LGRD state minister's 'gifts' remark legitimises bribery: TIB

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has said remarks by the State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) describing payments from contractors to government engineers as 'gifts' amount to legitimising bribery and could institutionalise corruption in public procurement.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, TIB condemned the remarks made at the inauguration of a training programme for newly appointed assistant engineers of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) on November 10. The State Minister reportedly said gifts offered by contractors from their profit margins, following timely payment of bills for quality work, should not be considered bribes.

TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman questioned why engineers should receive additional payments for inspecting work, accepting completed projects and ensuring timely bill payments when these are official responsibilities for which they are already paid from public funds.

"By suggesting that 'gifts' are acceptable for such work, is the State Minister legitimising bribery or, in effect, encouraging it? Advising individuals whose job is to prevent irregularities in public procurement to seek unauthorised earnings from contractors at the beginning of their careers is an act of extreme irresponsibility and a violation of the law," he said.

Citing Sections 161 and 165 of the Penal Code, Iftekharuzzaman said accepting gratification beyond lawful remuneration or valuable consideration from persons connected with a public servant's official duties is a criminal offence.

He also referred to Rule 5(1) of the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1979, which requires prior government approval for certain gifts that create obligations towards donors. Rule 5(4) sets a Tk500 limit for a single gift received from a particular source by a secretary or an official of equivalent rank.

Paragraph 6(2) of Schedule 20 of the Public Procurement Rules, 2025, allows certain promotional items, such as diaries, calendars and pens bearing an organisation's logo, subject to a maximum value of Tk5,000 per item. However, TIB said none of these provisions permits personal payments from contractors in exchange for performing official duties.

Iftekharuzzaman warned that such benefits could create conflicts of interest, compromise engineers' impartiality in supervising projects and certifying bills, and undermine fair competition in public procurement.