Editorial
Still a non-starter ACC!
Govt should act to straighten things out
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the setting up of which was a long-awaited move, has yet to become operational, thanks to a host of inhibitory factors. Immediately upon its advent on November 21 last year, there was a discordant note sounded by a member of the commission suggesting he had a difference of opinion with the chairman. This tended to cast doubts on the commission becoming effective within a short time. And now it has been reported that an official of the dissolved Bureau of Anti-Corruption (Bac) is working for the ACC in clear violation of government orders making absorption of Bac staffers in the ACC contingent upon a screening exercise. So, the self-appointment spree is bound to raise eye brows, and with it, some questions about how the government runs! The Bac was a small outfit, a mere appendage to a ministry. It was rightly believed to be incapable of handling the all-pervasive corruption in the government offices. There was thus considerable pressure from the civil society as well as development partners to form an independent anti-corruption commission. The stage was set for the ACC to make its mark as a deterrent to corruption. But the decision-makers, it seems, did not attach due importance to its mandate and organogram. The hesitation to reinstate the Bac staffers in the ACC may have a lot to do with the image of the former, which was never good in the public eye. That's why the necessity for screening was felt. But then the fate of a section of government employees should not have been allowed to hang in the balance for such a long time to create the mess it has. The formation of the ACC should have been preceded by a clear plan of who would man it down the tiers. The government is reported to be thinking in terms of punitive action against the former Bac official who signed the official order in his self-assigned capacity of a director. Of course this is an issue pertaining to service discipline. But the fact remains that the ACC has not got off to a start even in terms of the fundamentals. It has been unable to resolve the administrative tangles, let alone working as a fully-fledged anti-corruption body. The only initiative it took was the attempt to unearth the mystery behind the 'vanishing vehicles' which ended in a failure, and perhaps, a provocation for a reprisal of sorts. The government should act swiftly to make the ACC fully operational with all the logistical support it needs. It is imperative that bureaucratic procrastination does not stand in the way of achieving the prime goal -- fighting corruption.
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