Over 80% of Thai state agencies pass 'integrity and transparency' test
Slightly more than 80% of Thai state agencies have passed the Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA) test conducted by the national anti-graft agency.
A total of 6,737 out of the 8,323 agencies managed to get the minimum passing ITA score of 85, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) president Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit said on Thursday.
That accounted for 80.94% of all the agencies assessed in fiscal 2023, which ends on September 30 – 10.42% higher than last year, Watcharapol said.
He said that many of the 1,586 agencies that failed to pass the assessment faced staff or budget shortages.
The average score for all the Thai agencies assessed this year was 90.19, which is 2.62 points higher than last year, Watcharapol said.
The Administrative Court obtained an ITA score of 97.74, which was the highest among independent agencies. The NACC was among the agencies assessed, according to Watcharapol, but he did not disclose its score.
The NACC president said the ITA mainly assessed officials and staff members of the agencies involved, and not their board members or government ministers. “Like other independent agencies, the NACC was subject to assessment of its officials, and not the nine commissioners on the board,” he said.
The passing score is 85 and a score of 95 and over is “excellent”, he added.
The state enterprise, Provincial Electricity Authority, scored 99.35. Dhonburi Rajabhat University in Bangkok is another state agency with an “excellent” score of 98.37.
Many local administrative agencies had excellent scores, including Phrae Province (99.72 points), Yasothon Provincial Administrative Organisation (99.43), Sakon Nakhon Municipality (98.10), Bang Rachan Town Municipality in Sing Buri (99.63), Takrut Tambon Town Municipality in Saraburi (99.81), Lat Krathing Tambon Administrative Organisation in Chachoengsao (99.79), and Khok Charoen Tambon Administrative Organisation in Phang-nga (99.79).
The NACC chief said on Thursday that his agency conducted the ITA to allow the agencies involved to know how well they have performed their duties.
“The ITA assessment is like a health checkup,” Watcharapol said.
Also, he said, the ITA could let public members using the services of those agencies be aware of the quality of their services, particularly in terms of preventing corruption.
The NACC conducted the annual assessment with cooperation from the National Statistical Office and other agencies.
This year’s ITA assessment also covered district offices and provincial police stations all over the country for the first time. The complete results of their assessments will be released later.
