Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on Wednesday said that suppression of corruption is critical to making country’s economy strong.
He said that corruption is the mother of all evils, it has a very negative effect on people, society and economy, therefore NAB has prioritised education, awareness and prevention over enforcement to bring a positive change in the society.
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said this while speaking to the business community at FPCCI Capital House. President FPCCI Abdul Rauf Alam, Chairman UBG Iftikhar Ali Malik, UBG’s candidate for the presidency of Apex Chamber Zubair Tufail and others were present on the occasion.
Chairman NAB said that NAB has chalked out a comprehensive National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) for the eradication of corruption while Rs 278 billion have been recovered and deposited in national exchequer.
He said corruption is more prevalent in developing countries as compared to the developed ones and it badly impacts society, governance and youth. It is a big challenge to cope with.
Transparency International has rated Pakistan in Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 175 to 126 in 2014 and in 2015 CPI decreased from 126 to 117 which is a great achievement for Pakistan due while the CPI of other regional countries remained static or declined, he informed.
Qamar Zaman Chaudhry said that cumbersome procedures, inequality, lack of opportunities, unemployment and low-quality education lead the people towards corrupt means.
At the occasion, Abdul Rauf Alam, President FPCCI said corruption have very negative consequences including decreased foreign investment, delay in growth, lack of development and reduced trust in the system.
Corruption makes production, imports and exports costly resulting in trade deficit but if it is minimised then the country will have fewer trade deficits in terms of exports and imports with other countries and their economies can prosper, he added.
He paid glowing tributes to the efforts of Chairman NAB to eradicate corruption, hailed MOU with China to ensure transparency in CPCE and offered unconditional cooperation to him.
He said that NAB should think twice before taking action against any businessman and then opt for enforcement as FPCCI will never support any businessman involved in corruption.
Abdul Rauf Alam said that the trust of the international community in our economy is returning for which credit goes to the government as well as efforts of the anti-corruption initiatives of NAB.
He lauded the slogan of NAB, “Say no to corruption” which can now be seen on driving licences, National Identity Cards, ATMs etc.