Example is better than promise

Her son and BNP senior joint secretary Tarique Rahman and BNP ministers are repeating the prime minister's pledge at different meetings and rallies, conveniently forgetting that BNP in its manifesto for 2001 election had also committed to eradicate corruption.

While in opposition during the immediate past AL rule, the BNP blasted the AL government, the prime minister, ministers and AL party men for "unabated corruption" in the country. In its manifesto for 2001 election, the BNP made certain important commitments to help eradicate corruption and these included: (1) appointment of ombudsman; (2) setting up of an independent anti-corruption commission (ACC); (3) disclosure of assets and properties of all elected people's representatives.

Now, let us see as to what extent the BNP during its four and a half years rule has fulfilled its commitments to eradicate unbridled corruption.

Ombudsman
Article 77 of our constitution provides for the establishment of the office of the ombudsman. According to the constitution, the ombudsman shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as parliament may, by law, determine, including the power to investigate any action taken by a ministry, a public officer or a statutory public authority. The ombudsman shall prepare an annual report concerning the discharge of his functions, and such report shall be laid before parliament.

In1980, the then BNP government passed an act for installation of an ombudsman, and after 22 years, on January 6, 2002, the BNP-led coalition government brought the act into force through a gazette notification. However, on February 11, 2002, the law ministry proposed to the cabinet for amendments to some provisions of the act, which in turn formed a committee to scrutinise the bill. Since then nothing is known about the fate of the bill.

The inaction of the government led to the filing of a writ petition by three lawyers of the Supreme Court. The petitioners submitted, among others, that the constitution provided for an ombudsman as part of its built-in-system for transparency. But the successive governments since independence did not appoint such an ombudsman. The ombudsman, if appointed, would bring justice to the doorstep of the people.

Following the aforesaid writ petition, the High Court issued a rule on April 23, 2005 asking the government to explain within two weeks as to why it should not be directed to appoint the ombudsman in line with the constitution.

The present position of the case is not known. It is certain that the government, as usual, has been repeatedly asking for time extension to reply. Anyway, the appointment of the ombudsman is not in sight during the remaining days of the BNP-led coalition government.

ACC
After three years of the BNP-led coalition rule, anti-corruption commission (ACC) came to be formed in a haphazard manner in November, 2004. During its existence for a year and half, the ACC has hardly been functional due to the hurdles created by the government.

First, the tussle between the commission and the government surfaced over the appointment of the secretary to the commission.

Second, through a government notification of December 2004, the commission was attached with the cabinet division which, in fact, became the controlling ministry/division of the commission. This struck at the root of the independence of the commission.

Third, while the tussle over the appointment of the secretary to the commission was going on, the cabinet division in a circular issued in January, 2005 announced the defunct BAC staff as government's reserve employees and asked them not to work for the commission until rules and regulations were framed. They were threatened in yet another letter with disciplinary action if they worked.

Fourth, although 17 months have elapsed since the setting up of the commission, its organogram, rules etc have not as yet been approved by the government.

Fifth, the government has not as yet come up with an English version of the ACC law although the international community, in particular the development partners, has been interested in the establishment of the ACC and its effective functioning.

The ACC has been established to help eliminate corruption from the administration and the society at large. But the hurdles created by the government corroborate the people's perception that the government has created the ACC on the insistence of the development partners and it does not want the ACC to function effectively.

Disclosure of assets
There are three main actors in the high corruption drama of Bangladesh and they are politicians, public servants, and private corporate sector. A global survey of public perceptions released by the Transparency International (TI) on July 3, 2003 revealed that political corruption was the biggest scourge facing the world. Bangladesh is no exception to this.

In its manifesto for 2001 election, the BNP pledged that if voted to power, it would take legal steps for the disclosure of assets and properties of all elected people's representatives, including the prime minister, ministers and others with the rank and status of minister.

Though not properly followed up, there exist rules for taking account of the assets and properties of the government servants. Rule 13 of the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1979 requires a government servant to make a declaration to the government of all his/her immovable and movable properties at the time of entering government service. A government servant is also under legal obligation to submit to the government an annual return of assets in the month of December showing any increase or decrease of property as shown in the earlier declaration. A government servant found to amass assets and properties disproportionate to his/her known sources of income is proceeded against under departmental rules or under anti-corruption law.

In some countries having multi-party democratic system, the MPs are under legal obligation to submit in a prescribed form the yearly statements of assets of their own, their spouses and dependents to the Election Commission (EC). The statements submitted by the MPs are published in the official gazette. These statements are scrutinised and if any statement is found to be false in material particulars, the MP concerned is proceeded against for committing the offence of corrupt practice.

But our political parties, whether in government or in opposition, disfavour enactment of such laws. This is primarily because of the fact that money and muscle dominate our general elections. The MPs elected have to amass wealth by any means not only to recoup the incurred expenditure but also to meet the expenses of the next general elections.

Certain things are common in our political parties and these are: (i) abhorrence for transparency, whether in politics or in governance, and (ii) avoidance of accountability. That is why the ruling BNP failed to implement its commitment of 2001 for taking legal measures for the disclosure of assets and properties of the prime minister, ministers and MPs.

Now the question is whether the people will have their credence in the BNP's pledge for eradication of corruption if voted to power again, especially when Bangladesh was rated as the most corrupt country by the TI during all the past four years of the BNP-led coalition government. The answer will be overwhelmingly in the negative.

Example is better than promise. Some immediate measures by the ruling BNP towards fulfilment of the 2001 pledge for eradicating corruption may help regain the people's faith to some extent. These include:

-- Sacking those ministers, ministers of state and deputy ministers who have reputation for corruption.

-- Downsizing the big cabinet not only to get rid of the corrupt ministers but also to prove that a small cabinet composed of efficient and honest persons is more effective.

-- Enacting a law making it mandatory for the MPs (MPs include prime minister, ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers appointed from amongst MPs) to submit in a prescribed form the annual statements of assets and properties, movable and immovable, in their own name or in the name of their family members from the date(s) of their taking oath as MPs, to the EC to be published in the official gazette and scrutinised by a committee for proceeding against those who make false statements.

-- Initiating steps to make the office of the ombudsman functional to protect the people from harassment of the public offices.

-- Extend all supports, including according approval to the organogram, rules, etc of the ACC to enable it to work independently and effectively.

To conclude, our political parties, particularly the major parties, are in a race to make promises without considering the country's socio-politico-economic conditions and capabilities. Experience shows that successive political governments have failed to fulfill most of the pledges they made before the general elections. They should, therefore, go for a few pledges that are attainable. The sooner they realise it, the better it is for them and the country.

M. Abdul Latif Mondal is a former Secretary to the Government.