Secretaries asked to identify ‘grey areas’

The Cabinet Division has asked secretaries of all the ministries and divisions to take steps to eliminate corruption from government offices.
In letters issued by cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, the secretaries were asked to pay focused attention for eradication of corruption from graft-prone areas like purchase, recruitments and development activities. 
The cabinet secretary described corruption as a ‘social malaise’, impeding national progress and development.
The upshot is, he said, domestic and foreign investments did not reach the desired level. 
The cabinet secretary attached copies of a letter the Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Iqbal Mahmood had written to him in October seeking cooperation in identifying grey areas for rooting out corruption from government offices. 
The ACC chairman sought the cooperation for bringing big development projects and ‘grey areas’ at government offices under its scanner. 
All the secretaries have been asked to take preemptive steps to root out corruption from the government’s procurements as well as development activities, Shafiul Alam told New Age Tuesday. 
He said the secretaries were also instructed to identify ‘grey areas’ in departments and agencies under them.
The secretaries, he said, had also been instructed to extend cooperation to the ACC in stamping out corruption.
The secretaries have also been asked to keep government recruitments, purchase and development activities under close watch. 
Quoting a study report, the ACC chairman, in his letter, said corruption elimination would enable Bangladesh to increase its gross domestic product growth rate by almost two per cent annually. 
The ACC has taken plans to assign its officers at mega development projects of the government to scotch corruption, said officials.
They said that the ACC assigned its Corruption Prevention Department to prepare an action plan to contain corruption at government offices. 

- See more at: http://www.newagebd.net/article/7199/secretaries-asked-to-identify-grey-areas#sthash.V4eNVrS0.dpuf