Non-transparent assistance of donors cause of corruption: Upadhyay

April 2, 2006
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Chief Commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Surya Nath Upadhyay, has said corruption has thrived in the country due to what he called non-transparent assistance from donors.

Speaking at an interaction on controlling corruption in the Capital on Sunday, Upadhyay said certain donors were also responsible for increasing corruption since they did not maintain transparency and provided assistance on their own terms. He did not name them.

“The country is forced to accept the assistance as desired by the donors irrespective of its actual need. This is the main cause behind corruption in the country,” Upadhyay added.

He accused the donor agencies of putting “unhealthy conditions” while providing donations. He said the CIAA had rejected many proposals from various international agencies as they had put such conditions.

However, stating that CIAA was also receiving assistance from some donors, he quickly added that they were free to discontinue the assistance if they don’t feel they are having their ways, adding, “This will not handicap the Commission.”

The chief of the anti-corruption watchdog also admitted that anti-corruption laws were not sufficient and coordination among concerned agencies was also lacking.

He also said other institutions like the Revenue Investigation Department and others, which can play an important role in fighting corruption, have failed to use their authority to control corruption.

Presenting a working paper on the occasion, joint secretary at the Finance Ministry, Laxman Kumar Pokhrel, stated that ethical behaviour could be more effective than mere legislation in combating corruption.

Other participants of the programme stressed on better coordination among concerned bodies to fight the problem of graft. nepalnews.com pb Apr 02 06