ISLAMABAD, Dec 9: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday that good governance was the best and most effective safeguard against corruption and the government had evolved a multilateral anti-corruption framework to curb the menace.

Speaking at a function organised by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to mark the third international anti-corruption day, he spelt out nine ‘building blocks’ of the strategy for fighting corruption and improving governance.

He said rule of law, judicious division of power, effective implementation of rules, ensuring social justice, merit-oriented bureaucracy, ensuring punitive accountability through implementation of laws with zero tolerance, decentralisation to improve service delivery, transparency and concerted action by the all stakeholders within the country and at international level, were essential ingredients of the strategy.

He observed that the malaise of corruption was rooted in avarice, mistrust and suspicion on the one hand and stems from inequality, injustice and asymmetry of power on the other.

The prime minister said corruption also impacts adversely upon development. On the one hand, scarce public resources are siphoned off through corrupt practices while on the other, private investment is discouraged in an environment that lacks transparency and as such corruption retards development, poverty alleviation and public service delivery. “As corruption is clearly a form of exploitation, it hurts the weak and vulnerable segments of society more severely. It instils a sense of despair and insecurity among people and detracts them from the pursuit of common and constructive objectives.”

He was of the view that globalisation had also added a new dimension to the issue of corruption and bad governance. He said it was imperative for states to fight corruption and improve governance in order to survive and develop in an increasingly competitive and inter-dependent world. He said the menace of corruption was not confined to any particular society but had assumed global proportions. The malaise of corruption has infected all societies, developed as well as developing, although its incidence may vary from place to place.

He said it was the primary responsibility of the State to ensure good governance. He observed that a consistent and predictable body of laws and rules, effective institutions for formulation of public policy and delivery of services, transparent decision-making processes, mechanisms for accountability of political and official elements of the government, and a strong civil society participating in public affairs, were the core ingredients of good governance.

He said Pakistan had become a fast growing economy and achieved a substantial reduction in poverty, as a result of these reforms.

Pakistan has been ranked as one of the top 10 reformers globally and the top reformer in South Asia. "We are not, however, complacent as reform is a continuous process. We are now in the process of implementing second generation reforms which, inter alia, are aimed at further improving key governance institutions," he stressed.

NAB Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz and representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes Winslon Pinchlcen also spoke on the occasion.