Most people have no confidence in ACC: TIB

Most people of the country have no confidence in the Anti-Corruption Commission while 91 per cent people are not aware of the activity of the commission, revealed a Transparency International Bangladesh study.
The corruption watchdog published the study report at a press conference at its conference room in Dhaka on Sunday.
According to the study, the commission failed to gain people’s confidence as it failed to prove most cases in the trial though the commission scored high in 21 of the 49 indicators set for the study.
The study showed that the commission got high score in 21 indicators including institutional legal independence and corruption prevention activities, moderate score in 19 indicators and low score in nine indicators.
The study was conducted on the commission activities between 2013 and 2015 the rate of conviction in the graft cases prosecuted by the commission was 37 per cent.
It said that the commission failed to prove 63 per cent cases in the trial as it did not have enough efficient investigators, its officials did not follow proper system in filing the cases and poor attention of witness.
The study found that the commission’s treatment of graft suspects under investigation depended on their social status and examples of harassment of political opponents were there.
In 2015, the commission investigated graft allegations against 36 powerful people and of them, 16 were political opponents and three were ruling Awami League leaders, the study said.
The non-governmental organisation advised the commission to form a committee comprising politicians, former bureaucrats and civil society representatives to monitor and review the activities of commission officials.
It also recommended that information about people selected for the appointment of chairman and commissioners of the commission should be published and active participation of opposition parties and civil society representatives in the process of the appointments should be ensured to ensure the transparency.
A team led by Dhaka University teacher Salauddin M Aminuzzaman conducted the study.
Transparency International Bangladesh trustee board chairperson Sultana Kamal, its executive director Iftekharuzzaman and deputy executive director Sumaiya Khair, among others, were present at the press conference.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net