Opening Three Channels for People to Join Anti-Corruption Campaigns

(20/08/2012)

The Government has opened three major channels for anti-corruption campaigns, so that people are able to take part in ensuring transparency in the public sector. In the first channel, people may send information or complaints about corruption in various government agencies to the hotline 1206. As the second channel, special boxes have been installed to receive complaints about corruption at major places, such as Government House, provincial town halls, bus terminals, airports, Krung Thai Bank, AIS Service Center, and the CentralWorld shopping complex in Bangkok. In the third channel, corruption complaints are received at the website www.stopcorruption.go.th, or social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and even mobile phone applications. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that the Government had opened the three channels as mechanisms to increase the Government’s efficiency in fighting corruption and to raise public awareness of the fight against. She stressed the Government’s serious efforts in dealing with corruption cases, which would help enhance the country’s competitiveness and international recognition. As part of its anti-corruption efforts, the Prime Minister said that the Government had lunched the “Clean Initiative” program under which each department was told to propose an anti-corruption project to the Government’s screening committee. More than 200 projects had been submitted from all provinces, with the participation of the people in tackling the corruption problem. In addition, she said, the Cabinet, during its meeting on 24 July 2012 gave the green light to the setting up of anti-corruption centers in all ministries. The operations of the centers are in line with the Government’s anti-corruption strategies, aimed at raising public awareness of counter-corruption and creating transparency in government agencies. The Government has set anti-corruption as an urgent policy to be implemented in the first year of its administration. In its policy statement presented to the National Assembly on 23 August 2011, the Government said that it would prevent and fight corruption in the public sector by adhering to transparency and good governance, which are universally accepted norms. According to the statement, the Government will also amend laws with a view to preventing and fighting corruption and will broaden the enforcement of legislation regarding the prohibition of conflicts of interest to include persons who abuse power arising from their important and high positions, without exception. The Government will also foster moral consciousness and social values that uphold integrity and justice.