PUBLISHED : 29 Aug 2023 at 05:00
The Ministry of Interior has joined hands with anti-corruption agencies in declaring war on graft within state agencies.
Suttipong Juljarern, permanent secretary for the interior, yesterday chaired a seminar to discuss scaling up efforts to combat corruption.
The seminar was held at the Royal City Hotel in Bangkok, with about 230 people attending, including an adviser to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) chairman.
“We are honoured to have experts from anti-graft agencies share experiences of their work in a bid to inspire state officials to beef up efforts to fight against corruption,” Mr Suttipong said.
He said the ministry has stressed the importance of tackling graft head-on as the problem undermines the functions and systems of the state and public confidence in the government.
The Interior Ministry was the target of the most graft allegations and other disciplinary offences, followed by the Royal Thai Police and the Education Ministry, according to a report released by the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) in 2014.
The ministry’s senior officials have issued policy guidelines consistent with the governance principle to ensure transparency in the state administration, enabling people to monitor state agencies’ work under the law.
Mr Suttipong said all agencies agreed that graft in state agencies or the private sector could have a direct, adverse impact on the country. Brainstorming ideas to deal with the matter is necessary, he said.
The ministry has worked with various networks, particularly anti-corruption agencies, including the NACC and the PACC, as well as private sector organisations campaigning for graft eradication.
With a strong team behind it, Mr Suttipong said the ministry would be able to declare war on corruption while also raising awareness among state officials to strictly comply with governance principles in a bid to guarantee transparency within the state organisations.
“I must thank all relevant networks, particularly speakers from the NACC [who attended the seminar],” he said. “I hope input from the forum will help us achieve our goals in avoiding all forms of corruption and misconduct and boost public confidence.”