[Bangla Daily Star] The government yesterday unveiled before the development partners its plan for preventing corruption and improving governance against the backdrop of Padma bridge corruption allegations.Cabinet Secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan presented the National Integrity Strategy (NIS) describing it as a concerted initiative for fighting corruption at a meeting of the Local Consultative Group (LCG).
The meeting was held at the National Economic Council auditorium two days after the government withdrew its request to the World Bank for financing the Padma bridge project.
A high official of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) told The Daily Star that there were "no direct links between the timing of the presentation and the complexities over the graft allegations in the bridge project".
The official, however, said the government had an intention to remove any bad impression, if there is any, from the donors' mind over the Padma bridge corruption allegations.
The bridge project was not discussed at the meeting. The ERD secretary at the beginning told the representatives of the development partners that the finance minister will brief them on the bridge project later, said the ERD official.