The National Corruption Barometer Report 2020 (NCBR) finds corruption highest among government ministries in all of the five most prevalent forms of corruption in the country.
Amongst the various forms of corruption prevalent in the country, Trading in Influence topped the most common forms. Trading in influence means a person who has a real or apparent influence on the decision-making of a public servant trading or exchanging his or her influence to obtain an advantage. Conflict of interest, abuse of function, bribery and embezzlement are also some of the most common forms of corruption in the country.
The report launched in the capital Thimphu today is one of the key initiatives of the Bhutan Transparency Initiative to determine the level and trend of corruption and the effectiveness of anti-corruption programmes in the country funded by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
This is the second NCB report. The first report was released in 2016. The report is based on the National Corruption Barometer study 2020 to understand the corruption situation in the country based on the perception of the citizens.
The study samples for the report were drawn from all sections of the Bhutanese society. A total of 1,152 respondents (68% from rural areas and 32% from urban areas) were interviewed for the study.
In terms of the causes of corruption, over 72% of the respondents cited insatiable wants as the cause of corruption in the country, followed by low moral values and strong protective social net for the accused. Likewise, over 31% of the respondents mentioned that corruption has increased in the last three years.
As per the report, corruption is predominantly concentrated at the executive level of all organizations, from government agencies to corporations, autonomous agencies to local governments, non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations to constitutional bodies, and from the judiciary and armed forces to the private sector.
In terms of the government’s effectiveness in handling and fighting corruption in the government, promoting good governance, and upholding respect for the rule of law, the ratings have dropped when compared to the corruption barometer study 2016 from an average of 80 percent to 60 percent. The highest drop was reported in the present government’s performance in fighting corruption, from 85 percent in 2016 to 62 percent in 2020.
Also, the proportion of respondents who rated ACC well on combating corruption has decreased from 88.9% in 2016 to 74.6% in 2020.
Meanwhile on the positive side, the report this year saw over a 10 percent increase in the proportion of the respondents who felt personally obliged to report corruption from 2016 to 2020. A similar trend was reported in the respondents’ willingness to report corruption even if it required them to spend a day in the court to give evidence. Also, those who hold the view that corruption can be fought by voting for clean candidates and parties saw a drastic increase from 11 percent in 2016 to 60 percent in 2020.
Amongst many recommendations, strengthening ethical leadership and declaration, management of conflict of interest, ACC to collaborate with the relevant agencies to strengthen internal control mechanisms were some of the major recommendations mentioned in the report. The report also suggested revisiting the ACC’s current system of responding to the status and update of the complaints and to enact and implement the Whistle-Blower Protection Act.
Bhutan currently ranks 25th out of the 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index and is ranked 6th in the Asia and Pacific region.
Passang Dorji
