Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has commented that no departmental system including transfer, dismissal, compulsory retirement of public employees on corruption charges is sufficient, in some cases it encourages corruption.
The organization called for exemplary punishment by bringing the employees of the Republic under trial in the legal process applicable in all other cases.
According to media sources, some officers of the National Board of Revenue and Police have been transferred or forced to retire due to corruption allegations. TIB's Executive Director said that it is a promising first step as a departmental step. Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said, it has been established as a normality to limit the taking of departmental measures such as transfer, dismissal or compulsory retirement when there is a complaint of corruption against an employee of the Republic. The criteria for effective accountability and deterrence of corruption are far from sufficient. Crimes such as corruption are more likely to be transferred and spread through transfers and spread to other employees. It further encourages corruption by promoting the perception that corrupt officials of the republic do not face punishment under the existing laws of the land.
By amending the existing government employee (discipline and appeal) rules at various times, a kind of protection has been given to the employees of the republic, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said it is also a clear violation of the Constitution to end the liability against public servants for corruption by taking only departmental action.
He said that according to Article 27 of the Constitution, all citizens are equal before the law. But by restricting the punishment of public servants on charges of corruption to transfer, dismissal and retirement only, it serves as a catalyst for the development of corruption in the public sector as well as in other sectors. Exemplary punishment should also be ensured in the case of public officials accused of corruption by bringing them under investigation and trial in the usual legal process of the country applicable in all other cases.
Pointing out that there is no opportunity to politically avoid the responsibility of public employees in recent cases of corruption, the Executive Director of TIB said that although some of the leaders of the ruling party have acknowledged the issue of institutionalized corruption, many of them are trying to place the responsibility of this corruption on government employees only. But there is no denying that this high-level corruption is not possible without political patronage and collusion in many cases.
On the other hand, one of the reasons for the deficiency in corruption control is the party political influence in the concerned institutions, the responsibility of which the political leadership cannot avoid. He thinks that even though the government has repeatedly talked about the zero tolerance policy against corruption, it is the responsibility of the political leadership to move away from the idea that it is only an empty talks.