The International Anti-Corruption Day this year necessitated the use of information and communications technology in combating corruption in the country. The day was observed at Gyalpozhing College of Information Technology in Monggar yesterday to raise awareness and re-dedicate the collective efforts in the fight against corruption.
Officials from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said, besides enabling transparency and accountability of public service providers, technology has been instrumental in rapid and effective response. The various online platforms created for pubic service delivery has reduced the risk of corruption in the country.
“We drew the inspiration from His Majesty’s speech where His Majesty emphasises on the use of technology to solve our everyday problems including the governance and democratic issues. So through the use of technology, we can solve these issues. We have picked the idea from there and we have chosen Gyalpozhing College of ICT as a means to fight corruption through the promotion of integrity, conscientiousness and transparency,” said Kinley Pem, an official from the ACC.
A few of the students at the college shared the role of ICT in combating corruption in the country.
“His Majesty The King has always given importance on the use of technology as it can address most of our challenges. The youth of today are the future of the nation. And in college, we study the use of information and technology. I have learnt that ICT has a bigger role to play in combating corruption, ” said Tshering Yangki, one of the students.
Ugyen Dorji, another student added, “As we observe the International Anti-Corruption Day in our college, I feel that the ACC and Gyalpozhing College of Information Technology can collaboratively combat corruption through the use of information and communication technology in the future.”
The National Corruption Barometer Survey 2020 conducted by the Bhutan Transparency Initiative found that corruption is a growing concern in the country. And the most prevalent form of corruptions includes trading influence, failure to declare a conflict of interest, abuse of function, bribery and embezzlement.
The Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 ranked Bhutan as the 25th cleanest country in the world.
Sonam Tshering
