The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Bhutan Transparency Initiative (BTI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today. The agreement is aimed at strengthening the partnership between the two institutions in preventing corruption through anti-corruption advocacy and research.
Recognising the importance of alliance and cooperation, the ACC signed nine MoUs with other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) since 2011.
The ACC’s Chairperson said the MoU with the BTI has been the most effective to prevent corruption since both the institutions share a common interest. The ACC and BTI signed the first MoU in April 2015.
“ACC’s core mandate is to take necessary steps to prevent and combat corruption through prevention, education and investigation. Obviously, the ACC alone cannot fight corruption. It is neither achievable nor sustainable. Therefore, it is important for ACC to collaborate with stakeholders, both public and private,” Kinlay Yangzom, the ACC Chairperson, said.
With the signing, the BTI will now conduct various studies and carry out the national corruption barometer survey once every three years. The BTI will also spearhead in engaging other CSOs to promote integrity and anti-corruption measures. The studies will help in facilitating policy interventions to control corruption.
Ever since its establishment in 2013, the BTI has been carrying out awareness and advocacy programmes and conducted various studies to help the ACC to combat against the corruption.
“We work quite intensively in promoting social accountability because social accountability is one of the most effective tools of civic engagement. Definitely, there has been a major change in the attitude of people, they are more conscious of their responsibilities to fight corruption. And also the service providers and the government institutions are a little more careful,” Pema Lhamo, the Executive Director of BTI, said.
The MoU will be valid for three years unless renewed by the parties. Meanwhile, according to the Anti-Corruption Commission’s annual report 2018, the ACC received over 333 complaints. This is an increase of 28 complaints from 305 in 2017.
Pema Tshewang
