BY D. M. THAPA
Probably thousands of words have already been written by analysts, commentators and regular reporters on the issue of corruption in the country. I feel happy to see such news and views about this ailment which has been slowly destroying Nepal, an otherwise beautiful and peaceful place where all people lived in harmony.
Apart from the dangerous situation towards which corruption has taken the nation, this author has also alerted the readers about how corruption has taken social and cultural roots, thus fanning this problem to a much huger scale, which is almost uncontrollable at present.
But let me explain what I mean by “social and cultural roots”. It is a sad fact that the entire society has taken corruption for granted. Even if a person has been convicted after a long and embarrassing period of investigation, he or she walks away after a few months in jail and a small fine to pay for his or her crime, and nobody seems to be any bothered. The person is treated like a hero by the society, accepted open heartedly in their midst and the person who has cheated his nation and the institution he works for, starts living a lavish life which is praised by others.
This is the first mistake we all have made.
That corruption has taken is something which has been time and again alerted by observers and how this curse has taken social and cultural roots, thus fanning this problem to a much huger scale, which is almost uncontrollable at present.
But let me explain what I mean by “social and cultural roots”. It is a sad fact that the entire society has taken corruption for granted. As if this is not a heinous crime. Many get away Scot free, and even if a person has been convicted after a long and embarrassing period of investigation, he or she walks away after a few months in jail and a small fine to pay for his or her crime, and nobody seems to be any less bothered. The person is treated like a hero by the society, accepted open heartedly in their midst and the person who has cheated his nation and the institution he she works for starts living a comfortable life with their ill-gotten wealth.
Culturally also, bribes, cheating taxes, swindling money of innocent people, taking whopping amounts of commissions in any big deal made by the government and such criminal activities are almost taken for granted. Like people bowing their heads down to Gods and deities even on the streets. Service seekers are willing to pay some extra money if their work is done faster in government offices and the service givers are only too willing to make that extra buck, though in many circumstances it means government servants taking billions of rupees at the expense of the nation. This means that certain selected individuals, even in the Police Force, the erring bureaucracy and any government institutions are getting richer by the day, but the poorer people are getting more poor and there is a huge, huge gap between the haves and have-nots.
People are willing to earn more, in no matter which sectors they are in. Let us forget the “big fishes” now and talk of land mafias who steal other people’s land in cahoots with government officials, those who cheat innocent people wanting to go abroad for work and even small time traders and public transport owners, they are also up to their necks in such crimes. The helpless people in need of their services and people who have to buy edible goods each day are always compelled to pay up though they know they are being cheated.
If the small time cheaters drivers of cabs, paid working men and women working in better established hotels and comparatively smaller institutions and casinos among others have the backing of strong unions or links and still others try to cow down the public through simple muscle power.
Sometime ago, the people started to note that only small time corrupt officials were being prosecuted by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and small local hoodlums or drunks and gamblers were being arrested by the police. Though big time corruption has been taking place for years, specially, after the political parties came to power, the accused persons were mostly allowed to walk out through lack of proper investigations, links at higher places and the magnanimity of the courts.
Anyone found involved in corruption, even the small timers and retailers should be abhorred by the society, they should be boycotted from social events and even their dear and near ones should tell corrupt people what they have done is not good for the country or the ordinary public. This sort of a cry against corruption, which is comparatively very low in decibel now, should reach a crescendo so that corrupt people will find it difficult to live in peace, wherever they are.
After years of blatant corruption, a small ray of sunshine in this darkness, has come in the form of Chief of the CIAA Nabin Kumar Ghimire saying the Commission has been conducting investigations in large amounts of wealth earned by government officers and others, as reported in a government media outlet just a few days back. Ghimire had also told another newspaper that he would soon make public the names of 114 individuals with illegal wealth. The government does not have to sell Treasury Bonds to stay in liquidity. Just taking back the money it has been cheated of is enough. There is another alarming scenario of how the foreign currency reserve has dwindled to last only five months. Meanwhile even Wikipedia had made public that more than fifty Nepali citizens have stashed millions of US dollars in offshore banks, leave alone the property they own in Kathmandu and nearby New Delhi. All such reports have to be thoroughly investigated by well trained investigators and the culprits must be punished severely. Not only jail terms are stringent for economic offenders in more developed countries, the fines are also crippling, so that a corrupt official or someone like that can no longer enjoy a comfortable life with his or her family later.
It is high time the “big fishes” are prosecuted and convicted and Nepal will automatically go forward in development and all sectors for the benefit of the poor citizens who otherwise are getting poorer every day.
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