Making the submission of annual wealth statements by public servants non-obligatory by amending the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules will encourage corruption and reduce accountability of the country’s 1.5 lakh public employees, the Transparency International Bangladesh said on Tuesday (19 March).
Expressing concerns, the civil society organisation, in a press statement issued today, called on the government not to implement the proposed amendment.
Citing media reports, the TIB said the public administration ministry took the initiative to amend the aforementioned law, which has been vetted by the law ministry and is set to be placed to the secretary committee on administrative development affairs.
Commenting on the proposed amendment, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, removing the provision, that stipulates the submission of annual wealth statements every five years by public servants, will lead to more corruption by unscrupulous government officials.
“The proposed amendment to the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules is in stark contrast to the government’s election pledge and declaration of zero tolerance against corruption at the highest level.
“Initially, there was a provision to submit the assets statement every year, but in the face of the reluctance of the government employees, later it was relaxed and the provision was made to submit it every five years. But, there is a disinclination to follow that provision properly as well,” said Iftekharuzzaman.
He continued, “Government employees provide an asset statement at the beginning of employment. But they ignore the obligation to update the accounts after five years. Removing this obligation now means giving massive incentives to government officials to become corrupt.
“Needless to say, if there is no provision to submit the statement of assets, government employees will have the opportunity to acquire illegal wealth through corruption without any fear.
“At the same time, the suffering of people in government offices to get the services they deserve will increase. Illegal money transactions will increase manifold. And above all, the dream of ensuring a well-governed government system will end in failure.”
