Srettha vows his government will end the corrupt trading of official positions
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday promised intensive efforts to crack down on corruption, especially among state officials.
Speaking at a forum to mark Thailand’s Anti-Corruption Day on Wednesday (September 6), the PM pledged that he would end the buying and selling of state officials' positions, as well as unfair transfers and demotions.
The event was hosted by the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand (ACT) at Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal in Bangkok.
“We will make sure that all state officials are treated with fairness while their honour is upheld as implementers of government policies,” Srettha said. “The buying and selling of official positions must have no place in this government. This is what we intend to push forward.”
The PM assured the people that the government would adhere to legal principles in managing the country and would implement modern technology to ensure full transparency and verifiability of all working processes.
These technologies are, for example, disbursement of state budget via the electronic channel instead of in cash; e-application for government services under the one-stop service platform; implementing open government practices for procurement projects, and transforming Thailand into a full digital government that allows the public to monitor and inspect the administration processes.
During the forum, ACT president Wichian Phongsathorn urged the new government to strengthen anti-corruption efforts in five key areas:
1. Make anti-corruption a national agenda and establish a committee chaired by the PM with participation by representatives from all sectors to address problems of corruption.
2. Promote the independent and impartial operation of anti-corruption agencies, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General’s Office, and the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission.
3. Push the enactment of any pending corruption-related laws, notably the law on public information under the state’s possession.
4. All government agencies must make publicly available the information about contracts, procurement projects, as well as the terms of reference, either via the ACT’s Ai platform or any channel that offers international standard of transparency.
5. Amend state regulations that have been used in the past as an excuse not to reveal information related to a corruption case.
Thailand had a score of 36 out of 100 in the Transparency International Corruption Index in 2022, to be ranked 101st globally, and fourth in Asean behind Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Thailand’s ranking was a jump from 110 in the previous year with a score of 35.
