‘Total failure’: Shameem proposes ACC overhaul to stamp out corruption

Former Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem proposed a major overhaul to stamp out corruption, describing the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as a total failure.

In a piece published on his personal blog on Monday, Shameem said that despite being blessed with natural resources, the country remains impoverished due to corruption.

He called for a complete overhaul of ACC’s structure and investigative mechanism, stating that everyone agrees that the corruption watchdog is failing to serve its purpose.

Statistics released by the ACC shows the commission had 3,501 open cases in 2024; 1,036 in the investigative stage and 2,456 in the preliminary stage.

He said that despite the huge workload, the commission was able to complete work on only 297 cases.

Shameem estimates that based on its current speed, the commission will need at least 11 years to clear all pending cases.

“And that is assuming no new cases are submitted between 2026 and 2037,” he wrote.

He added that of the 297 cases the ACC managed to finish investigating in 2024, only eight went on to trial.

“Therefore, the statistics released by the ACC shows its investigative mechanism has failed completely,” he wrote.

Shameem said that the most imperative change required to reform the mechanism for investigation of corruption is to replace the five-member ACC with a single commissioner – who, like the prosecutor general, is elected by the Parliament. He said that the commissioner should then be empowered to appoint two deputies – one with experience in investigative agencies and the other with experience in prosecution and the legal field. He also proposed appointing a CEO, and transferring technical and administrative employees from other offices to form the team.

Shameem proposed that under the new system, the investigators for the commissioner’s office will be proficient police officers who are transferred to the office for three years. He believes that around 30 investigators will do, and that while their salaries will continue to be paid by the police service, they will need to report to their technical part of their work to and will also be held accountable to the office.

He also suggested rotating investigators every three years in order to prevent corruption from taking root.

Shameem suggested that the prosecutor general’s office must also send around two or three prosecutors upon request of the commissioner, and that Education Ministry or any other relevant authority must also send a teacher upon request to carry out the awareness component of the commissioner’s mandate.

Shameem said that the only permanent employees will be the administrative staff, and that they too, should be rotated out every three years in order to avoid corruption.

He said that while authorities do not need to follow his suggestions, a system overhaul is necessary in order to meaningfully battle corruption and produce results.