Corruption control through joint commitment and efforts: President Bhandari

Kathmandu, Feb 12. The anti-graft body Commission of the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) marked its 29th anniversary here on Tuesday in the presence of President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and other dignitaries.

On the occasion, President Bhandari expressed the confidence that the CIAA’s actions would make significant contributions to ensure service delivery from the state in a simple and accessible way; make proper utilisation of the allocated means and resources and protect the public assets, according to a press statement released by the CIAA spokesperson Pradip Kumar Koirala.

President Bhandari also said that the national aspirations of good-governance and Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali put forth by the state was difficult to achieve without fully discouraging corruption.

The President argued that maximum extent of corruption could be curbed if the public office bearers and officials perform their duties in an accountable and responsible manner.

“The civil servants who have made their main target for public service should work by keeping nation’s welfare atop of all, by rising above the individual interests,” President Bhandari said. Saying that different characters and trends of corruption have emerged in the present time, the President viewed that coordination and support of government, non-government, private sector and all stakeholders was needed to maintain good governance and rule of law through corruption control in the country. President Bhandari asserted that corruption could be controlled only through the joint commitment and efforts.

Also speaking at the same programme, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli termed corruption as epidemic and praised the recent actions and proactive performances of the CIAA taken against corruption. As per the press statement by the CIAA, PM Oli also made it clear that there would be no government interference in the CIAA and other constitutional bodies. The PM was of the opinion that the incumbent government is for independence of such constitutional bodies and wished for the success to CIAA in its campaigns against corruption.

During the programme, Chief Commissioner of the CIAA Nabin Kumar Ghimire shared that the CIAA was contributing to make a corruption-free society adding that the CIAA was active for promotional, preventive and remedial measures in accordance with its objective. He shared that the CIAA enters the investigation process not by interests but by compulsion and added that the CIAA has given emphasis on preventive and promotional strategies.