Or They Could Use 'Transparent' Pockets

DON’T LOOK NOW Who is putting the bite on travelers?
Photo by AFP

Nepal’s anti-corruption body has come up with a simple yet unorthodox way of stopping airport staff from pocketing bribes.

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has investigated complaints of corruption at Tribhuvan international airport in Kathmandu. In June, the commission instructed the Ministry of Civil Aviation to issue pocket-less trousers to airport officials.

Earlier, an AFP report said Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Mumar expressed concern that rampant corruption was damaging the international airport’s reputation.

Tourism is a major employer and hard currency earner in Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries. The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation said it contributed $231 million or about 42% more to the economy in 2007, a year after a decade-long civil conflict ended. It also reported that more than half a million tourists visited the country that year. •