BEFORE 2016 the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s conviction rate was a mere 20 percent, and it quick rose to 56 percent. Following the increased rate of conviction, its Chairman has called on the ACC officials to give their best to ensure100 percent conviction rate. Additionally, the ACC has recently issued a set of instructions for its officials from Assistant Directors to Director Generals (DGs) to work with professionalism and utmost sincerity.
Ostensibly, it may show promise and a good gesture but the ACC must focus more to identify, investigate and arrest the ring leaders of crime syndicates backed up by strong political connections. The 34 percent increase does not include the biggest of drug smugglers, loan defaulters or godfathers behind conducting big scale extortions countrywide.
Definitely, admitting an organisation’s weaknesses is a beginning of change, but it must be followed by a proper set of corrective measures. On a related note we remember that the former Commissioner of the ACC, Golam Rahman, just before his tenure was coming to an end described the ACC as a ‘toothless tiger’. We want the ACC Chief to be more pro-active regarding remedying the ills that haunts the body. People are hardly interested to hear inane platitudes from the head of a constitutional organisation with the sole aim of reducing corruption the country is so plagued with.
Nevertheless, it must be admitted that ACC does have certain limitations. To minimise corruption, it is as important to have necessary political will against this unholy phenomenon as it is to let the ACC function independently by equipping it properly with sufficient manpower. In the ACC Act 2004, ACC has been constituted as an independent and impartial organisation. No scope for interference of the government has been provisioned. With the power that has been provided under the present laws, we believe that it is possible to go forward with the suppression drive of corruption effectively by their application.
Lastly, in December last year, the ACC Chief said that it would expose the high-profile corrupt individuals by taking exemplary actions against them. What happened to that pledge? Five months into the year 2018, and we are yet to get a ground breaking success story. Coupled with press statements and promises, we want to see quick and efficient actions, and in doing so it must prove that the ACC will not tolerate any form of political and government interference while performing their professional duties.
