19 November 2014

Public procurement, which represents an average from 15% to 20% of GDP in developing countries, is one of the most corruption-prone areas. Irregularities in public procurement in Thailand resulting from collusion and conflict of interest are frequent, affecting the delivery of essential public services and exacerbating inequalities.

UNDP has developed well-tested methodologies to address inequalities by mitigating corruption risks in key services, in particular water, health and education.  In 2014, the UNDP piloted a procurement risk assessment in Thailand for the first time at a global level in Thailand, in cooperation with the Office of Public Sector Development Commission, the Comptroller General Department and the private-sector-led Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand.  The risk assessment, conducted through desk reviews, interviews and surveys with government, private sector and academia has produced a set of recommendations on how to reform the overall procurement system as well as a good practice checklist for public officials to mitigate corruption risks in the process.

The project has gained a lot of political momentum, with the Prime Minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, announcing the partnership with UNDP, in this area, in his TV speech on 3 October. The government is now considering the introduction of a procurement law as a result of the assessment as well as planning to use the Checklist for training officials on how to mitigate corruption risks.

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10-12 Nov 2014 – Empowering the youth to refuse corruption in the Asia Pacific region is a pre-condition for changing attitudes in the wider society and promoting a culture of integrity.  The UNDP Resident Coordinator in Thailand Luc Stevens, in his opening remarks of a Regional Symposium on Anti-Corruption Education, organized by the Ubon Ratchathani University in Thailand, highlighted the importance that universities can play in instigating that change. The event, organized with the support of UNDP Global Anti-corruption Initiative and in partnership with Integrity Action, brought together 50 representatives from academia, government, as well as students from the region, to discuss approaches of integrity, anti-corruption education, and an integrity curriculum for universities in Thailand.

Surveys in the region have shown that the youth’s attitude towards corruption can be quite lenient when they are not appropriately sensitized or taught about its risks and impact. According to the 2013 Asian Barometer 4 out of 10 young people in South Korea are not willing to report corruption to authorities (Youth and Democratic Citizenship in East and South East Asia, UNDP, 2014). Also a survey of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study shows that the majority of young Thais believe that corruption is acceptable, as long as they benefit from it. That is why it is essential that young people receive effective training in integrity and anticorruption during their university studies, while also being provided with positive role models that they can learn from.  This is a pre-condition to empower them to act as leaders in their communities and workplaces, both in resisting corruption and promoting good governance practices.

A wide variety of integrity education approaches were presented during the symposium – ranging from formal undergraduate or graduate integrity curricula in Australia and Malaysia, drama and play-acting educational programmes in South Korea, to social auditing of public services in the Philippines. The workshop also provided an occasion for Thai and other South-East Asian universities to exchange best practices and lessons learnt on how to create a curriculum for an integrity and anti-corruption university course.

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