Source: thaivisa.com

The Government of Thailand 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 provide information or complaints about corruption in various government agencies to the 1206 hotline.

As the second channel, special boxes have been installed to receive complaints about corruption at major places, such as the Government House, provincial town halls, bus terminals, airports, Krung Thai Bank, AIS Service Centre, and the Central World shopping complex in Bangkok.

In the third channel, corruption complaints are received at the website www.stopcorruption.go.th, or via social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and even by mobile phone applications.

The 1206 hotline has received 342 complaints from the public since it was opened last month.

The government has also assigned every state agency to come up with a proposal to help promote transparency in its operations under a project called "One project and one department to prevent corruption".

About 220 proposals have been put forward by 128 departments, 199 of which have been accepted by experts. The remaining proposals, which are yet to be approved, must be improved and resubmitted within this month.

In a related development, the Civil Service Commission is amending its regulations to speed up corruption investigations so they will be completed within 120 days.

The agency is also drafting regulations requiring the blacklisting of state officials with tainted records, to prevent them from rising to executive posts. Those who are punished on charges of corruption would be banned from being reinstated as state officials.

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. She stressed that the Government’s serious efforts in dealing with cases of corruption would help enhance the country’s competitiveness and international standing./.