No ‘Bridge’ over troubled waters?

Afsan Chowdhury
Published : 2 July 2012, 01:20 PM
Updated : 2 July 2012, 01:20 PM

The World Bank's refusal to fund the Padma Bridge construction on grounds of corruption is the proverbial shit hitting the fan. The World Bank says that it had asked for action on 'corruption' relating to this case and that they had provided information about a 'conspiracy' but the Government of Bangladesh had not acted upon it. The recent announcement formalised what many had been concerned about for months.

The Bangladesh government has meanwhile said that the WB decision is 'unacceptable' and that the information they had provided in the report was vague and unsubstantiated, more so as no money had changed hands. Muhith had already been publicly angry about the report and its alleged 'lack of substance' and Obaidul Quader has said that the decision was 'mysterious'. But in the end the fact is, Padma Bridge has no funds from the Bank.

What happens between the WB and the GoB is one matter but as far as we are concerned, this public announcement also formalises our identity as corrupt. We have been insulted and humiliated and as citizens forced to put on this robe of shame. We have some rights and that begins with the right to ask for the full public disclosure of the Report. Let's make up our own mind based on what we read instead of second hand accusations and denial of the same.

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Two former employees of SNC-Lavalin, Ramesh Shah and Mohammad Ismail, will face charges in a Toronto, Canada court for offences under the country's Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. This is in relation to the Company's work on the Padma Bridge scheme in Bangladesh following investigation by the Canadian police which began in September.

A subsidiary of SNC-Laval was barred from participating in the contracting bids as a result of this investigation. This can't be wished away. Last year the Canadian court convicted NIKO Energy on the charges of bribing the then BNP Minister Musharraf Hussain, a charge the BNP denied for years. Nothing has of course happened to Musharraf though in Canada the company has had to pay a hefty fine.

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The position of the finance minister is that the charges are unfounded and the Government will not remove from office those persons related to the alleged corruption in the Padma Bridge project. Nor will it appoint an independent supervisor to monitor the Anti-Corruption Commission's probe into the "graft".

The Government was however agreeable to forming a high-powered investigation team to probe the allegations of corruption in the bridge project.

And as a long term step, the government promised to strengthen the ACC.

Obviously, it wasn't enough for the WB to consider funding.

But the Government's position was that since no graft allegation has been proved, it is not possible to remove anyone. It was also reported in some quarters that while the Government was willing to consider removing the officials, they were not ready to sack any minister.

It wasn't also keen to allow another organisation to monitor its investigation into the alleged corruption conspiracy.

Is it the Government refusing to accept accusations of high placed corruption or is it the standard bullying tactics of the WB on display for so many years? Only the text of the report can say.

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But the World Bank itself has problems with corruption and a recent Forbes report which has been carried extensively by the bdnews24.com (World Bank is 'corrupt') details this. It seems that millions have been skimmed off by corrupt bank officials and there are many cases of manipulation, transparency dodging and a significant lack of accountability in the way the World Bank operates.

If the story means that the WB is corrupt so it has no business of telling others of corruption, its missing the point. A significant part of the WB has always been corrupt or without integrity, hiding behind its curtains of power and seemingly unassailable claims of non-accountability. And we are not even talking about its inadequate performance.

But this information is old hat just as is the corruption of the governments the WB engages with. Essentially every bureaucracy breeds' lack of accountability and that is the first step to corruption. The World Bank like its partners is a prisoner of a system that generates corruption. This has been documented for long but without much result.

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Meanwhile Khaleda Zia has jumped into the fray demanding that Sheikh Hasina resign. She has also said that it's the PM's family which is involved in the corruption scandal. Khaleda's argument is that the Jamuna Bridge was funded by the WB when the BNP was in power and no such allegations were raised. For the BNP this issue has become political capital and even a party that has such a long record of systemic corruption can now claim brownie points which may translate into votes. This issue is now a political one.

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A key part of the post allegation negotiation was the demand by the WB to 'supervise' the investigation of the Anti Corruption Commission which was of course denied. However heavy handed the WB demand may seem, the point is, our ACC has almost no credibility except as a hounding tool of the party in power. It has no independence or authority and no one of significance has ever been convicted. It's a toothless facade set up to make the people think that those in power are serious about anti-corruption. It will never change because corruption is part of the governance system and changing that is another matter.

People have accepted corruption at all levels and learnt to live with it. So, while a corrupt or useless ACC is not a problem for us, it's so for the WB and no matter how corrupt the WB is, it is the lender here. And they want an ACC with an acceptable level of credibility. The ACC is good enough for us because we don't care about what it does but it's just not good enough for the official Bank as an effective anti-corruption body.

If we want their money, we have to listen to it but can we do it without threatening the system which runs Bangladesh?

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The WB has asked for the departure of six officials, one minister and a better ACC. In return we get Padma Bridge. It's as simple as that. The project can lift life in Bangladesh and the AL high. Why don't the concerned officials resign as a matter of patriotic duty relieving the government of the embarrassment? No proof of guilt is necessary and both parties get their way. This should apply to the concerned Minister as well. And instead of strengthening the ACC, why can't a special Padma Bridge corruption investigation body be set up which can do its duty under international supervision. The ACC operations will not be affected and other corrupt people will not be anxious. These are small matters compared to what is at stake.

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We have a right to know what is going on. The fund refusal has insulted and humiliated us. It's not between two bureaucracies only but includes us the people as well. If Muhith is saying that the charges are unfounded, let us see it and if so support him. If the WB says that the corruption charges are worth denying the funds, let's see if it makes a case.

But we have a right to see the report. It's about us and our honour. And the bridge too.

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Afsan Chowdhury is the Executive Editor, bdnews24.com