The Frontier Post
Published Date: Mar 21, 2013
Experts stress need for anti-corruption structures
Experts
during a policy symposium has said that democracy is all about accountability
and strengthening of anti-corruption structures would lead to strengthening of
democracy in Pakistan.
The
policy symposium on “Anti Corruption Strategy: A Civil Society Perspective” was
organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Wednesday.
Ambassador
(retd) Shafqat Kaka Khel, speaking on the occasion said that the country is
going to polls in next few months so there is a need for bringing
accountability discourse high in the agendas of political parties. He also
announced the formal launch of a comprehensive anti-corruption programme by
SDPI to rid Pakistan of this menace which has robbed the people and deprived
them of benefits of freedom, justice and prosperity for so many decades.
Speaking
at the occasion, Shams-ul-Mulk, Former Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said
that governments in Pakistan, were never ‘true representatives’ of the people
and were not interested in introducing accountability mechanisms or delivering
to the people’s demands. He said that governance structure needs immediate
reforms where introduction of local governance system is a must to provide service
delivery at micro level.
Professor
Robert Klitgaard of Claremount University, California was of the view that
Pakistan as a country is full of potentials where weak governance and lack of
accountability is hampering the development. He cited ‘Global Competitiveness
Report 2013 which identifies corruption as the most problematic factor for
doing business in Pakistan.