The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has urged the federal and provincial governments to ensure accountability at all levels and organise anti-corruption drive to curb deep-rooted corruption in the society, institutions, the community at large. UNISAME President Zulfikar Thaver speaking as a representative of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) at a local club said it was appreciated that the ruling parties at the centre and the provinces were now determined to curb corruption, protect human rights and make life easy for the labourers. He said these are the basic principles of the UNGC and it is the endeavour of UNGC to promote the war against corruption which is the root cause of all the troubles in society. Thaver said it was very important that the process of accountability is strengthened and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is given the task and the teeth to carry out its job without fear or favour. The NAB should not spare anyone the big or small, the highly influential or the ordinary. Besides, the NAB the anti-corruption department also needs to gear up and not spare the corrupt elements.
He pointed out there was hardly any department which was free from corruption. The patients at the government-owned free hospitals were getting substandard medicines due to huge amounts withdrawn for payment of fake bills, the prisoners in jails were not getting sufficient food as money is pocketed by the jailers, the animals in the zoo are dying because the zoo officials are taking their food to their own houses. The free schools have become ghost schools and exist only on paper, he added.
The officials and contractors in connivance with each other were looting the government by presenting fictitious bills for jobs not done at all or done superficially. The public sector organisations were running in losses due to corruption, he added.
It will not be possible for the NAB to take on this menace in all the departments at the same time but efforts must be made to cleanse them one by one and a complaint cell should be set up and the victims be allowed to submit their complaints and their names be kept secret to protect them. The citizens must make it a point to lodge complaints against the clerks or officers who demand illegal gratification.
The volunteers of UNISAME said corruption was spreading fast and needed to be checked immediately and they urged the ministers to carry out surprise raids and visits to the departments under them.
The volunteers have urged the Transparency International of Pakistan (TIP) to receive online complaints and pursue the matter vigorously.
They said most of the departments had fixed rates for the out of the way work done by them and most of the departments were charging speed money for bonafide jobs also.
The public is finding it very difficult to pay extra money as they are already burdened by heavy taxes, fees and charges and the high inflation and have no money to give bribes or so called gifts or speed money.
They said since the police officers had to pay for their placement at important stations where there was handsome income and likewise all important positions were purchased in several other institutions. The amount paid for placements was then recovered by taking bribes from the applicants for various nature of work to be performed.
They pointed out that the vigilance departments were allowing adulteration, making of counterfeits, fake goods and several officers wee on the payroll in schools, hospitals and departments but not attending their duties and pay their in-charge on a monthly basis for remaining absent.
The union thanked the UNGC for supporting their cause and assured full support to invigorate the anti-corruption drive of the body.
