A.M.K. Chowdhury
Corruption is the number one impediment to development and economic growth of the county. After the AL-led alliance government came to power the country witnessed stock market scam, Padma scam, Destiny group scam, Bismillah group scam, Unipay– 2 scam, railway recruitment business scandal , VOIP (Voice Over Internal Protocol) scandal, swindling of public money from banks and financial institutions etc. All these scandals facilitated the fortunate persons to misappropriate and plunder crore of public money.
A group of businessmen mostly linked with the AL plundered around Tk.40 thousand crore from the stock market which affected financially 34 lakh small investors all over the country. It may be mentioned here that t Tk. 600 crore were looted from the share market of 1996 when the AL had been in power as reported in the media.
Surunjot Sengupta of ‘black cat’ reputation was made a minister without portfolio after an alleged bribery of Tk.70 lakh which was recovered at the Peelkhana BGB (Border Guard of Bangladesh) headquarters gate on April 9, 2012 midnight. But the railway recruitment business involved more than Tk.400 crore and the recovery of Tk.70 lakh was a tiny, negligible fraction of the entire scandal as reported in a major English language daily dated April 18, 2012.
Hallmark group and five other companies’ embezzled Tk.3547 crore from the state– run Sonali Bank with the help of the bank’s high-ups. An adviser to the Prime Minister allegedly influenced Sonali Bank authorities into granting loan to the Hallmark group illegally as reported in the media.
Destiny group scam involved Tk. 3,285 .26 crore. The Daily Star reported on May 2, 2012 that Lt Gen (retd) M Harun-Ar-Rashid stepped down as member secretary of Sector Commanders’ Forum following a section of media reports accusing him of using the forum for the business of Destiny-2000 Ltd. It is worth noticing that he preferred to remain with “Destiny-2000 Ltd ignoring the Sector Commanders’ Forum. Rashid sent his resignation letter through his messenger to the office of sector forum Chief Air-Vice Marshall (retd) AK Khandaker. His resignation came following a number of reports published in different newspapers recently, brining allegation against him that he has been using the forum for the business of Destiny-2000 Ltd, a multi level marketing (MLM) company, which is accused of illegal banking and other irregularities.
A Bangladesh Bank inquiry recently found proof of illegal banking by Destiny Multipurpose Co-operative Society, a sister concern of Destiny. Illegal banking by the company is creating disorder in the country’s financial sector, said the BB probe report.
The central bank investigation has found that the company is involved in banking activities — from deposit collection to lending — illegally. It has around 70 lakh members and set a target to take the number to 1 crore by this year. The probe also found a link between the current liquidity crisis in the banking sector and the booming MLM business.
Canadian Police submitted charge sheets against three persons including former state minister for foreign affairs for alleged bribery in the most-vaunted Padma Bridge. Earlier the World Bank cancelled the proposed loan for US $ 120 for constructing the bridge for alleged corruption. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) withdrew their proposals from the Padma Bridge project as reported in a major Bangla daily on September 29, 2013.
Berlin-based Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in a recent report said education sector is highly vulnerable to corruption. In Bangladesh 12 per cent of people paid bribes to educational institutions. (New Age dated October 2, 2013). Earlier a TIB report said that corrupt officials at government and non-government services sector organizations of the country took away Tk. 220 billion in bribe in the last fiscal year. Another report said that most of the lawmakers of the country are involved in corruption and all kinds of irregularities as reported as reported in the media on December 29, 2012.
Number one impediment
Corruption is the number one impediment to development and economic growth of the county. Otherwise the country would have turned into a unique role model of development in the world under the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who received award like ‘Prestigious Indira Gandhi Peace Award’, ‘M.K.Gandhi Award’, ‘Global Diversity Award’, ‘Pearl S. Buck Award’, ‘Netaji Subash Chandra Boss Memorial Award’, ‘Mother Teresa Prize’, ‘UNESCO’s Houphouet Boigny Peace Prize’, ‘Lion’s International Crest’, ‘Bangla Academy Fellowship’ and ‘Paul Haris Fellowship’, of Rotary Foundation etc. for her contribution to peace, human development and promotion of democracy. Besides this, she was also honoured as ’Nariratna’ and ‘Bangla Mata’ (Mother of Bangla). It is our pride that our Prime Minister so far obtained 13 doctorates from different universities both at home and abroad. Her government is making relentless efforts to make a ‘digital’ Bangladesh that the people have ever seen.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the country which was going to be a failed state during the previous BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) regime where militancy, terrorism, corruption, acute gas and power crisis were a regular phenomena, has been turned into a role model of development after her government assumed power. Her government had been able to sort out those problems of the country. The PM said this on her arrival from New York after receiving the prestigious ‘South – South Award’. Sheikh Hasina received the award from The International Organization for South – South Corporation (IOSSC) for Bangladesh for its stellar performance in fighting against poverty as well as significant reduction in poverty during her government’s tenure. President of the South-South Headquarters and South South Ambassador Francis Lorenzo handed over the award to Sheikh Hasina on September 23, 2013. She returned on Dhaka on September 30, 2013 after an eight-day official visit to the USA where she attended the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
But confusion and controversy have arisen over AL’s (Awami League) claim that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was given for the second time the South- South Award. The weekly Holiday [“South-South Coop Award: Reality or imagination?”] in its October 4, 2013 issue quoting a press statement issued by SSC (South – South Cooperation) said that the news of the Bangladesh Prime Minister receiving such an award is either false or twisted. The awards recognize governments and private sector leaders who have made significant contributions to sustainable development. Nowhere the name of the Bangladesh Prime Minister is found, in the press release, or by any other searches; except in the news published by Bangladesh media outlets.
A picture captioned “For her special contribution in poverty alleviation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina receives an award from South-South News Honorary President Ambassador Francis Lorenzo at the headquarters of International Organisation for South-South Cooperation in New York on Monday (September 23)” added fuel to the fire.
The report also said, “It also seems surprising and surreal that of the five journalists who comprised the P.M.’s 140-strong entourage, none was present in the reported award winning gala which was perhaps the most important event of the P.M.’s eight-day long tour to New York. The report further said, it may as well that theP.M. was awarded by the SSC in the sideline for her contributions in other fields of MDG’s (Millennium Development Goal) targets, not for poverty alleviation in particular.
Source: Weekly Holiday
