MAKE CIAA STRONGER
MAKE CIAA STRONGER
In Nepal, the attire of anti-corruption body known
previously as Commission for Prevention of Abuse of Authority (CPAA) and now
Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) kept changing as per
the wish and intention of lawmakers based upon their vestigial interests. Now,
the draft constitution has further tried to clip its wings limiting its role of
taking action against corruption charges. It has been relieved from taking
actions against improper conduct that used to be one of the major role of
existing CIAA (“Off the hook” by Narayan Manandhar, 15 July, Page 6).
The existing number of six commissioners
has been proposed to reduce to five without citing any reasons whatsoever. It
is not known whether it will retain corruption prevention and anticorruption
education and awareness functions. It is known to everybody that Nepal is continuously sliding down in corruption
index as one of the most corrupt nation. Instead of strengthening the role of
existing CIAA, proposal has been made to make it more weaker organization. This
indicates the law makers whoever were involved in drafting process do not seem
serious in giving more authority to CIAA indicating their ill intentions.
I am not surprised to know that former CIAA
chief, Surya N, Upaadhaya, infuriated by the proposal to curtail the powers of
existing CIAA, has written an article saying it is better to scrap the
constitutional anti-corruption agency rather than pretending to have one as
show piece in the country. Time has come for the concerned actors to play more
proactive role in exerting positive pressure on the CA members to amend the
draft proposal for making existing CIAA more stronger than ever.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj.
