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| H.E President Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Photo: President's Office Website |
The theme for last year’s International Anti-Corruption Day was ‘recovery with integrity’. This places importance on transparency and ethics in tackling the global COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, its high time in Maldives for us to try to overcome this crisis by addressing the roots of corruption within the state.
People almost forgot about the incidents of corruption in other
sectors after the irregularities and misappropriations in the health sector
came to the limelight. The media was rife with ventilator case when the pandemic
started. The anti-corruption commission announced in the beginning of the year
that it would take stringent action against those, no matter how influential
they are, who are involved in the ventilator theft case.
ACC then started investigating people engaged the ventilator
theft. There were several State Ministers, leaders and one Minister on the
list. But the controversial ventilator case came to a halt shortly after COVID-19
outbreak, and those against whom the ACC began investigating and was taking
legal action for alleged involvement in these activities, went unnoticed. Their
files remain closed and forgotten at the ACC office.
The irregularities in the health sector overshadowed the
Ventilator case. Suddenly ACC shifted its focus to the health sector. This is
how ACC hops from one issue to another and leaves its previous cases unfinished
in the paradise nation. In the process some of the issues see better progress with
wider PR stunts while others have less progress with dim light.
The question is, why does ACC keep an issue pending and jump into
another sensational issue? Can ACC really perform its duty objectively, with
its own free will? Or does it operate on the whims of the governments and respective
ruling parties? Some accuse that the, ACC had drawn a line and it is unwilling,
incapable or fearful of going beyond it due to political influences. It depends
on the identity and status of the individual whether ACC will take any action
or not against him.
Visibly ACC’s anti-corruption activities are selective. The organization
will never be able to perform its duties properly and as per people’s
expectations until it shrugs off such practice. How will ACC be able to move
away from its selective stance and achieve the power to take action in all
sectors freely and neutrally?
I would like to conclude with a reminder, we are talking about "allegations" of corruption, not "proof" of the said corruption. However, the allegations are serious and mostly based on documents. I strongly believe that these allegations deserve to be looked into, and it is only through a professional investigation by the ACC that the truth will come out and our claim that nobody is above the law will get some credible traction.
Surely the irregularities in our health sector were drastically revealed during this pandemic. The republic's eyes are solely on ACC now. Will ACC honour President Solih’s “Zero Tolerance to Corruption” policy or will the commission ignore the public voices for a “Corruption free State”?
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