcomed themembers and briefedthem about the ongo-ing activities of TIB.The officials of TIBwere then introducedwho dwelt on theirresponsibilities and jobdescription. The members expressed satisfaction at the progress that TIB hasso far made and articulated their views on various related issues.

TIB delegation visits ChittagongThe Executive Director of TIB Manzoor Hasan and its Senior Research

Fellow Dr. Jamal Munshi visited the port city of Chittagong on 23 April. Themain goal of their trip was to hold discussions on future programs of TIB in theport city. During the visit, the TIB delegation met Professor MuhammadYahiya Akhtar of the Political Science department of Chittagong University(also a researcher on corruption) and renowned social worker Nurul Islam. Dr.Muhammad Yahiya Akhtar and Mr. Nurul Islam requested the ExecutiveDirector of TIB to hold a day-long seminar on 'electoral transparency' inChittagong. Manzoor Hasan expressed his optimism that TIB would take theinitiative to hold the seminar jointly with Fair Election Monitoring Alliance(FEMA) and Democracywatch.

Rotasia 2000

The 6th South Asian Rotaract Conference 2000 washeld in Gazipur on 10 April. The Executive Director ofTIB Manzoor Hasan and Research Officer SaidurRahman Molla gave lectures on "Coming days: corrup-tion-free world in the next millennium during one ofthe sessions. The conference (Rotasia 2000) was jointlyorganized by the Rotary District and InternationalRotary District 3280 Bangladesh. Many Rotaracts fromBangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka participated inthe conference. The Executive Director and ResearchOfficer of TIB informed the participants about the pro-grams of TIB and mentioned about the application ofreport card method for evaluating public services. Agood number of Rotarians gave assurance of their helpin future activities of TIB.

Report Card method for evaluating public service

TIB has taken up a project to prepare Report Cards. It would be used by TIB to evaluate the quality of servicesin government sector. The method would be applied to elicit and crystallize opinion of the citizens regarding servic-es provided by various governmental entities. Initially, the report card would be introduced in eight locations. Amongthese, 'committees of concerned citizens' (CCC) would be formed in six. The remaining two locations would be des-ignated as 'control areas'. The areas having CCCs would be: 1. Mymensingh sadar, 2. Muktagachha, Mymensingh, 3.Modhupur, Tangail, 4. Jamalpur sadar, 5. Lalitabari, Sherpur, 6. Katiadi, Kishoreganj. The other two locations havenot yet been selected. Report cards covering 4 service sectors of the government would be introduced in these areas.These sectors are: 1. Education, 2. Health, 3. Municipality, 4. Law-enforcing Agencies. Report cards for the othersectors would also be prepared later on. The committees of concerned citizens would use these report cards as advo-cacy tools. The main aim of the report card concept is to ensure transparency and accountability in the delivery ofgovernment services. The level of corruption in public services, its quality as perceived by the people and the opin-ion and level of satisfaction of the people regarding the services delivered can be gauged from these report cards.

Members' Meeting

T I B A c t i v i t i e s

Corruptionin the eyes of the working class

Corruptionin the eyes of the working class