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Anti-Corruption Week Kicks Off

Only 300 audit reports discussed in PAC since 1973

Speakers tell roundtable

Staff Correspondent
Speakers at a roundtable yes terday said over 1000 audit reports were prepared by the office of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) since its inception in 1973, but only 300 of them were discussed in the public accounts committee (PAC) of the parliament.
Over 700 audit reports arc kept lying in the PAC, they said, urging die government, particularly the parliament, to scrutinise the reports and take immediate steps in Uiis connection.
Tided I he role of supreme audit institution in preventing corruption', the roundtable was organised at die inaugural function of Anti-Corruption Week that kicked off in the city yesterday.
Promoting Governance, Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (PROGATI), a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the week at a city hotel with a view to raising awareness and identifying opportunities to curb corrup-don in the country.
Speaker Advocate Abdul Hamid inaugurated die week which comprises a series of events, including roundtables,
on different diemes relevant to promoting anti-corruption initiatives.
Taking part in the roundtable, M Hafizuddin Khan, former CAG and adviser to a caretaker government, said, “Over 700 audit reports an* lying pending with the PAC. Even there is no mechanism to know the fates of the reports that were scrutinised or discussed in public accounts oversight body.”
He suggested making die PAC effective for smooth functioning of CAG.
"Unless the PAC is made effective, die CAG's office will not be able to function as a watchdog agency and thus corruption will not be prevented,” he said, adding that firm political commitment is a must to curb corruption.
The speakers put emphasis on close collaboration between supreme audit institution, civil society, media and other oversight agencies in order to contain corrupt ion.
Inaugurating the roundtable as die chief guest, Speaker Advocate Hamid said transparency and accountability need to be ensured in die public sectors for the sustainable economic development.
“Corruption is a global
problem and it exists in all the countries -- greater or smaller, developed or developing --across the world. It is such a menace that Increases injustice and poverty, prevents development and undermines democracy and governance," he said, adding that Bangladesh has no choice but to reduce corruption.
The Speaker further said that the CAG is one of the few agencies which has comprehensive reach across multifarious government departments, agencies and bodies.
Parliament has to depend on the agencies about the facts and finding of the financial irregularities, Advocate 1 lamid said stressing the need for capacity building of audit offices and coordination between PAC and CAG.
"As part of our promise to ensure transparency and accountability in the public sector, we have formed all parliamentary committees, including PAC, in the first session of the parliament,” he added.
Mentioning that Bangladesh has made progress in raising awareness and combating corruption, US Ambassador James F Moriarty said the gov-emment has a responsibility to
combat corruption using institutions to effectively monitor, investigate and report corrupt activities.
1 ie said apart from weaken ing democratic institutions and harming weakest and vulnerable members of the society, corruption takes a bite out of the gross domestic product (GDP).
"Government efforts alone, however, are not enough," the US envoy said, adding that fight against corruption requires the commitment and support of the civil society, business, media and informed public.
Comptroller and Auditor General Ahmed Ataul Hakeem said tlic CAG's office, country’s supreme audit institution, was set up in 1973 and since then little has been reformed in the field of human resources, administrative power and other areas, though the workload of the office has increased significantly.
Constitutionally, CAG office is independent, but in practice it has to struggle in many areas with various departments, he said, urging the government as well as the parliament to make the CAG's proposal as audit law.
Apart from strengthening CAG, the role of auditees, parliament and media is also important to prevent corruption, he added.
"The office of CAG should be headed by an appropriate person and run by the efficient people,” he suggested.
Some of the participants suggested making the audit reports public by posting them on the website or sharing with media.
Prof Dr Riazur Rahman Chowdhury of AIS department at Dhaka University presented a keynote paper, while Bangladesh Enterprise Institute President Farooq Sobhan moderated the roundtable.
David A Pottebaum, chief of part^r of PROGATI project,,, alsospuke.