Kathmandu, Jan. 8: Speakers of a one-day talk on “Strategies to Control Corruption” today said that the ‘alarming’ situation of corruption hindered development activities in the country. They accused the anti-corruption bodies of being inactive in curbing the social evil.

Political will, sense of moral values and stringent legal provisions would be necessary in minimising, if not totally eliminating, corruption, they said at the programmme organised by Policy Analysis Council (PAC). They also showed the necessity of making everyone concerned honest and accountable to their responsibilities.

The programme, chaired by PAC President Janardan Dev Panta, was organised with an aim to assist the government campaign against corruption by recommending some strategies.

“We can unitedly fight the evils of corruption by making anti-corruption bodies, including Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, more effective and result-oriented,” former prime minister and Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba said.

Referring to poverty as one of the most dominant factors in rising corruption in an underdeveloped country like Nepal, Deuba said that the government should carry out some economic activities in order to uplift people’s living standard.

Rajparishad Standing Committee Member Gajananda Agrawal said that all the concerned individuals should be honest and accountable to their jobs if corruption was to be minimised. He also pointed out some legal shortcomings and accused the government of being inactive in this regard.

Parliamentarian Ramesh Lekhak said that the government was aware of the growing corruption cases and had taken some concrete initiatives in checking it.

Nepal Press Council President Harihar Birahi said that stringent legal provisions alone would not help control corruption. He also emphasised the role of media in raising voices against corruption. Federation of Nepal Journalists Association Suresh Acharya accused the government of giving a deaf ear to the voices of media.