Government has hamstrung CIAA to promote corruption

The government has itself hamstrung the power of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). The anti-graft body has faced impediments when it comes to the investigation of corruption scandals involving powerful people. Transparency International’s (TI) 2022 report shows that Nepal stands at 110 out of 180, scoring only 34 out of 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index. Somalia is the most corrupt country with lowest score of 12 while Denmark is the least corrupt with the highest score of 90. The Global Corruption Barometer of the TI in 2022 also mentions that 84 percent of Nepali people think that government corruption is a big problem in the country. It also states that 12 percent of public service users paid a bribe in the year of 2022.

“It means Nepal is in a still worse condition in terms of corruption, failing to ensure good governance,” say governance experts.

In its latest 2023 report, the Office of Auditor General (OAG) revealed that the government has an unaudited budget of Rs 587.33bn. The country had a total amount of Rs 483.59bn unaudited till the last year and Rs 119.77bn arrears was added this year alone. The OAG report clearly indicates rampant misuse of public funds in government bodies.  Observers say instances of corruption and power abuse naturally thrive when the CIAA, the constitutional anti-graft body, fails to do its job.  The commission’s lack of interest to look into the fake Bhutanese refugee scandal involving top politicians, their close aides and family members is a case in point.   “We are not probing into the case in full scale,” admints one CIAA official. “We are investigating the concerns of only government officials involved in the scandal.”  The CIAA has also not taken any initiative to look into the cases forwarded by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. Some of the prominent cases include irregularities concerning widebody plane purchase, security printing press procurement, Omni Group scandal involving purchase of medical equipment during the Covid pandemic, Baluwatar land grab case, and Ncell tax. While independent media and organizations like Transparency International call out the incompetence of Nepal’s anti-graft agency, the CIAA officials claim that they have been doing a stellar job.    “We have adequately probed into the cases registered with us and taken appropriate action against those found guilty,” says Bhola Dahal, spokesperson for the CIAA.  But despite Dahal’s tall claim, it is an open secret that the commission does not launch any probe into cases involving top politicians and bureaucrats.  Dr Dipesh Ghimire, assistant professor at Tribhuvan University, says the CIAA should not hesitate to do its job even if it is the prime minister who stands accused of wrongdoing.   “If corrupt ministers or officials are not punished, then the CIAA is not doing its job,” he adds. “It is usually the junior level officials who are often grilled on corruption cases.” The CIAA received 24,331 complaints of corruption in the fiscal year 2021/22. However, it only filed 131 corruption cases in the Special Court.  The commission rarely takes action in cases involving high profile people. Such complaints are either put on hold or shelved altogether. As per the 2021 records of the CIAA, it shelved 42 files concerning illegal and unrecognized earnings belonging to high-ranking government officials, claiming that the probe ended without sufficient evidence.  Observers say those in power, including politicians, lawmakers and ministers, have designed the anti-corruption law in a way that their misdeeds cannot be prosecuted.   The 2015 constitution has removed the power of the CIAA to probe into unethical activities including Cabinet decisions and policies. The commission is also ineligible to probe into corruption cases involving the judiciary, the Nepal Army and the private sector. The lawmakers who drafted the constitution did so despite knowing that policy-level corruption is far more detrimental and has overreaching effects.    “The prime minister and Parliament are the most responsible authorities to eradicate corruption in the country. But they are reluctant to do so,” says Dr Ghimire. Thakur Gaire, lawmaker from the CPN-UML, admits that the government itself is promoting corruption in the country. He says it has gone so far as to meddle in the affairs of the judiciary and the legislature  “The Cabinet of Nepal openly intervenes with the affairs of other government arms to fulfil the vested interests of some ministers,” says Gaire. “It doesn’t allow the CIAA, the National Human Rights Commission, and courts to run independently.” Corruption in Nepal is organized under political protection, as the top appointments in the CIAA are handpicked by political parties under shared quotas. “Such activities promote partisan interests to attack other parties and protect their own leaders and cadres even when they are accused of serious crimes,” adds the UML lawmaker.  Politically appointed anti-graft body’s leadership mostly works for the interests of those parties that appointed them, instead of performing their duty as per the spirit and mandate of the constitution. It is no wonder, even some former CIAA commissioners like Deep Basnyat and Raj Narayan Pathak have been accused of corruption.  “The appointments in the CIAA should be transparent, independent and unbiased,” says Purna Chandra Bhattarai, former government secretary. “Under the present situation, good governance is a far cry.” Infographics    CIAA issues-based data of cases filed at the Special Court

FY	Total cases
2013/14	168
2014/15	303
2015/16	144
2016/17	154
2017/18	194
2018/19	351
2019/20	441
2020/21	113
2021/22	131

Source: CIAA