Corruption culture in Nepal
According to the corruption perception index, 2021, an annual flagship publication of the Transparency International, a global anti-corruption organisation based in Berlin, Germany, Nepal ranks 117 out of 180 countries concerning corruption. Also, the report states that even in South Asia, Nepal ranks below Bhutan (25th), Maldives (85th), India (85th) and Sri Lanka (102th). Pakistan (140th), Bangladesh (147) and Afghanistan (174) are the only countries behind Nepal. This is a shame to our society.
With a noble intention to transform adolescent girls, the Madhes provincial government introduced the programme “educate daughters; save daughters” in 2018.
The major objective of the programme was to empower adolescent girls socio, economic and culturally. It also aimed to improve the quality of education contributing to the overall literacy rate of the nation. Under the programme, the government distributed four thousand bicycles to the girl students. With the enforcement of the plan at different local levels, parents have started registering the birth of their children and sending children to schools which are expected to be a milestone to end social anomalies such as dowry. Sadly, it has been reported that some local elites along with local elected representatives and government officials have been engaged in financial embezzlement in the process of procurement of bicycles.
According to the media reports, there has been a leakage of around Rs ten crores thirty-three lakhs. The report also states that high-ranking government officials have abused their authority to pocket money which is earmarked for a noble cause. This is not the first time we have come across news related to high voltage scams and abuse of authorities. There were several scams and corruption in the past in which wrongdoers got away after spending a few months in jail.
The right to education is an inalienable right of every Nepali citizen. Article 31 of the constitution states every citizen shall have the right of equal access to quality education. No one shall be discriminated against on any ground to get an education. But some select and unethical crooks have denied adolescent girls to enjoy their inalienable rights. Across the globe, education is viewed as the most powerful medium to transform the nation from socioeconomic and cultural aspects. The education sector is always upheld high thinking it lays the ground upon which the foundation for development is laid down. Conversely in Nepal, some unethical and immoral leaders, bureaucrats and elected representatives abuse their authority to earn quick money. Only in Nepal, do we find people engaging in malpractices to earn quick money at the cost of thousands of children. In plain words, their only intention is to make quick money no matter how it comes. Nepal has signed several international covenants with a commitment to combat corruption in the past. Likewise, it has a comprehensive legal anticorruption framework in place. The Prevention of Corruption Act criminalizes attempted corruption, active and passive bribery, money laundering, extortion, facilitation payments, abuse of office and embezzlement. But corruption and high voltage scam have not decreased raising the question of the credibility of these anti-corruption instruments.
The anti-corruption activists blame the concerned authorities for growing cases of high voltage scams and corruption. They complain that the successive governments formed after the restoration of democracy have failed to uphold their commitment made on the international platform. They also argue that morality and ethics are the most important traits which our leaders, bureaucrats, and elected representatives are not endowed with.
As a signatory state, Nepal has the responsibility to walk the talk and uproot the corruption infesting the society since time immemorial. One of the major causes of increasing cases of corruption and abuse of authorities in Nepal is our approach to punishing the wrongdoers. The concerned authorities seem very lenient in slapping the punishment. If the government slaps stern punishment against the corruption and abuse of authorities, no one would dare to engage in such unethical practice. Sadly, this is not the case here. The wrongdoers even after being convicted of high voltage scams and abuse of authority get away with minor punishment and even get clean chit laying the ground to breed a culture of impunity.
We hope that the concerned authority does its work with honesty and rigour and put them behind the bars setting the example that frauds are deserves to be punished sternly. We also hope that verdict will turn out to be a landmark decision becoming a turning point in the way our government deals with corrupt politicians, leaders, bureaucrats and elected representatives. The adolescent girls for whom the programme was designed will heave a sigh of relief if the people who embezzled the fund earmarked for their socio-economic empowerment are put behind the bars.