Corruption Control
CORRUPTION is becoming one of the serious
problems facing both the governments and civil societies of most developing countries. So
much so that in some countries, the governments, despite their serious commitment to
eliminate corruption and ensure good governance, often find it difficult to completely
uproot, if not check, corruption. In this regard, Nepal is not an exception. The general
perception among the people is that corruption is quite rampant in the country and that
this social evil is gradually corroding norms and values that they hold so dear. Apart
from this, the people also perceive it as one of the major impediments of good governance
and all-round development of the nation. Corruption, if not checked in time, will sooner
or later spread its pervasive tentacles in different strata of society and sectors of the
economy, thereby delaying development activities being carried out by the government for
the people’s socio-economic uplift. The government, having realised this social
anomaly’s debilitating effects on all walks of Nepalese life, has come up with
necessary initiatives to check corruption and ensure good governance. Ever since the
present government came into being, corruption control has been one of its topmost
priorities so as to accelerate the pace of development in the country. Furthermore, it has
come up with the required policy and legal measures to not only check corruption but also
to punish those who aid and abate corruption in the country. That the government is very
firm in its determination to check corruption can be gauged by a new bill called
Corruption Control Act that it has drafted and presented in the parliament. This bill
seeks to create a high level committee—National Alertness Centre—headed by no
less than the Prime Minister so that the government’s anti-corruption measures and
initiatives would be imparted with added momentum and drive. Of late, some quarters are of
the view that this new bill could circumscribe the roles of the Commission of
Investigation of Abuse of Authority and Special Police-the two agencies charged with
checking corruption. But considering the severity of the problem being faced by both the
government and civil society’s problem at large in uprooting this social evil from
the fold of society, the creation of such a high level anti-corruption body, instead of
curtailing the two agencies’ roles, would lead to better coordination among the
various agencies in their common fight against this social evil that is perceived to be
corroding society’s valued norms and sapping its will and determination.
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