Everyone seems to be running their own dirty little rackets; whether it be the civil servants milking the system for financial assistance, politicians doling out 'aid' to their cronies, sportsmen and administrators taking bribes, the judiciary accused of taking kickbacks to support medical mafia, businessmen involved in creating artificial shortages for profit or the police and administrators offering their services in the black market.
Sadly for Nepal, democracy and the multi-party system have brought with it corruption in the form of increased and rampant commercialization of positions of authority. The clamor for 'lucrative' posts and ministries has more to do with the fact that they represent a potential goldmine for underhand earnings rather than the chance to serve the nation. When the government and opposition squabble over who gets to head the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), rebuilding Nepal is probably the last thing on their minds.
The entire system is so marinated in this corruption that any action seems to be motivated primarily by the economic gains of acting or refraining from it. The oil deal with China is being resisted in some quarters partly due to the fear of alienating India, but also due to the reluctance of the hierarchy in giving up their lucrative status quo: the profiteering that the well-entrenched supply chain and hierarchy have become accustomed to indulging in from the petroleum trade with India.
And bang in the middle of all this moral turpitude is a huge white elephant called the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). It now stands accused of political score settling – after issuing a summons to high profile individuals – more as a result of the glaring omissions rather than the inclusions on their 'hit' list. Having said that, I really wouldn't venture to stick my neck out for many of those already on the list. God know some of them probably deserve it.
While it remains to be seen whether this action is political score settling or the organization and leadership turning over a new leaf, it is nevertheless funny to see all three parties scrambling to take a common stance on this issue. What's the bet that they come up with a uniform stance in no time at all? It took these same fools eons to come up with a common stance on the Madhesi agitation while the country was plunging deeper into the mire. But this is different. There's nothing quite like being in the line of fire or your 'own' people being targeted. This contrast should really tell us common citizens where we stand in their perception and priorities.
Notwithstanding this unintended hilarity, the fact remains that the CIAA has up to now been little more than a flagrant waste of the exchequer's resources. Even judging by our less than impeccable bureaucratic standards, it has utterly failed in its remit and at pivotal times in our country's history has stood a mute spectator while our netas and bureaucrats have filled up their boots and flexed their muscles – most notably when our communist comrades were busy making oligarchs of themselves at the expense of the state.
The modus operandi of CIAA is self-defeating to begin with, requiring other government agencies to provide them with investigating officers who are susceptible to corruption themselves, as has been found out on a few occasions. While other countries, like India, have elite investigating agencies like the CBI with proper manpower, technical expertise, resources and varying degrees of immunity from political interference, the CIAA is short changed in its mandate, resources and autonomy. An organization created with the goal of bringing about reforms in our political and administrative culture is in dire need of reform itself.
Even if we were to go by the maxim that an organization's worth is measured by its success, then I'm afraid the CIAA's prosecution record speaks for itself. For all the hype of naming and shaming people, the media briefs, the recommendations for departmental action or the cases filed, the genuine fear generated among the bureaucracy by the 'akhtiyaar', its track record of prosecuting civil servants, ministers and the assorted accused is laughable to say the least. It doesn't help the organization's credibility that many see the man running the show as an opportunist of dubious moral standing and questionable integrity, further undermining its credibility and emboldening those now claiming it is a political witch hunt.
These days, a politician or bureaucrat who hasn't been connected to any wrongdoing is not assumed to be honest, just better at hiding their guilt. It is why we idolize people like Lal Babu Pandit, who for all his virtues, was really just doing his job. We are not doomed because corruption is so endemic but because we have become so inured and apathetic to it, accepting it reluctantly as a by-product of the modern age.
When these people – guilty and charged – of swindling the taxpayers (you and me) walk into a marriage hall or function we have no qualms in bending over backwards for them. Would we actually meet and greet someone who has just robbed from us? Apparently we do. Under normal circumstances, we would probably kick the living daylights out of them. But then again, these are hardly normal times.
gunjan.u@gmail.com
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