Kathmandu, Feb 10: President Ramchandra Paudel has stressed the need of modernising investigation and prosecution procedures against corruption in response to the evolving nature and forms of corruption.
In his address to a special function organised to mark the 34th establishment day of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) here today, the President stressed that the CIAA be competent to thwart methods and tendencies of corruption being changed with rapid development and use of information technology.
The Head of the State said he is confident that the CIAA will never fail or compromise to fulfill its responsibilities resisting to pressure or influence from outside.
Stating that a delay in passing the Bill against corruption is said to have caused some issues in combating corruption, the President advised that our laws and mechanism be revised in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption to which Nepal is a signatory.
Underlining the need of bringing all sorts of corruption into investigation to materialize the concept of good governance, social justice and prosperity, the President said none is free from the legal response just because of holding a post and power and this belief should be established among the citizens.
He advised the CIIA to perform making good conducts, impartiality, transparency and fearlessness as is motto to address the citizen’s aspirations for development ad good governance and promote the country’s image internationally.
As he said, it is the need of the hour to promote a system for discipline and virtue by making polices, methods and efforts for tendency report further effective.
As he said the elimination of corruption is possible if we all determined by our action, behavior, conduct and practices against corruption and remained committed to its prevention.
People’s aspirations for the strengthening of democracy, economic development, good governance, social justice and prosperity could not be addressed in the absence of good governance and transparency, according to the President.
He urged the state mechanism to stay vigilant against potential misappropriation of public funds and resources. The CIAA, with its central role in establishing the rule of law and good governance, should continue to inform public entities and officials about the risks of corruption and take proactive measures in the fight against it, he added
The President also highlighted the need for collaboration between state bodies, the private sector, civil society, and the citizens in promoting good governance and implementing preventive programs against corruption, all of which are essential for creating a corruption-free society with the establishment of good governance.
CIAA Chief Commissioner Prem Kumar Rai said the Commission has taken positive initiative along with the various strategies for the promotion of good governance and corruption control.
He made it clear that the research process has been continuously improved while remaining conscious so that the research activities do not discourage the public service delivery and the development works.
Chief Commissioner Rai said although the Government of Nepal is making efforts towards making the public service delivery further predictable, simplified, accessible and systematized, the service delivery at federal offices like transport, land revenue, land survey, passport, foreign employment and immigration, among others, has not been as effective as the people would expect it to be.
“The services provided by the provincial and local governments have become more cumbersome and expensive and the people are unable to get easy and smooth services. It is necessary to adopt additional reform measures to provide easy and smooth services to the citizens,” he asserted.
Chief Commissioner Rai said that the Commission has also adopted a strategy of awareness, publicity and collaboration to develop a culture of integrity among the officials who use public resources and State authority.
Stating that every citizen is the change agent and the government is the leader for establishing good governance, he stressed on the need of running a special campaign under the government’s leadership to improve the status of good governance by addressing the concerns coming from the citizens’ level.
Chief Commissioner Rai said that despite the implementation of important laws such as the Mutual Legal Assistance Act and the Extradition Act, there was a problem in collecting necessary facts through mutual legal assistance regarding corruption-related transactions taking place outside the country due to lack of bilateral agreements with the respective countries.
He expressed the belief that the government would soon take action in the prevention of money laundering by entering into mutual legal agreements with the concerned countries.
On the occasion, President Paudel released the CIAA Souvenir-2081.
The Head-of-State presented the ‘Best Investigator Award’ to Under-Secretary Bishnu Raj Belbase and Deputy Superintendent of Police Kamal Kumar Khadka, and the ‘Outstanding CIAA Service Award’ to the Commission’s land survey officer Rubina Shahi. Each award carries a purse of Rs 35,000 per person.
On the occasion, Speaker Devraj Ghimire awarded journalists and media organisations for their support in controlling corruption and promoting good governance. Speaker Ghimire, National Assembly Chair Narayan Prasad Dahal, Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker, Vice-Chair of the National Assembly, ministers and high-ranking officials were present on the occasion. The CIAA marked its 34th foundation day today around the slogan ‘Citizen partnership to control corruption, responsibility of all in promoting good governance’. #nepal #corruption #CIAA
