The government’s commitment to maintain good governance in public administration looks good only on paper as the anti-graft body in the country has painted a bleak picture of the state of corruption – pointing out a large number of flaws in the working mechanism at various government levels. The chief of Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has revealed that they have been receiving a large number of complaints on corruption related to construction works, budget disbursement, grant distribution and service delivery, among others, at all three tiers of the governments. Addressing the 33rd anniversary of the CIAA on Sunday, the Chief Commissioner Prem Kumar Rai said most of the complaints are related to the encroachment of public property, bribing, misconducts to gain undue advantages and amassing illegal wealth. One of the important concerns that CIAA Chief Rai raised is that there is a serious lack of transparency in public procurement and construction works as the government does not follow appropriate standards of the natural resources while formulating the budget and programs. 

As noted by the anti-graft chief, collusion in selecting projects, giving payments without operating programs, excessive use of natural resources breaching the thresholds maintained in the approved environmental impact assessment, influences of middlemen in public service delivery, lack of assuming responsibility and accountability, delay in decision making to carry out financial irregularities are on the rise in recent days. This is a troubling development that the relevant government agencies must take urgent action to address. Worse still, the government authorities concerned in most cases fail to take actions against the wrongdoers. As noted by the CIAA, the trend of misusing public land and selling the government-owned land for personal use is on the rise lately. This calls for all government bodies responsible and office-bearers to become extra responsible when it comes to fulfilling their legal responsibilities on protecting and conserving the public property.

Nepal has consistently remained in the bottom half of the list of countries where corruption is rampant. This is evident from the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International earlier this month. The CPI shows that efforts taken so far to control corruption in Nepal have failed to yield any substantial result. In the global ranking, Nepal has scored 35 points and is currently ranked 108th, which is a marginal improvement by one point as compared to last year.  One of the important concerns lately in Nepal is the growing instances of policy corruption and this needs to be brought under legal jurisdiction with due urgency. We call upon the government to formulate appropriate legislation to bring policy decisions under legal jurisdiction so that anti-graft bodies like the CIAA can investigate such cases. Another critical aspect of corruption is its symbiotic relationship with a weakened justice system. The lack of accountability for public officials allows corruption to thrive. Thus, addressing corruption goes beyond isolated measures; it requires a holistic approach that strengthens institutions, enhances transparency, and ensures that those who engage in corrupt practices face swift and severe consequences. We call upon the government to institute robust policies and strengthen the justice system to eradicate corruption at its roots. Only through decisive and proactive measures that also address policy corruption can we hope to do away with the endemic corruption that has hindered our progress as a nation for far too long. 

 
• government
 
• good_governance
 
• corruption