Dealing with Corruption

Latest: Corruption and Money Laundering;

TOPICS: Dealing with corruption;

Empowered by the Interim Constitution of Nepal, CIAA is a distinctive anti-corruption agency in South Asia. Today, CIAA is considered to be the “most active” and “most feared” constitutional body of Nepal. In recent days, its powerful weapon “sting operation” has caught many corrupt officials in its net, increasing its relevance.

Nepal has arranged many state level anti-corruption agencies to tackle corruption such as Nepal Vigilance Center, Revenue Investigation Department, and Money Laundering Investigation Department. Yet, Nepal is considered to be one of the most corrupt nations. When all the public bodies, including constitutional bodies, are criticized for being slow and ineffective the recent activities of CIAA have raises new hope of a better Nepal. In spite of its relevance, the proceeding of CIAA is a matter of criticism.

It is often criticized as traditional, slow and limited to small level officers (i.e. unable to tackle high level political and bureaucratic corruption) Also, CIAA is unable to investigate all the petitions because of limited manpower.

So, a few reforms must be made in CIAA. Firstly, it should have adequate manpower with proper skills. Because cases of corruption are to be tackled with proper skills, adequate training should be provided to enrich their skills. CIAA should be empowered with enough resources and infrastructure such as Research Center, Inquiry Center, etc. Some reforms are to be made in procedural aspects in accordance with the recent global trends.

The major cause of corruption in Nepal is considered to be the result of strong nexus between politics, business and bureaucracy. Because of this, many corrupt politicians and bureaucrats are engaged in building an empire of organized corruption. It is a challenging task for CIAA to break the nexus.

It is expected that in the coming days CIAA will be more active and effective. To empower it with legal instruments various domestic laws are being introduced and amended, according to the spirit of UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). It will help CIAA to be more effective. Common Nepalis expect CIAA to be feared by public bodies ultimately leading to effective public bodies. Because of the “organized corruption” that prevails in Nepal the path of CIAA is full of thorns.

Along with new hopes there is a question as to whether CIAA will be more active and stronger or be a victim of so-called political transition in the near future. Its fate depends on support of the common people, efforts of officials and government, proper legal power and a few reforms.