PRESENTATION ON

NATIONAL LEVEL
ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK:
KEY ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO
CORRUPTION

BY
SYED KAMAL SHAH
S.I, S.St. PSP (Retd)

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 INTRODUCTION

• CORRUPTION is a universal curse and exists in all

countries, both developing and developed.
• Difference is the degree of corruption
• No universal definition of corruption. It is commonly
referred to as “the abuse of public office for private
gain”.
• The most functional definition adopted by various
international organizations is the “misuse of public
office for private profit or political gain”.

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 INTRODUCTION
(Cont’’’d):
• Corruption remains a matter of grave concern in
Pakistan. Corruption in Pakistan has reached
unprecedented levels during the last couple of years.
• This year the country has recorded the highest level of
corruption, as measured by the Transparency
International Pakistan in its 2012 report.
• Pakistan has become more corrupt since the last
assessment is now ranked 42 compared with the
previous ranking of 33.
• Laws to curb corruption are there, but these laws are
required to be enforced and rigorously implemented.
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 TYPES OF CORRUPTION

• Systemic Corruption – embedded in the system.

• Sporadic Corruption – individual
• Political Corruption – grand or high level – most
rampant
• Petty Corruption – Small scale bureaucratic every day
corruption
• Legal and moral Corruption

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NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY
FRAMEWORK

Accountability Structures

NAB FIA Anti-Corruption

Departments

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 NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY BUREAU
(NAB)
• The National Accountability Bureau is Pakistan’s apex
anti-corruption body.
• Responsible for elimination of corruption through a
holistic approach of awareness. Prevention and
enforcement.
• It operates under National Accountability Ordinance
1999.
• Notwithstanding numerous hurdles like inefficient
manpower, budgetary cuts, non-cooperation from other
departments, frequent changes and last but not the
least politicization of the Bureau, it has done fairly well.
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 FEDERAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY
(FIA)
• Federal Criminal Investigative body.
• Carries wide range of responsibilities including anti-
corruption.
• The Agency has the wherewith-all to deal with
corruption but unfortunately it is also mired in political
expediencies.

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 ANTI-CORRUPTION DEPARTMENTS

• These are the oldest – provincial departments dealing

with corruption.

• However, their performance is also far from desired.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

• Political will – commitment of leadership to change.

• Across the board accountability.
• Transparency in dealings.
• Merit – Right man for the right job.
• Deregulation – Removal of unnecessary regulations
and processes.
• Rationalization of discretionary powers.

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 EFFECTIVE ANTI-CORRUPTION
LEGISLATION
• Reporting conflicts of interest.
• Politicians and state officials must disclose their assets
before appointment and then annually during their
tenure/ service.
• Freedom of information legislation – information should
be available to public at large.

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 EFFECTIVE ANTI-CORRUPTION
LEGISLATION
(Cont’’d):
• Emoluments of civil servants in general and anti-
corruption officials in particular.
• Whistle blower protection / job security would give
much needed confidence to employees to expose
corruption.

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 ANTI-CORRUPTION TOOLKIT

• Standardization & automation.

• Efficiency of service delivery.
• Professionalism & competence.
• Public participation.
• Change management.
• Integrity pledges.
• Codes of conduct.

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 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Causes of Corruption

Institutional Political
Inefficiency Instability

Accountability Power Income Illiteracy Transparency Rule of Law

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KEY DRAWERS OF CORRUPTION IN
PAKISTAN
misuse of agencies by
government

Weak institutions
poor investigation

Failure of anti corruption lack of professional

agencies experience

no fair accountability
Causes of Corruption

Lack of accountability
incompatible legal judicial
Lack of transparency system

Monopoly of power

Discretion of power

Public servants lacking

service mentality

Poorly conceived and

managed activities
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 KEY ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO
CORRUPTION

• Post independence settlements of refugees and

allocation of properties termed “Evacuee property”
• Discretionary powers (liquored petroleum gas quotas,
textile quotas etc).
• Inadequate compensation to civil servants.
• Imprudent economic projects – a major source of
corruption.

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 KEY ISSUES WITH RESPECT TO
CORRUPTION

• Loan default.
• Tax evasion.
• Weak regulatory system.
• Delivery failures of civil institutions.
• Nexus of elites (politician, bureaucrats, businessmen
including foreign companies and technocrats).

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THANK YOU

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