IAAC PROBE REVEALS 19 STATE MINING AGENCY WORKERS EMPLOYED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES
Aprobe by the Independent Authority against Corruption (IAAC) revealed that 19 civil servants working in government mining agencies under the authority of the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry received salary payments from private mining companies.
The report by IAAC showed that 19 civil servants worked at private companies as consultants and observers, receiving a compensation of three million MNT to 25 million MNT.
IAAC underlined that it is illegal for civil servants to have other jobs outside of their government position. But other articles of legislature allowing civil servants to work as consultants or observes in private companies increases the risk of corruption, IAAC officials added.
One official at the Ministry of Mining explained the employment of government officials as consultants, “There is a shortage of consultants in the mining sector. This is related to the undervaluation of professionals in Mongolia.”
IAAC officials note that civil servants receiving compensation from the very companies they are supposed to be regulating creates an obvious conflict of interest.
The violations of the conflict of interest were revealed during IAAC’s probe into the implementation of relevant legislature regarding mining. Officials at IAAC note that the Law on Conflict of Interest in the mining sector needs to be improved in order to address the issue.