The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Barisal

World Anti-Corruption Day-2007 was observed in Barisal on Sunday calling to make anti corruption commission affective. Conscious Citizen Committee (CCC), local organ of Transparency International Bangladesh(TIB) organized human chain in front of Aswani Kumar Hall at morning, inaugurated three day long signature collection campaign against corruption and held seminar on 'Corruption and Bangladesh' at afternoon were held on this occasion.

Advocate Manabendra Batobayal, convener, presided over and Prof. Dipankar Chakroborty, executive member of Barisal CCC, presented key note paper in the seminar held at Abdul Khalek auditorium of Kheyali group theatre of the city on Sunday afternoon.

Prof. Syed Moazem Hossain, Shah Sajeda, Tulu Rani Karmakar, Cultural activists Kazi Selina, Workers Party leader Shanti Das, freedom fighter Enayet Hossain Chowdhury, Advocate Abdul Mannan, Journalist Mintu Bose, Pulok Chakroborty and others were attended and participated in discussion.

The speakers identified the main causes of corruption in Bangladesh as absence of patriotic political commitment, devaluation of morality, creating give and take policy in public dealing affairs, weak socio-economic condition and poverty, low pay scale and less intensives in public services, absence of transparency and accountability of public servants,confussion, ambiguity, loop holes and weakness of law and discrimination in its implementation and lack of strong monitoring and sincere impartial activities of law enforcing agencies in prevention of corruption.

The participants of the programs also called for creating social and family consciousness against corruption, implementation of anti-corruption acts without any discrimination and making anti corruption commission really effective by making it independent, sovereign, active and powerful with sufficient man power and jurisdiction.