LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhary has said that eradication of corruption is vital to make country’s economy strong.
Addressing as chief guest at a ceremony organized by Rawalpindi Chamber and Commerce and Industry (RCCI), he said that NAB was committed to make Pakistan a corruption free country. Raja Amer Iqbal, president RCCI, ex-president and senior members of Rawalpindi Chamber and Commerce and Industry (RCCI) attended the ceremony which was held at RCCI Rawalpindi Auditorium.
The chairman NAB said that corruption was not only a vice but also it triggers a chain reaction and leads to injustice and deprives people of their due rights. He said that NAB was established to eradicate corruption in a holistic and integrated manner. This is the backdrop against which NAB is striving to accomplish its mission i.e. to rid the nation of corruption and corrupt practices. NAB is essentially a complaint driven organization.
He said that starting with the year 2014 which can be called basically a year of re invigoration of NAB, we have moved with new zeal and effort. Through detailed introspection and analysis of organizational weaknesses, overhaul of procedures and business processes, all pillars of the organization i.e. Operations, Prosecution, Human Resource Development and Awareness and Prevention have been reactivated. Organogram was revisited to transform NAB into a lean, efficient, and responsive organization.
The chairman NAB said that to close the possibility of any single NAB officer/official influencing the discharge of official business, the concept of a “Combined Investigation Team” (CIT) was introduced where two investigation officers and a legal consultant are working as a team for a fair, transparent and unbiased, inquiry/ investigations. To ensure objectivity and standardization across the board, the Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) were examined and revisited through a participative exercise spread over four months for up-gradation and implementation. These SOPs are placed on NAB’s website for convenience of all individuals interacting with NAB. He said that NAB has decided to fix time limit for each step of enforcement i.e. 2 months for Complaint Verification, four months for Inquiry & four months for Investigation. A total of 10 months have been laid down from start – to its logical conclusion as per law.
He said has signed an MOU with China to enhance cooperation in eradication of corruption. Under this MOU Pakistan and China will oversee transparency in China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in Pakistan. Pakistan has become first Chairman of SAARC Anti-Corruption Forum.
The Chairman NAB said that Transparency International has rated Pakistan in Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 175 to 126 in 2014 and in 2015 CPI decreased from 126 to 117 which is a great achievement for Pakistan due while the CPI of other regional countries remained static or declined, he informed. This is because of effective Anti-Corruption Strategy of NAB which has started yielding dividends. Similarly PILDAT have indicated that 42 percent people have confidence on NAB as compared to FIA and Police. The World Economic Forum and Mishal Pakistan according to Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum rated Pakistan from 126 to 122 this year which is great achievement of Pakistan due to NAB efforts.
