ACE to go after officers involved in illegal appointments

Sindh’s Enquiries and Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has decided to initiate strict and indiscriminate action against all officers found involved in fake and illegal appointments throughout the province.
The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by ACE Chairman Alamuddin Bullo at the Sindh Secretariat on Wednesday. A spokesman for the anti-graft body said the ACE chief had expressed displeasure over the fact that only three surprise visits had been conducted in 11 months by ACE’s five circles in Larkana Zone. He has directed the officers to increase the number of surprise visits and raids, the spokesman said.
The ACE chairman has also directed the relevant officers to arrest all absconders before December 31, he said, adding that the meeting had also decided to observe an ‘anti-corruption week’ this month to generate awareness among the masses regarding corruption.
“ACE along with the civil society will arrange seminars and walks in various cities of the province,” said the spokesman. The meeting participants were briefed by the anti-graft body’s director regarding ACE’s the performance in five districts.
As per the ACE director, in the year 2017, a total of 749 applications had been received in Larkana Zone. In total 27 new FIRs were lodged, eight cases were filed against officers caught taking bribes and 156 new open enquiries were initiated. However, only three out of 47 known absconders had been arrested.
The meeting decided to transfer the Shikarpur circle officer and issue him a showcause notice over his unsatisfactory performance. In a November 15 meeting, ACE officials had decided to write to all administrative secretaries of the provincial government to suspend the services of employees who are absconding accused in corruption cases filed by ACE. ACE chief Bullo had expressed displeasure over the failure of the anti-graft body’s Sukkur and Mirpurkhas chapters in arresting the absconders.
He said ACE would write to all administrative secretaries to suspend the employees who were absconders in different corruption cases instituted by ACE. Their salaries would also be stopped, he added.
The meeting was briefed by ACE Director Usman Ghani Siddiqui on the performance of the anti-graft body in Mirpurkhas and Sukkur. He said 458 applications had been received at the Sukkur zone in 2017. A total of 22 new FIRs had been lodged and 59 new open enquiries had also been initiated, but only 33 out of 294 absconders had been arrested, he added.
The ACE director further stated that 347 complaints had been received at the Mirpurkhas zone. Nine new FIRs had been lodged and 39 open enquiries initiated, while only two absconders out of nine had been arrested by ACE Mirpurkhas.