Now that the harried members of public have some glimpses of the shady deal and the plundering of State resources, they are bewildered by the recklessness and the gay abandon modus operandi of the political predators and their associates. The informed and the knowledgeable are not upset for they were aware of the total lack of accountability in the corridors of power.

High positions of public trust were grabbed by real brats who had the singular qualification of being politically blessed. They took it to be their last chance to loot. It appeared that men of 'East India Company' have reappeared and the robber barons were in charge.

Some apparently well-intentioned personalities have taken exception to the operating style of the Anti-corruption Commission and have commented that the anti-graft drive should not be seen as an event and that it should be a process. This writer is of the view that since in pre-January 2007 Bangladesh there was no noticeable political will to curb corruption and as a large part of the establishment itself went headlong into corrupt acts, it serves a purpose if the anti-graft drive has the attention-drawing element of an event. For quite sometime henceforth, the publicity aspect has a socially utilitarian value.

The members of public need to know how their leaders have betrayed their trust and how public offices have turned into a clearing house for ensuring personal and family affluence. They need to know how scions of the ruling family have stashed millions of dollars of public money in faraway places while the school teacher's daughter had to commit suicide because the dowry, a paltry Taka twenty thousand, could not be arranged.

The honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has impressed upon the creation of an anti-corruption ethos because we have failed to culturally internalise the positive social values. This deficiency was not unexpected as insensitive men and women with a marginal sense of public duty were catapulted into positions of national importance. They did not care if corrective institutions were subjected to constant battering by the unscrupulous. No wonder, therefore, that in Bangladesh today the regulatory institutions do not have the required bite. Clearly we need to rebuild.

The ACC Chief has been very pragmatic in soliciting the active cooperation of officials under the NBR in preparing credible documentary evidence for booking the accused. In this connection it is important to note that enlisting cooperation from taxation officials to prove criminal cases pertaining to ill-gotten wealth is a time-consuming labourious process. Similarly, incidents of custom duty and sales tax evasion thereby depriving the public exchequer of its rightful dues are difficult to establish without a proactive approach from the customs department.

It is only recently that the military backed caretaker government has been able for the first time to energise the national board of revenue in tracking down ill-gotten wealth and unearned income. Such manifest action is not part of the ordinary course of business. This has to be noted while commenting on the speed of graft enquiry.

In venturing to look beyond the present anti-graft drive we have to appreciate the socio-political environment of the immediate past. There is no denying that there was hardly any political will and determination to counter corruption as many politicians continued to hold the belief that political power was the means to become rich. In such an environment it was only natural that the offices of erstwhile bureau of anti-corruption at different places would suffer from inactivity and inertia. Irregularities and indiscretions did not cause the raising of eyebrows in a milieu where corruption for many has become a way of life.

No stigma was attached to black money in our society. Tax incentives have been given to black marketers, tax evaders, smugglers etc. The corrupt had their promoters, supporters and partners everywhere in business, trade, industry, and agriculture and even in media.

The extent of corruption and related difficulties of countering the same, need to be highlighted to impress upon the unfortunate development concerning near total absence of departmental vigilance and corrective action.

Somehow there was a belief that irregularities of all sorts may go on regardless until the malfeasance has attracted the attention of the regulatory authority including the anti-corruption department. The situation is ludicrously akin to one in which all the erring and negligent headmasters are virtually motionless waiting for the School Inspector to pull them up. It amounts to a multiple crooks and the lone ranger scenario. No wonder, therefore, we are witnessing a huge backlog of financial, legal and administrative irregularities and deviations in all areas of national activity. Preparing a work plan and deciding on the bare reducible minimum is an extremely difficult task in such an unsettling scenario.

A retired defence official has very correctly pointed out that a process of accountability has been set in motion in Bangladesh. However, in order to look beyond the present anti-corruption drive, we have to adopt a number of measures to institutionalise the accountability mechanism.

Now that Bangladesh has signed the UN Convention against Corruption it is time for us to send a strong signal nationally and internationally about the importance of addressing corruption with a comprehensive framework and through coordination of national efforts with international. We have to confirm that the level of political commitment against corruption is high.

We have to ensure access to an extensive range of ways, means and standards for preventive measures for public and private sectors. In accordance with the fundamental principles of our own legal system, we should have the opportunity to collaborate with other State parties and relevant international and regional organisations in promoting and developing the preventive and curative measures against corruption. We need to participate in international programmes and projects aimed at prevention of corruption.We should take measure to facilitate mutual learning and experience sharing including latest knowledge and information about best practices of transparency and accountability in public finance and public procurement, and other critical areas of the public sector.

We should have access to a comprehensive international cooperation framework for mutual law enforcement assistance, notably extradition and investigation.

We have to give greater recognition to the role of the civil society and the citizens at large in fighting corruption. The government should be committed to ensure protection to witnesses, reporting persons and victims of corruption, and in particular the recognition of the right of bodies or persons who have suffered damages from corruption, to initiate legal proceedings for compensation.

Last but not the least, we have to ensure the establishment of the right of the public to access to information.

In the ultimate analysis, the test of our resolve will depend on how the collective will of our society guarantee that criminal acts, particularly of the elite, in both the private and public spheres, do not undercut government legitimacy and undermine rule of law. In the meantime, the burly predators may be incarcerated in public interest.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is a columnist contributor to The Daily Star.