The Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1989 stipulate that the assets of government employees must be submitted to the employing authority every five years. In practice, this instruction is not seen to be followed. The government’s need to implement the directives is not so much observed. In 2006, for the first time, the Cabinet Division was instructed to take stock of the assets of government employees. That too was not implemented in the end. Then the question was raised by the government employees when the filing of income tax return is mandatory for the employees and they have to submit the statement of assets along with the return every year, then why should the statement of assets be submitted separately every five years? The government’s initiative came to a halt as this question was not properly resolved. Recently, the government has urged the government employees to follow the rules for filing asset declarations. In a letter dated June 24, the Ministry of Public Administration said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed all the concerned ministries to follow the instructions given in the Government Employees (Conduct) Rules for employees to acquire, sell and submit immovable property. The letter said that in this case, the Ministry of Public Administration should be informed about the measures to be taken on an urgent basis to ensure full compliance with the rules. The letter from the Ministry of Public Administration is accompanied by a sample application form for the permission to purchase and sell land, house, flat, or property of government employees and acquisition of property and also the table of submission of existing asset statement. Observers welcomed the Prime Minister’s directive and the government’s initiative, saying it was unfortunate that the rules had not been implemented so far. If it was implemented, corruption would be less in government offices as well as integrity would be established.

In recent years, irregularities and corruption in various government institutions, agencies, departments, projects, etc., ranging from general administration and police administration, have become uncommon and common occurrences. Nothing happens anywhere except bribes, commissions, and bribes. Even the lowest-ranking police officers or pioneer drivers of government offices can easily guess what will happen to their superiors when they have more than one place, house, or flat in Dhaka city. Of course, not all police or government officials are corrupt. Some of them are corrupt. With such a small number of corrupt officials and employees, the service-seeking people are uneasy. Corruptors are known to be influential and associated with government parties. As a result, others do not have the courage to oppose or protest their misdeeds. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly said, “Nothing happens in this country without bribery.” The victims complained about the police station, no one talks to the police station without money. No one wants to believe that any government work, be it shopping, or construction and renovation can be done without bribes and kickbacks. There are allegations that in large domestic and foreign projects, big transactions are done in large sums of money. Unjust and immorally earned money is not only hurting society, it is also contributing to other types of crimes. A large part of the illicit earnings is being smuggled abroad. Thousands of crores of rupees are going to Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, America, etc. every year. Where traffickers are buying or investing in houses, land, shops, etc. In recent years, several lakh crores of rupees have been smuggled in this way. A significant portion of money launderers abroad are government officials and employees. There are also businessmen, politicians, and others. There has been a lot of talk about money laundering abroad. It did not stop money laundering. No action has been taken to recover the money. It was not possible to list the names of those who smuggled money. No two-word was heard against those whose names have been mentioned in the documents of various international organizations. What else can be said except the unfortunate situation!

There is no doubt that irregularities, corruption, and bribery in government offices will be reduced if the provision of submission of asset declarations of government officials and employees is implemented every five years. If someone sees excess money and wealth in his income, he has to be held accountable and it will be considered as a punishable offense. Fearing this, many will be forced to stay away from bribery and corruption. Not only sound education but his alertness and dedication too are most required. Otherwise, there will be no point in submitting the statement of assets. Police or other government employees are considered servants of the people. People’s tax money is used to pay their salaries, allowances, and benefits. Employers have an obligation not only to the government but also to the people. However, some of them despise and despise the people. At the same time, they feel like milking cows. He took money from them as much as he could. And looted government money like opportunity. It is not only important to hold them accountable, but it is also necessary to bring them under strict accountability. No one is unaware of the incompetence, incompetence, and inefficiency of a class of government officials and employees. Corruption is also high among them. Meanwhile, attention needs to be paid. We hope that steps will be taken to implement the Government Employees (Conduct) Rules expeditiously. Strict action will be taken against those who fail to account for their assets or those whose assets exceed their legal income.