Combating corruption: NAB chief stresses three-pronged strategy


Says awareness, prevention and enforcement are vital to root out the menace

Says awareness, prevention and enforcement are vital to root out the menace

The country’s top anti-graft czar has said that corruption is one of the major cause of all evils and stressed on a three-pronged strategy to combat this menace.

“Corruption not only undermines development but also deprives people of their due rights,” National Accountability Chairman (NAB) Chaudhry Qamar Zaman said while chairing a meeting to review the performance of awareness and prevention division at the bureau’s headquarters here on Sunday.

He said NAB had chalked out a comprehensive national anti-corruption strategy and adopted zero tolerance policy to combat corruption.

The bureau during the last 16 years received about 309,000 complaints from individuals and private/public organisations and completed 6,300 inquiries. About 56 percent of these inquiries matured into a formal investigation and more than 80 percent investigations were taken into the stage of prosecution in the courts of law.

Out of 1,762 decided cases, we achieved conviction in 889 cases, which is about 51 percent. NAB’s prime focus is on cases of cheating public at large by financial companies, bank, willful loan defaults, misuse of authority and embezzlement of state funds by government servants. One of NAB’s major achievements has been the recovery of around Rs276 billion of ill-gotten money which was deposited in the national exchequer which is a remarkable achievement of NAB.

He said that the figures of complaints, inquiries and investigations are almost double as compared to the same period of 2014 to 2015. The comparative figures for the latest two years are indicative of the hard work being put in by all ranks of NAB staff in an atmosphere of renewed energy and dynamism, where the fight against corruption is being taken as a national duty. The increase in the number of complaints also reflects enhanced public trusted in the NAB.

He said that to create awareness among youth about the ill-effects of corruption, over 22,000 character-building societies have been established in universities, colleges and schools during the last one year.

He hoped that joint efforts of all stakeholders can collaborate to check corruption and corrupt practices before happening with the help of all stakeholders, civil society, media and people at large and bring sustainable systematic changes to the governance structure of our country.


Original news : http://tribune.com.pk/story/1157719/combating-corruption-nab-chief-stresses-three-pronged-strategy/