Law enforcement Bangladesh’s most corrupt sector in 2017, says TIB

The Transparency International Bangladesh or TIB has identified law enforcement as one of the most corruption-riddled service sectors of 2017.

The anti-graft organisation released the findings of a survey conducted on 15,581 households throughout last year at a news conference in Dhaka on Thursday 

After law enforcement, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority or BRTA and the Department of Immigration and Passports were most corrupt agencies in 2017, according to the survey.

BRTA tops the list of agencies hit by bribery, the TIB said.

The other corrupt sectors, according to the organisation, are judicial service, land, education and health.

The survey found as many as 66.05 percent households were subjected to corruption last year.

After a similar survey conducted for the last time in 2015, the TIB said 67.08 percent households were victims of corruption that year.

The estimated amount of bribes paid in 2017, however, rose to over Tk 106 billion from more than Tk 88 billion estimated in 2015.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said some findings were positive but the situation on the whole remained worrying last year.

“The rate of bribery has dropped but the amounts have increased,” he said quoting the survey.

The TIB official also said they had hoped corruption in the government would drop after the pay rise for public servants.

“But salary hike means nothing to those who have made bribery a part and parcel of their lives,” he said.

Iftekharuzzaman also criticised the government for drafting a law to make its permission mandatory for arresting any public servant on criminal charges.

He said they were disappointed to see that even the Ant-Corruption Commission chairman has supported the draft law.

The TIB fears that the law will increase ‘institutionalisation of corruption’ once it is passed.

Goodwill of those running the country is needed first to reduce corruption, TIB Trustee Board Chairperson Sultana Kamal said.

She also emphasised accountability to cut corruption.