Corruption hinders the way to smart Bangladesh
Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam :
The Berlin-based international organization Transparency International (TI) recently published a report titled Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2023. Bangladesh is ranked 10th among 180 countries in the list of most corrupt countries.
Bangladesh is ranked 12th in 2022. In other words, corruption has increased in 2023 compared to 2022, which is extremely sad.
It is widely recognized that corruption is one of the major obstacles to poverty reduction and development. Issues surrounding corruption in Bangladesh are at the center of daily discussions and common people’s concerns.
Corruption is often reported in the media. Establishing good governance and law enforcement is mentioned in national policy and strategic documents.
In reality, its reflection is less. Emphasis is placed on building a strong administrative system to prevent corruption effectively. But in reality, corruption has increased.
Why is corruption not decreasing even after the government insists on a tolerance policy? Non-fulfillment of the government’s commitment to zero tolerance against corruption is intensified corruption in the public sector.
So it is very important to find out where our weaknesses are. Corruption is a major obstacle to our sustainable development. Development is repeatedly hampered by corruption.
Law enforcement agencies are the most corrupt sector in the country, according to TIB. Apart from this, the other two companies in the top three are Passport and BRTA. These 3 sectors also take the most bribes.
According to TIB’s survey of 2021, Bangladesh has 70. 9 per cent of ‘Khana’ have been victims of corruption in one or the other sector while taking the services of various public and private sectors or institutions.
Among them, law enforcement agencies were identified as the most corrupt sector at 74.4 per cent; Passports at 70.5 per cent follow it BRTA at 68.3 per cent; Judicial Services at 56.8 per cent; Government Health Services at 48.7 per cent; Local Government Institutions at 46.6 per cent and Land Services at 46.3 per cent.
The current government has now been in power for four consecutive terms. As a result, there has been much visible improvement.
We have implemented our dream bridge, Padma, with our funding. This is a major achievement of the present government, which we are proud of. But due to corruption, all the achievements faded to the people.
housands of crores of taka are being smuggled out of the country. I see that there needs to be an effective initiative to stop this money laundering.
If we could stop money laundering and corruption, we would have achieved Bangabandhu’s dream of Sonar Bangla long ago.
According to the Bangladesh Economic Association report, about 12 lakh crore taka was smuggled out of Bangladesh in the last 50 years from the fiscal year after independence.
According to the Washington-based organization Global Financial Integrity (GFI), an average of 7.53 billion 37 million dollars is smuggled out of Bangladesh annually through international trade.
In terms of money, it is about 80 thousand crores. According to the annual report of the Central Bank of Switzerland, in 2021, the amount of money collected by Bangladeshis in various banks of the country was 871.1 million Swiss francs, which are about 8 thousand 275 crores in Bangladeshi currency.
However, many people think the amount of money laundered will be more. When the current government came to power in 2008, the amount of money deposited by Bangladeshis in Swiss banks was Tk. 952 crore. Compared to that, it has increased hundreds of times in these few years.
The government cannot take preventive measures to stop money laundering or depositing money in foreign banks. If money laundering or corruption could be stopped, the country could have been transformed into a developed country like Singapore long ago. Unfortunately, we are in the grip of corruption, hampering all development.
The country is passing through a financial crisis. Many of us blame the Corona epidemic on the Russia-Ukraine war. Yes, I admit-these factors are partially responsible for today’s economic crisis. Corruption is mainly responsible for today’s crisis. Without corruption, the country would not be in such an economic crisis today. Most of the people of the country also think the same.
Prevention of the Money Laundering Act 2012 should be strictly enforced to stop money laundering. Besides, hundi should be stopped, and effective steps should be taken to prevent over-invoicing of imports. Manipulation in trade is a major means of money laundering. That is, import and export trade manipulations should be widely monitored. Smuggling must be stopped immediately because money is laundered out of the country through it.
It is imperative to ensure legal action and punishment against corruption. Public servants and politicians involved in corruption must be brought to justice regardless of their identity and social status. The lives and livelihoods of the poor must be given importance in taking action against corruption. Public awareness and participation against corruption should be increased, and social movements should be developed.
Strengthening the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is a technique to reduce corruption. At the same time, the media’s role in reporting and disseminating information about corruption must be uninterrupted. Political will and its proper reflection should be ensured at all levels to combat corruption in the service sector. Measures should be taken to provide incentives – both positive and negative – to prevent corruption. Apart from this, rewards and punishments should be ensured on the basis of performance. ACC should take legal action along with the concerned department to fight corruption in the service sector to build smart Bangladesh.
(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University).
