Abuse of function by the public servants continues to be the major corruption offence. Out of more than 450 complaints the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) received between 2020 and June 2021, 160 were on abuse of function. The Good Governance Committee of the National Council presented this today while deliberating on the ACC review report 2020-2021.
The highest number of complaints in abuse of function was reported against the gewog administrations. The commission recorded some 90 complaints against the gewog administrations. It was followed by ministries with 50 complaints and dzongkhag administrations with 24 complaints. The gewogs in Paro, Punakha and Wangdue Phodrang recorded the highest number of complaints with 16, 15 and 12 complaints respectively.
And among the ministries, agriculture ministry, education ministry and the ministry of works and human settlement recorded the highest number of complaints.
The Good Governance Committee recommended fixing accountability and integrity in the public service. According to the committee, the ACC should create more awareness of public servants’ code of conduct. The house endorsed the recommendation.
“There is a requirement for the Commission to publish manuals of guidance and develop model codes of conduct and advise public or private bodies to adopt. Although the ACC is aware of this provision and has developed one such manual, it has not been adequately advertised and shared with other agencies for adoption and subsequent implementation,” said Nima, a Member of the Good Governance Committee in the Council.
The committee also recommended that ACC create more awareness and training programmes for the LG members.
“In the past, the National Council recommended the ACC to target vulnerable groups for any corruption mitigation programs or training. Given the limited financial and human resources, such training must be institutionalized within the LG institutions and made sustainable so that when the members complete their term and leave office, the administration is in a position to transfer the knowledge to new members,” he added.
“This is not new. The House has been recommending it every year. We should find out why the recommendation didn’t yield any result until now. We should assess the effectiveness of training,” said Dorji Khandu, the Gasa MP.
The house will continue to deliberate on the report.
Phub Gyem
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
