Around 70.9 per cent of the country’s households bribe government officials and employees to get services from various sectors, said a household survey of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Wednesday.
According to the survey, the law enforcement agencies are the most corrupt service sector (74.4 pc) followed by the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) (70.5 pc) and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) (68.3 pc). Other most corrupt services sectors include judiciary (56.8 pc), health (48.7 pc), local government institutions (46.6 pc) and land services (46.3 pc).
The female service recipients become victims of corruption more than male service recipients in some sectors especially health and local government institutions and while the males become victims of corruption more than women in certain sectors like education and public service.
Service seekers are being harassed
in many ways by greedy and
corrupt officials and employees
Reaffirming her government’s tough stance against corruption and irregularities, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina repeatedly issued strong warning against graft by public servants. But the common people are yet to get rid of the menace of corruption, irregularities and mismanagement as no stern action has been taken against the corrupt officials and employees from grassroots to central level.
Service seekers are being harassed and humiliated in many ways by the greedy and corrupt officials and employees when they go to the government offices to get service. The government has increased salaries, allowances and other privileges of the public servants. But, most of the government staffs are still abusing power and taking bribe shamelessly from the service seekers every day.
We all must boycott corrupts socially and raise an unequivocal and collective voice against corruption in the spirit of the War of Liberation to build a corruption free prosperous society. The public servants who abuse the power and responsibilities should be brought to justice under the existing law immediately. The authorities concerned should launch a crackdown against corrupts officials and staffs immediately as people’s sentiment against the persisting corrupt practices in different sectors, has already taken a serious turn. If any official is involved in corruption, he or she should not be spared and he or she must be ousted.
