KARACHI, Dec 9: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has said that present government is striving hard to provide for complete transparency and good governance in all government departments.

"We want our citizens to be confident that we support their desire to have public and private institutions, which could be trusted," he said while speaking as chief guest at a seminar on Transparency and Good Governance held here on Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the International Corruption Day.

The governor said: "All of us are aware that civil society in Pakistan is relaxed and complacent in its attitude towards corruption. Corruption or indecent behaviour is usually overlooked and thus increases the misery of the poor.'' He observed that adverse effects and consequences of corruption deterred investment and hindered economic and social development.

He pointed out that corruption spurred inequality and eroded macro-economic and fiscal stability. It reduced the effectiveness of public administration, eroded the rule of law and harmed the reputation and trust in the government, he added.

He was of the view that on macro level, corruption had implications for a country's ability to attract investment for the effectiveness of our public institutions and for income generation through taxation, hence for economic growth and poverty alleviation.

"It also affects the way money is allocated within the provincial budget, diverting expenditures away from less lucrative sectors such as health and education to high kickback areas such as construction."

The governor observed that most direct effect was plainly the pilferage of funds meant for development projects, where project requirements appeared overstated or tailored to fit one specific company.

"What we have realised is that corruption is eroding the very values that Islam so clearly demands of us, of honesty and integrity from both the individual and the government.

"We realise that the 'zero tolerance' campaign cannot be achieved overnight. It will continue to be difficult and will require constant input of resources and a continuous determination to tackle the problem by all stakeholders, including civil society and not just by the government," he said.

Dr Ibad declared that effective legislation to combat corruption would be undertaken, such as the implementation of the Freedom of Information Ordinance and the Public Procurement Rules for Transparency.

"The best way to reduce opportunities for corruption and economic crime is to take positive preventive action, reinforced by the fear of detection and punishment." These crimes, he said, would continue to flourish where a society tolerated them as 'normal practice' and individuals did not resist or question the criminal conduct of those wielding power and influence.

"Until these attitudes are changed, little can be done to eradicate this menace. To ensure transparency and accountability in government, we need to seek the support of private sector and the multinationals, politicians and public officials, civil society and the media.

"We want international investors to know that when they come to do business in our province, there would be a level-playing field for them," he stressed. Chief Secretary Aslam Sanjrani said that Pakistan was seized with corruption issue since its inception.

He viewed nepotism, recruitment on political consideration/recommendation, politicizing bureaucracy and political interference in the affairs of bureaucracy as some of the main causes of corruption.

Describing 'need' and 'greed' as major factors of corruption, he said that there must be punishment for the greedy, while steps should be taken to remove disparity in perks and facilities for government servants. Government servants should be provided with adequate facilities to enable them to live a comfortable life along with his family even after retirement, he suggested.

Earlier, Shaukat Omari, Executive Director of the Transparency International, Pakistan, presented the welcome address and spoke at length on various faces of corruption, causes and remedies. -APP/PPI