TDRI chief offers ways of ending graft

Monopolies root of problem: Somkiat

Cutting down on monopolies, boosting accountability and limiting official powers are key to solving corruption problems, says Somkiat Tangkitvanich, president of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).

Mr Somkiat was speaking at a seminar on the subject at the Thailand Creative & Design Centre yesterday.

“Corruption flourishes when someone has a monopoly over a product or a service and has the power to decide how much it should be sold for, and also where accountability and transparency are weak,” he said.

The only way to curb this problem, he said, is to cut down on monopolies, boost competition, limit official powers and clarify the rules of the game with enhanced accountability.

“An easy example of a monopoly is the motorbike taxi service, which is illegal in Thailand. Yet, motorbike taxis can be found everywhere because they pay tea money for authorities to look the other way. If this service is made legal, then there will be no graft,” he said.

As for officialdom, Mr Somkiat said people usually pay under the table at government agencies because they don’t know the rules. “Rules should be made simpler, thereby reducing the power of officials,” he said.

Mr Somkiat also said accountability can be enhanced by inviting outsiders to audit, monitor and evaluate governmental projects as well as giving the general public the right to information.

“The right to information is vital for preventing corruption. When citizens can access key facts and data from the government, it is more difficult to hide abuse of power and other illegal activities,” he said.

Speaking at the same event, Utit Buasri, deputy secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said all parties must join forces to fight against corruption.

“It’s important to boost awareness and better understand the problem with graft, and for this we need to jointly foster an anti-graft culture in Thailand,” he said.

Mr Utit said the NACC aims to improve Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index score for Thailand to more than 50 by 2037. As of 2019, Thailand’s score stood at 36 out of 100, and was ranked 101 out of 180 nations surveyed.

Panida Yotpanya from the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission who exposed irregularities at the Khon Kaen Protection Centre for the Destitute when she was an intern there, said anti-graft bodies need stronger mechanisms to protect whistleblowers.

Also, there should be laws to ensure no vindictive action can be taken, and whistleblowers can keep their jobs or are compensated for any financial losses.

Ms Panida, who also spoke at the forum, said if better protection is in place, more whistleblowers will dare to come forward.