The quest towards fighting corruption

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Debates on any global index and ranking where a country does not succeed are common almost everywhere. From politicians to experts to common citizens-all have distinctive and diverse views. This is of course a sign of a thoughtful and argumentative country. While no rating and indices are perfect since there is always some margin of error in estimations, and so we should not obtain overwhelmed by these numbers, the value of such indices can't be undermined, however. It offers a sign on the achievements made by countries and reminds us to do better by addressing the issues. So regardless if we discard the rankings, the underlying messages need to be taken seriously.

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020 published by Transparency International reveals that Bangladesh's position is 146th among the 180 countries which were contained in the ranking on corruption. In conditions of score, Bangladesh achieved 26 out of 100. In a level of 0 to 100 utilized for scoring in the CPI work out, 0 indicates an extremely corrupt and 100 indicates a clean country. In 2020, both the position and rank possess remained exactly like that of 2019, regarding Bangladesh. Within South Asia, Bangladesh is ranked the second lowest.

Whatever the CPI ranking may declare, the prevalence of corruption and its own negative role throughout the market can't be overlooked. The Global Competitiveness Survey (GCR) 2019 also discovered corruption among the top problematic factors in conducting business in Bangladesh. The GCR identified a number of malpractices, like the existence of unofficial deal for awarding public contracts, and bribes in tax repayments and export/import.

Of lessons, corruption is a global concern. Although it is historically more frequent in the not as much advanced countries, the designed countries are not clear of it either. This is why in the CPI 2020, no country could score 100.  However, a lot more than the rating, what is important may be the work to stamp out corruption from culture. How a government perceives corruption, and what sort of society talks about corruption, are significant to comprehend what measures are expected of the government.  

Studies have demonstrated that corruption hasn't only economic costs, but also public and environmental costs. When infrastructure collapses as a result of poor construction by a not as much certified contractor who got the agreement through bribes, in that case it isn't only a waste of resources and lack of potential outcome of the economy, but also a lack of invaluable individual lives. Corruption is also a disincentive to those that genuinely want to get, but have problems with uncertainty over obtaining the necessary permissions. Great facilitation fees could become less cost-effective for most businesses and decrease their competitiveness. A business paying exorbitant "speed money" for a public program will be in a significantly less advantageous situation compared to the one which gets it carried out by paying the regular price. A business paying existing passions for loans would struggle to compete with a organization that enjoys frequent interest waivers or has defaulted with the lender. Such disincentives may discourage those who could add extra to national output with regards to task creation, innovation and productivity through investments.               

The social cost of corruption is also high and includes a distributional impact. If incompetent school teachers are used at public academic institutions through bribes, the quality of education suffers. These students may fall behind in accessing higher education and securing employment. It has a long-term implication on the entire human capital circumstance and the welfare of potential generations. When the federal government cannot generate methods through taxation due to large tax evasion, there is inadequate means for social safety for the poor. Consequently, it hampers inclusive expansion.

Environmentally friendly costs of corruption are no less significant. When encroachers construct properties by filling rivers and lakes or reducing forests illegally, environmentally friendly damage caused is irreparable. When unfit vehicles with huge carbon emissions operate on the road, getting apart with having to pay bribes, the price of that pollution can be human health. This increases government expenditure on clearing up the degraded environment. The pollution also reduces efficiency and prosperity.

The reduced amount of corruption is linked with the improvement of overall governance in the united states. There is no denying that during the last five decades, the Bangladesh overall economy has transformed right into a promising one on many accounts. This is evident not only through higher economical growth, but also through less volatile financial growth.  Despite various exterior and internal shocks such as the global financial meltdown, regular normal disasters and most importantly, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the united states has been able to show resilience and achieve better growth in comparison to most economies around the world. It has been predicted by several organisations that Bangladesh will recover better and faster than many countries from the fallout of the pandemic.

In Bangladesh, monetary growth has so far been autonomous of governance to a sizable extent. However, to enhance the efficiency of advancement efforts and to propel financial growth, corruption should be rooted out. The reduced amount of corruption requires drastic actions. Digital governance can help this to a big extent. Technology has taken spectacular changes, not merely in cities but likewise in rural areas. Even so, that is yet to be utilized in full force regarding establishing transparency.

Institutional reform of the dependable bodies for overseeing corruption can be critically important. The first-generation monetary reform methods in Bangladesh resulted in the checking of its economy in the 1990s. But they were not in conjunction with reforms and the strengthening of institutions in those days. In the following years, a few regulatory and institutional reforms had been undertaken to accelerate economic expansion, albeit on a restricted scale. The banking sector is one of those institutions which underwent some reforms, however the reform initiatives didn't result in much improvement in monetary governance, as they were incomplete.

As part of establishing accountability, exemplary methods including reward and punishment in the machine and practice of rule of law, can take up a crucial purpose. Although the willingness to boost transparency and accountability in the general public administration features been expressed by the federal government many times, substantive initiatives will be but to be undertaken. Consequently, red tape and slow service delivery happen to be experienced by common residents. Strengthening the Anti-Corruption Commission can be vitally important. The autonomy of the organisation should be upheld so that it could perform its duty as a watchdog overall body with integrity.

However, the fight against corruption can't be fully effective without involving persons from all walks of life in the process. It must be a collaborative work between your government and all the stakeholders in society.

Within the last 50 years, Bangladesh has set a good example of turning its fate from a bottomless basket to a fast-paced economy. It could set another example by learning to be a corruption free nation in the next 50 years. This would be the best promise to make during the golden jubilee special event of Bangladesh's independence. 
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net

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