The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE newly constituted Truth and Accountability Commission (TAC) appears to have little to deal with corruptions as only small ones have responded to its invitation to voluntarily disclose their graft and obtain clemency by giving the state exchequer ill-gotten money. The commission found hardly any big fish among the 230 petitioners who have sought clemency for giving back their illegal assets to the treasury in the last one and a half months since it officially started functioning early last month. Most of the applicants are low-grade officials and employees of government. Among the clemency seekers are 205 officials and employees, six businessmen and a union parishad chairman.

The main purpose of formation of the TAC was to restore confidence among the businessmen and politicians by enabling them to get clemency for their corruptions, but the commission received no application from politicians, as the people concerned do not seem encouraged to take the opportunity. It is presumed that the possibility of debarring them from contesting elections might have discouraged politicians from seeking clemency. Corrupt big businessmen, on the other hand, might have feared that once they confessed before any commission they would be in more trouble. The TAC has completed hearing of 70 cases, and 35 seekers of clemency have promised to give Tk 15.53 crore to the public exchequer.

Among the clemency seekers so far, there are very few senior bureaucrats though the size of corrupt section of public servants, obviously, is presumed to be large for their lavish life-style and accumulation of property - that is not possible with honest known sources of income. It was expected that the politicians, businessmen and senior officials who have amassed illegal money and wealth, would take the opportunity of obtaining clemency offered by the truth commission.