The scourge of corruption

Transparency International has urged the following actions to curb corruption:
Promote strong coordination among government, private sector and civil society to increase efficiency and sustainability in anti-corruption and good governance efforts.
Ratify, implement and monitor existing anti-corruption conventions in all countries to establish international norms. These include, the UN Convention against Corruption, the OECD Anti-bribery Convention and the regional conventions of the African Union and the Organisation of American States.
Pakistan government needs to consider these recommendations and try to implement them. Corruption is a cancer which eats into the vitals of a nation making it inhuman and immoral. No country can make progress and eradicate poverty within a corrupt environment which exists in Pakistan due to general perception of corruption about the present ruling elite.
Due to the cumulative effort of rampant corruption, lack of planning and lavish and uncontrolled expenditure on the government and the armed forces, the country has reached a stage of financial collapse facing the ignominy of default.
There is no choice now but to revert back to IMF with a begging bowl on IMF's own terms to supervise the country's economic and financial planning of Pakistan and its budget. One thing the government should do to lighten the burdens of IMF loan is to force the politicians bankers, businessmen and bureaucrats to bring back their billions of dollars stacked away in foreign banks to help the country to tide over the present difficulties.
The writer is former director news, PTV
E-mail: burhanhasan@hotmail.com