December 08, 2007

Consumers Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) has said that unavailability of protection to whistleblowers and lack of transparency are the major reasons for corruption in government and private sector in Pakistan . Awesome immunity provided to the government officials under law has further strengthened the roots of corrupt elements. Eradication of all kinds of corruption is necessary to save resources for development, poverty reduction and effective service delivery to the benefit of all. However, this is not possible unless concrete steps are taken to ensure protection of whistleblowers, transparency and accountability, access to information, and freedom of media, said CRCP in press release issued on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day.

While highlighting the issue, Mr. Abrar Hafeez, Secretary General CRCP, said that eradication of corruption has remained high on the government priorities in the past. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy enforced in 2002, enactment of Anti-Money Laundering law in 2007 and the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in August 2007 are some of the commendable steps taken by the Government. Still, corruption continues to engulf major chunk of the public resources. He quoted Global Corruption Barometer 2007 survey, which places Pakistan in top quintile of countries with highest levels of bribery. The survey conducted so far in 14 sectors has ranked the police as the most corrupt department in
Pakistan followed by Taxation and Utilities Departments, Political Parties, Registry and Permit service department, and Education.

Mr. Hafeez deplored that almost every third citizen is forced to pay bribery for accessing services and legal entitlements. The consequences of corruption fall disproportionately on the poor who have least access to political power and social capital. He attributed the alarming level of corruption to lack of transparency and access to information. Although freedom-of-information laws are available at the Federal level and in Balochistan and Sindh, they are not properly implemented.
Punjab and NWFP still have to come up with such laws. Whatever laws exist, they do not apply to the private sector. Curbs on media have further restricted access of citizens to information. More importantly, there is no whistleblower protection law in the country, which is a recognized workable instrument for curbing the menace of corruption.

CRCP has emphasized that if the government is seriously committed to eradicate corruption, it must translate this commitment into action by enacting FOI laws in Punjab and NWFP. Also, the existing laws should not only be implemented in letter and spirit, but their scope should be extended to the private companies and corporations as well. CRCP has also demanded enactment of a law for protection of whistleblowers in all government departments and rationalization of immunity for government officials.

CRCP Demands Whistleblowers Protection Law for Curbing Corruption