DCs asked to monitor ACC activities in field

The Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Iqbal Mahmood on Thursday said that he had instructed the deputy commissioners to keep an eye on the activities of the graft watchdog and inform him if they find any irregularities.

The ACC chief gave the instruction while addressing a session during the deputy commissioners’ annual conference at the Cabinet Division.

Emerging from the session, Iqbal said that he had asked the DCs that the mistakes done in good faith by the officers was not an offence as per law. But it must be proved that it was done in good faith, he added.

Anti-graft campaigners, however, suspected that ACC chairman’s message to DCs for monitoring ACC’s activities may create conflict of interest in field level authorities and give a wrong message.

Former caretaker government adviser M Hafizuddin Khan told New Age that the directive might convey wrong message to the field administration as the ACC was rather authorised to monitor the government offices.

He said that it would also create a kind of tendency among different services to establish supremacy on each other.

Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said in an unrealistic ideal scenario, this may be viewed as nothing wrong in terms of two sets of authorities cooperating with each other in promoting shared objectives of better delivery of corruption control.

‘But in reality it may create the scope of undermining the authority of local level capacity of ACC because of potential conflicts of interest. After all corruption control in the public sector is the core agenda of ACC,’ he said.

He also said that if the ACC was perceived to be under the watch of administration then it would upset the whole notion that administration was supposed to be watched by ACC.

Later on the day, DCs took part in a meeting with the deputy speaker M Fazle Rabbi Miah at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

During the meeting, Fazle Rabbi Miah asked the DCs to ensure government services for country people. He said that the role of DCs were important to implement the policies of the government.

This was for the first time the judiciary and the legislative was incorporated in the annual conference of the DCs that concluded on Thursday.

The hitherto three-day conference has been extended to a five-day event from this year, according to officials.  

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net