Despite all necessary arrangements made by the vendors, the digitization project of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) still remains non-functional for reasons best known to the ACC.
According to official sources, the project titled “Enhancing the Institutional Capacity of the ACC” was undertaken by the watchdog body in order to improve its ability to cope with complaints, inquiries, investigations, and prosecutions using Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Responding to a request from the government, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided technical assistance (TA) to implement the project of the ACC, a constitutional body formed in 2004 and mandated to prevent and combat corruption.
The technical assistance aimed to develop a web-based software called the Integrated Processing and Monitoring System (IPMS) to automate ACC’s investigations and case management.
Officials said the goal was to reduce case completion time and preserve documentary evidence through digital archiving, ensuring evidence would not be lost or destroyed during lengthy proceedings.
The project’s initial cost was estimated at USD 500,000, which was later raised to USD 1 million. Two firms—Technohaven and Technovista—were contracted to implement the project.
Under the project, Technovista Limited trained in 22 batches 642 participants, including data entry/control operators and officials up to the director level across ACC headquarters, divisional, and district offices on operating and administering the IPMS.
Sources said the two IT firms handed over the software to ACC in 2021, with a plan to run it as a one-year pilot. In this case, the system was designed to operate through four modules: complaint management, inquiry, investigation, and prosecution.
However, in practice, while some functions are being performed via the software, most operations still rely heavily on manual processes.
Reportedly, it has not been widely implemented although the software allows for complaint submission, verification, investigation, case handling, and even complaint status updates to the complainan.
The software was scheduled for official launch in January 2023 but is yet to be fully operational.Former ACC Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain said preparations for the rollout were made during his tenure, but after his departure from the ACC, he did not follow the project.
“I’m not aware of the latest progress of the digitization project,” he told Bangladesh Post.
Technovista’s marketing officer Abdullah Al Kafi said the software is fully ready but has been kept inactive at the ACC’s instruction.He said the public user ID system for filing complaints is also ready and can be launched whenever the ACC decides
According to an ADB report, between 2018 and 2023, 651 officers and staff were trained under the project. Additionally, 10 officials were sent to Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka for research purposes.
In 2018, the Bangladesh government initiated another major project titled “Strengthening the ACC,” with a budget of Tk4,454.16 crore. The latest report on that project notes 75 percent completion.
It includes the establishment of a digital forensic lab, procurement of modern equipment, and training of over a thousand officers. All ACC offices were also brought under an IP network.
Despite these efforts, the reason behind the ACC’s failure to fully digitize—starting from complaint submission to tracking case progress—remains unclear.
When asked, ACC’s Director General of Technology Abdullah Al Zahid said he has recently taken over and has no detailed knowledge of the project. However, he claimed the software is operational and being used by the ACC.
Abdulla Al Fajsal, a senior IT specialist at a private firm, said the IPMS software and web portal hosted at https://ipms.acc.org.bd, under ACC’s control, are non-functional. He added that the service cannot be accessed by the public, and no such software exists on the Play Store.
Stakeholders note that despite everything being in place, the inactivity of the system raises brows about ACC’s sincerity and political will.They said that software which could have tracked a complaint from inception to charge sheet with a single click remains trapped in bureaucratic red tape.
