ACC's 186th Public Hearing in Jhalakathi: Don't lease your conscience to anyone

The 186th public hearing of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was held in Jhalakathi with the slogan 'We will build a country together, a corruption-free Bangladesh' in mind. The public hearing was organized by the ACC's Integrated District Office, Pirojpur, at 10 am at the Jhalakathi District Shilpakala Academy auditorium.

ACC Commissioner (Investigation) Mian Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi was present as the chief guest of the event. He said, "Don't lease your conscience to anyone. We must keep our offices free from corruption on our own responsibility. We must start the initiative to prevent corruption from our own homes. Avoiding personal greed and lust and not depriving others of their rights is the basic foundation of building a society."

The Commissioner further said, “To build a sustainable resistance against corruption, the future generation must be made aware. Teachers should teach students about morality, integrity and honesty at least once a week – this will be the beginning of building a corruption-free society.”

He mentioned that the main objective of this public hearing is to ensure transparency and accountability in accessing government services. He called for making service activities easier and more transparent at all levels of the administration so that the people do not fall prey to corruption.

Jhalakathi Deputy Commissioner Ashrafur Rahman presided over the event.

ACC Director General (Prevention) Md. Akter Hossain, Jhalakathi Superintendent of Police Ujjal Kumar Roy, and ACC Barisal Divisional Office Director Md. Mozahar Ali Sardar were present as special guests.

A total of 95 complaints were filed against 29 government, autonomous and private institutions in the public hearing. Out of these, 74 complaints listed in the ACC schedule were heard.

The event was attended by representatives of the district administration, law enforcement agencies, government and non-government organizations, journalists and the general public.

The local administration and civil society see this public hearing by the ACC as an important step in creating public awareness against corruption. They hope that if such initiatives continue, the culture of transparency and accountability in the society will be further strengthened.