Today is International Anti-Corruption Day. This year's theme is - Unite with Youth against Corruption: Building an Honest Society of Tomorrow.

There seems to be a harmony or even a coincidence between the slogan and concept of the youth's anti-corruption campaign in Nepal last Bhadra and this year's 'Anti-Corruption Day'. 

After the United Nations passed the 'International Convention against Corruption' in 2003, December 9 was celebrated as 'Anti-Corruption Day' all over the world. The main objective of celebrating this day is to analyze the following issues: What initiatives has the state taken to reduce corruption as per the provisions of the Convention? What initiatives has the government taken to control corruption? And how effective have those initiatives been? What new practices should be introduced to make it more effective? To analyze issues such as these with sensitivity and facts.

If a strong practice of controlling corruption cannot be effectively developed, it will be difficult to stop the unethical and corrupt behavior prevalent at the policy-making level all over the world. And, obstacles will arise in the work of making society conflict-free and safe. The international community is concerned about this issue and has adopted the International Convention against Corruption to adopt effective measures. This day is celebrated as a special day as a commitment by the member states of the United Nations to ‘continue to work’ for the effective implementation of the objectives for which this Convention was issued. Considering this perspective, today is a day to evaluate and self-reflect on ‘what we did yesterday, what we are doing today’ to control corruption, and to become stronger in effective control.

Although Nepal has expressed its unconditional commitment to the implementation of the Convention as a party, corruption has become the general ‘rule’ in the operation of the state and loyalty and honesty have become the exception. Regardless of whether it is earned legally or illegally, corruptly or immorally, wealth has now become the standard of social superiority. Since society accepts it, the idea that ‘one must work hard and earn money’ has become deeply rooted in the minds of the corrupt. Rather than developing a culture that corruption-related activities such as bribery, smuggling, and revenue embezzlement are condemnable and unforgivable, our tendency to worship those who commit such acts has fueled corruption. The result of this is the minimum score Nepal has been receiving in the international corruption perception index published by Transparency International every year. As soon as the results of such an index are released, most of us spontaneously express the comment that ‘Nepal has received the minimum score because even though the Constitution of Nepal has made provision for the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority to control corruption, it has not been able to stop corruption.’ It has become our destiny to see and read such commentaries scattered in the press and on social media. And it has become our daily routine to indulge in the misleading, hateful, and exaggerated reactions expressed in them.

Generally, corruption is the misuse of public office and authority for personal gain, disregarding good conduct, morality, high moral character, and accountability. A public servant holding a public position must fulfill his or her responsibilities within the norms and processes determined by the constitution, laws, rules, guidelines, standards and procedures. The starting point of the responsibilities of any public servant or public official appointed or nominated to any position or responsibility in the state is the constitution and various other acts, rules and regulations. If a public servant or public official acts in violation of existing laws and evades accountability, corruption begins from that point, no one doubts about it. In that sense, effective corruption control should be initiated by the responsible official himself. After that, the person or body responsible for monitoring and evaluating such activities should monitor and evaluate whether the responsibilities that should or should be fulfilled according to the law have been fulfilled or not. Therefore, the first step in corruption control is for the person himself - the public servant or public official, and the subsequent responsibility lies in monitoring or evaluating. 

Before writing off any government expenditure, it is a matter stipulated in the Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act-2076 and Regulations-2077 that it is necessary to check whether the payment has been made according to the bill document. That law clearly prohibits the concerned officer from writing off expenses without bill. The primary responsibility to prevent corruption of this nature lies with the employee himself. The decision of the Honorable Supreme Court in the case of corruption by presenting false air tickets and receiving payment (077-CR-0048) can be taken as an example. In this case, a corruption case was filed for some employees of a certain body who, while traveling from Kathmandu-Nepalgunj, Nepalgunj-Kathmandu for office work, made false air tickets and received payment by making payments without actually traveling and traveling by bus. The person who presents the air ticket for which the journey was not made, and the public servant who approves it and makes the payment are the first level employees who prevent corruption of this nature. If such an act/thing is known/informed through any means, it is the responsibility of the second level to investigate and file a case. In the above case of buying a ticket at a discounted price from the concerned airline and presenting a ticket at a higher fare, it is seen that action should be taken as per Rule 23 of the Travel Expenses Regulations-2064, it seems that the esteemed Supreme Court has concluded that the Prevention of Corruption Act will not be applicable in such a case. Although the esteemed justices have concluded that accepting payment by presenting an air ticket without travelling is not corruption, the expertise to provide a sophisticated explanation that such an act is not corruption in the context of a certain act cannot be found in any other part of the world except us.

Legal structure and weak implementation

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority is the constitutional body that investigates/conducts investigations into corruption and 'abuse of authority' by a person holding a public office in accordance with the law. B.S. Although the amendment bill presented in the National Assembly in 2076 is in a coma due to political intrigue, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Act-2048 and the Prevention of Corruption Act-2059, which was amended for the first time only at the end of last year since its enactment, are legal tools to bring corruption-related activities within the ambit of the law. Even though the Commission has been continuously performing its constitutional responsibilities within the ambit of these laws, the murmur of corruption is heard here and there. And within that murmur, complaints, passions, and exaggerated allegations that the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has not controlled corruption are our daily routine. There are many structures in the state to investigate/investigate corruption-related allegations, but the story of failure is basically linked only to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. There is a separate special court to deal with corruption cases, there is a federal parliament and its committees to raise public awareness on corruption, and bodies such as the Office of the Auditor General, National Vigilance Center, Money Laundering Department, Revenue Investigation Department, and Public Procurement Monitoring Office are also directly linked to corruption control. However, it is said that in order to get rid of corruption, the common Nepali has to keep repeating the proverb, ‘The fruit of the sky is the fruit of the eye, but the eye is the fruit of the eye’. The list of corruption control agencies is thus long. Since 2046 BS, the voice of forming a powerful commission to look into corruption has been moving forward with great enthusiasm. However, no matter how many and how powerful a commission is formed, until the existing law is effectively implemented, the current characters, trends and traditions will continue to prevail, and those of us who are accustomed to sacrificing innocent animals to seek blessings will be left with nothing.

The proposed amendment registered in the National Assembly in 2076 Magh to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act took more than five years and a few days in our system to be passed by the parliament. Although Section ‘17A’ of the amendment brought to the Prevention of Corruption Act – 2059 BS, which was made 23 years ago, has made ‘new provisions for controlling corruption in the context of Nepal’, it has not been possible to effectively implement some of its provisions until today, due to the efforts of the Authority alone. The said section provides that ‘if a public servant knowingly or maliciously fails to make a decision within a specific period of time, except in cases where there is reasonable cause for doing so, by knowingly or maliciously taking/giving/giving a benefit to himself or to someone else, the person who does so shall be punished.’ What work is to be done for how long under this section? What will be the basis for measuring it? If the Commission reaches a reasonable conclusion about such a period of time on its own and files a charge, it is the Commission’s destiny to fall into the trap of accusations that the authority acted in a fabricated, arbitrary and malicious manner, as has been stated in many past cases, as has been established in the principles established in many past cases. The amended provisions can be implemented only if many such provisions brought in the Prevention of Corruption Act-2059 are addressed in a timely manner for the implementation purpose. 

Otherwise, as the old saying goes, ‘There is gold in Lhasa, my ears are full of gold’, the sections of the Act will remain limited to books.

This is the story of many victims who had to pay bribes and kickbacks because the officer who wrote the bill did not pay the requested commission or bribe even when they submitted all the documents required for payment on time. Only the innocent know such pain. When there are small stories of innocent people, there are no numbers of them who are overlooked in the context of corruption control. Even when the Authority addresses such a complaint, it is not considered a matter for others to feel that the Commission itself is a victim by the commentary that ‘the Authority has touched small-scale corruption, the Commission will touch small-scale-small-innocent people, right?’

We have come to understand that ‘corruption occurs only by saying what should not be done and what should not be done, and the person accused of corruption must have signed a document.’ Many corrupt people who are busy with this traditional thinking are busy playing the role of a great guru who gives sermons against corruption. It is the destiny of the common Nepali to become initiated by listening to the discourses of those same people on corruption control.

Corruption embedded in 'stunt'

The English word 'stunt' has a specific meaning - a daring move or risky activity. Such activities are especially done in movies, circuses and motorbike shows. The statements made by political party leaders from time to time that they are going to open corruption files are such 'stuntbaazi'. This disease is not limited to any one party, such statements appear twice a day, four times a night in the statements of leaders of all parties. Ministers sitting at the policy-making level seem to have embedded corrupt activities in their announcements to mislead the common people while roaming around their offices and fields. It is not that many kings of the republic period who made 'stuntbaazi' statements saying 'I am the king of such and such a district' were not found to be involved in corruption. The intertwining stories of those who live on the foundation of corruption and question others and live in political power, saying that they will not even look at the faces of the corrupt, would have changed the face of this country if time had allowed people to live. 

On 1st Shrawan, 2081, news was published that the Special Court had the highest percentage of cases dismissed in a decade and that the cases that had exceeded the last 6 months had dropped to zero. Reading the news of the speedy disposal of cases was very encouraging and not only motivating for all judicial workers but also good news for the common citizen. In this regard, two principles of justice are considered important - delaying justice is denying justice and rushing to do justice is killing justice. How to balance these two principles? No one dares to say that it is inappropriate to become the guardian of the accused by acquitting the accused unjustly by passing a quick decision in a corruption case. However, how can the creative honorable people who are trying to decide within 6 months adopt the system of not writing the full text of the judgment for even a year and a half? न्यायालय प्रमुखको बेलाबेलामा पढ्न पाइने ‘न्यायिक निष्ठाको जिम्मेवारी आफूले लिएको छु’ भन्ने जानकारीमूलक अर्ती–उपदेश फैसलाको पूर्णपाठ कानुनबमोजिमको अवधिभित्र पाउने अभ्यास सुरु गरिएन भने उक्त अभिव्यक्ति ‘स्टन्टबाजी’ मान्नुको विकल्प रहँदैन । न्यायिक निष्ठाले न्यायालयभित्रको विकृति एवं विसंगति उजागर गरी त्यसलाई निर्मूल गर्ने उपायको खोजी गर्छ । विकृति–विसंगति छ भन्नु र न्यायालयभित्रको विकृति–विसंगति र भ्रष्टाचारमा साँच्चिकै अनुसन्धान हुनु फरक कुरा हुन् ।