TIB voices concern over attempt to legitimise extortion under the guise of ‘compromise’

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern over what it describes as an attempt by road transport, rail and water transport minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam to legitimise a serious criminal offence by characterising roadside extortion as a form of consensual transaction.

In a statement issued today, Friday, TIB also called upon the prime minister to accord the highest priority to cleansing his own party in order to nip such corruption-facilitating attempts in the bud.

The previous day, responding to a question at his secretariat office regarding extortion in the transport sector, Shaikh Rabiul Alam said, “What is described as transport toll collection on the roads, I do not view in that way as extortion. There are owners’ associations and workers’ associations; they spend it on welfare. It is like an unwritten rule. I would call it extortion only when someone is compelled to pay against their will. Owners’ associations collect money at fixed rates for the welfare of owners. There may be debate over how much is actually utilised. But they carry out this work on the basis of compromise.”

Condemning the minister’s remarks, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman stated in the release, “The definition of extortion put forward by the transport minister stands in complete contradiction to the firm anti-corruption stance declared by him and almost every member of the cabinet upon assuming office.”

“Not even 48 hours have elapsed since the prime minister’s address to the nation and the ruling party’s election manifesto reaffirmed a commitment to effectively control and prevent corruption. Against that backdrop, the minister’s protective remarks concerning extortion, the cancer in the transport sector, are deeply disappointing. Through such comments, the transport minister has embarrassingly undermined his party’s manifesto pledges and the government’s declared anti-corruption resolve,” he added.

Iftekharuzzaman further observed, “By positively interpreting, defending and effectively endorsing the prevailing culture of extortion in the road and transport sector, the minister is clearly attempting to legitimise an unethical, collusive form of corruption. The direct victims of this practice are the various professionals associated with the transport sector and the general public, who ultimately bear the burden of this illegality, both directly and indirectly.”

He continued, “Moreover, invoking owners’ and workers’ welfare as a shield or pretext for legality is not only misleading; it amounts to an effort to protect and perpetuate the longstanding disorderly and anarchic system prevailing in the sector.”

Warning of broader implications, the TIB executive director said, “If roadside extortion is normalised under the guise of compromise, a legitimate question will arise as to how the same theory might be prevented from spreading across other sectors, including the BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority), health, education, social protection, law enforcement, the judiciary, passport services, land administration, public procurement, development projects, banking and electricity.”

TIB reiterated its call for decisive political action to prevent any attempt to confer legitimacy on practices it regards as entrenched corruption.