LGRD ministry rejects TIB claim over state minister’s remarks on gifts to contractors

The Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Ministry has rejected Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) allegation that the state minister for local government sought to legitimise bribery by disguising it as gifts.

In a clarification issued on Wednesday, the ministry described the allegation as false and misleading, saying the state minister’s formal instructions to newly recruited assistant engineers of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) had focused on ensuring quality, transparency and accountability in development works.

The ministry said the state minister had instructed the engineers to complete government development projects promptly and transparently, ensure quality before clearing contractors’ bills and conduct official activities in accordance with established rules and procedures.

He had also directed them to strictly follow the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) and Public Procurement Act (PPA) in government expenditure and procurement, it added.

However, the ministry alleged that some quarters had circulated remarks made by the minister during an informal interaction with the newly recruited assistant engineers, while leaving out the main substance of his formal address, in an attempt to create controversy.

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Comparing the minister’s remarks with the legitimisation of bribery was unwarranted and amounted to political propaganda against the government’s anti-corruption stance, the clarification said.

The ministry reiterated that the government believed in transparency, accountability and a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, adding that no one holding a responsible position could receive illegal benefits outside the established procedures.

It also said the state minister had expressed regret and apologised to the media on Wednesday morning for his remarks made the previous day at a workshop with municipal administrators, chief executive officers and engineers at the LGED headquarters.

He had also withdrawn those informal remarks and clarified that no government official was involved in them, according to the ministry.

The ministry urged all concerned not to spread confusion over the minister’s remarks and called on the media to help the government eliminate corruption and ensure transparency and accountability in public works.

The clarification was signed by Md Borhan Uddin, public relations officer of the ministry.