Vigilance Awareness Week from Today
A letter from the Central Vigilance Commission states,
Countrywide observance of Vigilance Awareness Week in the last week of October every year is promoted by the Central Vigilance Commission of India, to reaffirm our commitment to promote vigilance concepts and to rededicate ourselves to the cause of fighting corruption. Corruption cannot significantly come down unless all stakeholders participate in vigilance work. Government, Ministries, Departments and other Agencies, PSUs and Banks, the Private Sector and the Civil Society at large are required to get involved in the whole gamut of vigilance processes. The theme chosen for the week every year helps to draw attention of the stakeholders to a specific concept at one time that needs to be focussed during the year to make vigilance a management function that will help make continual improvement in the country's anti-corruption efforts.
For this year, the Commission has chosen "Promoting Good Governance" as its central theme for the Vigilance Awareness Week. Promoting good governance is the need of the hour whether in Public Sector or Private Sector. Vigilance plays a proactive and positive role in good governance, which helps in preventing corruption, both in Public and Private Sectors as well as in Central and State Governments.
During the Vigilance Awareness Week and thereafter, the principles of good governance would need to be propagated among employees and other stakeholders. Commission hopes and expects increased transparency, fair play and equity in decision making processes by all concerned. Best practices evolved should be shared and knowledge and skills upgraded to bring about measurable improvement in the quality of governance and delivery of services to the Public.
Today in all Government offices across the country, the officers would take a pledge that they would not indulge in corruption and promote good governance. This kind of empty rituals do not mean anything - rather it is a joke to see the most corrupt people taking a pledge that they will not be corrupt and in some places, even the expenses for this farce function is met by corrupt means!