Originally posted in The Daily Star on 31 March 2023
Collaboration, solidarity and learning crucial
Speakers tell webinar on fighting corruption in S Asia
Solidarity, collaboration and learning from each other are crucial to fight corruption in South Asia, as kleptocrats are globally interconnected, speakers told a webinar.
Civil society leaders stressed the need in the webinar organised by The Asia Foundation in collaboration with the US Department of State’s Bureau for South and Central Asia Affairs yesterday.
They also shed light on the obstacles faced by civil society leaders across South Asia, including the wave of disinformation, the rise of populism, red-taped bureaucracy and political violence.
Anurag Acharya, director of Practice (Politics and Governance) Policy Entrepreneurs Inc, underscored the need to build solidarity among civil society leaders across South Asia, while Nadishani Perera, executive director of Transparency International Sri Lanka, said it was important for the civil society actors to work together to fight kleptocracy as kleptocrats have a transnational network.
“If we want to outsmart them, we need to work together,” she said.
Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said there are informal networks of corruption that are very much connected.
“There is a value chain of corruption which we will have to break. They may be informal but they are together in reinforcing a corrupt system. This is where non-state actors can come in and tackle the corrupt system,” he suggested.
He emphasised learning from each other’s experiences as every nation has its kind of economic resilience.
“Sri Lanka was a leading country in South Asia in terms of per capita income. But we have seen how various policies deteriorated the economy and debt situation of Sri Lanka, leading it to bankruptcy. There are important lessons to be learnt from these,” said Mustafizur, citing the example of how Bangladesh’s reserves suffered due to the Ukraine-Russia war.
Diana Fernandez, deputy country representative of The Asia Foundation, moderated the webinar.