There is no doubt the ACC is trying but its actions remain largely ineffective to hit the highly protected walls of higher bureaucracy and politically influential persons running the government at different levels and making illegal fortunes. Unlike the chief engineer arrested, they approve big government projects and award procurement contracts and the amount of bribe they take is too big that need to be detected and punished. Arresting mid-level officials is leaving the big fishes untouched on the top.
Report said the said chief engineer was taking bribes for approving ships’ designs for quite some time from ship builders who make ships for foreign buyers. This is a growing industry exporting ships to buyers in different countries. But looking back the entire Shipping Department and ministry are highly corrupt and grabbing government funds under the cover of various development schemes and procurement deals. In fact corruption has become institutionalized in all departments and Ministries as an endemic disease.
We must say the ACC should show courage and have a plan of action to use its independent authority to hit at the den of corruption in public places. It should not allow its officials to pursue corruption of their own while going after the weak ones for small corruption.
ACC should have courage and pursue corruption of people who are engineers of corruption politically holding high positions. We know the ACC is aware that big corruption is politically driven to make the general public suffer from deprivation and injustices.
