Tackling corruption in Bangladesh

Corruption is an everyday burden in Bangladesh. Perceptions, as well as public experiences of corruption are high in the country, with 66 percent of the population reporting that they have had to pay a bribe to access basic services in the last 12 months, and 46 per cent believing that corruption has increased.

Corruption was perceived to be greatest in institutions that interact with the public: the police and public officials. This is worrisome, because corruption hits the poorest people hardest. Out of a population of 148.7 million, around a third of Bangladeshis live under the poverty line.  

TI-Bangladesh: engaging people in the corruption fight

“94 per cent of people in Bangladesh agree that ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.”

Since its establishment in 1996, Transparency International Bangladesh has actively campaigned against corruption in both the public and the private spheres of society.

In fulfilling its mission to “catalyze and strengthen a participatory social movement to promote and develop institutions, laws and practices for combating corruption in Bangladesh”, TI-Bangladesh has created numerous civic engagement initiatives:

• Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC) is a series of local-level watchdog forums speaking up against corruption. The CCCs bring together driven individuals who are committed to inform, motivate, mobilize citizens and provide leadership in the growing social movement against corruption.
• Youth Engagement & Support (YES): through engaging young people, the movement provides them with a way of raising voices against corruption.
• The Integrity Pledge: introduced by TI-Bangladesh, this initiative is a voluntary pledge made by local-level public representatives, officials and service providers to promote transparency and accountability in the delivery of services in vital sectors such as education, health and local government. By ensuring people’s participation in the planning, design, budgeting, implementation and monitoring process of service delivery, we can significantly improve integrity, transparency and accountability.

Our chapter in action

On June 2, TI-Bangladesh organized a two-day national convention on “Youth in Anti-corruption Movement: Achievement and Challenges”, where it was highlighted that people’s collective courage is vital in fighting corruption. Sultana Kamal, chairman of the TI-Bangladesh trustee board, said that “every citizen is obliged to take his or her stance against corruption, as the responsibility for corruption and rights violation committed through the state machinery eventually lies with the people”.

On April 9 TI-Bangladesh organised a discussion on the challenges of good governance in the use of climate funds.

On December 9, International Anti-Corruption Day was celebrated in Bangladesh through public rallies in many Bangladeshi cities, where people wearing identical green T-shirts demanded good governance and effective control of corruption.

TI-Bangladesh in the news

The Daily Star:

• One suspended on dept probe
• Reveal details of Sahara deal
• Lawmen failing to function
• Lack of transparency causing sweet water decline

The Financial Express:

• Sundarbans' cry goes unheard