ACC wants to curb corruption

The chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) organised a seminar titled "Concerted Efforts Against Corruption" last week and the head of ACC went on record to state that the former chairman of Basic Bank will be pursued to the full extent of the law for his alleged involvement in the Tk. 4,500-crore loan scam. This comes in the backdrop of what the finance minister has stated regarding the dismal performance of the ACC to tackle the rampant corruption that seems to have engulfed the State owned banks (SoBs). Indeed, we have witnessed the constant bailing out of these SoBs over the last few fiscals at considerable expense to the national exchequer!

We are encouraged by these statements coming from top policymakers about tackling graft which unfortunately is reaching astronomical proportions in the government banks. While we welcome this new message coming out of ACC's top brass, we would like to ask precisely what has happened to the investigations into the Hall-Mark (Tk. 1,700-crore), Destiny Group (Tk. 4,119-crore) and other scams that happened earlier during 2012-2013? Not only does graft and lack of action to tackle it undermine both the government's image in the public eye but is a huge wastage of revenue as these banks require bailing out every year.

It is not only the media that has been highlighting runaway corruption in certain public institutions. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) reports have been trashed and the corruption watchdog body has been castigated repeatedly for highlighting these discrepancies in the state-owned banking sector. It is our sincere hope, and the public's hope that the political will to go tough on these financial scams in SoBs will remain and not falter because bringing back confidence will require sticking to a zero-tolerance policy on graft.