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Pratin says agencies empowered to root out corruption have yet to find their footing.
The mandate and function of independent organisations have been enshrined in the Constitution as an integral part of checks and balances.
Political reforms that led to the charter’s promulgation in 1997 have empowered these organisations to stem runaway power, root out corruption and ensure good governance.
New powerful agencies with fancy acronyms, like the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC), the Election Commission (EC) and the State Audit Commission (SAC), came into existence with much fanfare.
The Senate, a non-partisan legislative body, has been tasked with scrutinising and recommending the appointments of office holders.
In spite of mechanisms put in place to safeguard smooth operations, many independent organisations appear to be entangled with their own problems rather than making improvements to society.
Ex-senator Pratin Santiprapop gave his insight last week, explaining how the patronage appointment had undermined the performance of independent organisations.
Pratin blamed the Senate for derailing the public’s aspiration for good governance by fixing the appointment process to serve vested interests.
“The problem stems from individual senators. The system is sound. Regarding evidence on the act of accepting bribes [in exchange for positions], I have not seen any,” said the senator.
“What I do know and have seen are verbal orders, passing from one individual to another. Lists of candidates to vote for are drawn up. Then it is the sharing of the spoils,” Pratin said.
“The more cliques a senator belongs to, the more spending money that senator seems to enjoy. I am ashamed of what is going on. A dire consequence is that a candidate can secure appointment only by a clique’s support,” he said.
Pratin was critical of the senatorial vote early this month to recommend the appointment of the NCCC, lashing out that it was unclear whether the Senate had chosen nine nominees out of 18 or 17 candidates.
“On top of the questionable vote that could be a violation of the Constitution and the NCCC Act, a highly qualified candidate, who is a former attorney-general and top legal expert, failed to secure sufficient support.”
Pratin was referring to Kampree Kaocharern who was rejected by the Senate while many candidates seen as close to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won their nominations.
He made his parting shot during a press conference to announce his resignation.
In his estimate, some 40 to 50 of the 200 senators remain non-partisan, so the majority of senators are partisan and resort to patronage appointment in order to influence the works of independent organisations.
The stakes are high for relevant parties if independent organisations can be successfully compromised.
Government and legislative leaders are supposed to be under checks by independent organisations.
If those in power work out a quid pro quo to dispense positions in exchange for lenient treatment, then the future of independent organisations will amount to accommodating political expediency instead of fighting the abuse of power.
Six years have passed but many independent organisations have still to find a firm footing to fulfil their duties.
The NCCC has yet to resume its operation after being embroiled in the scandal of their self-awarding pay hike for the past two years. Corruption cases keep piling up and remain unsolved.
The SAC keeps on debating and is indecisive on how to resolve the job status of Auditor General Jaruvan Maintaka, while the EC is fast losing its credibility to rule on campaign-related violations.
Your comments are welcome.
Contact the Political Desk at poldesk@nationgroup.com.
Avudh Panananda
The Nation
Published on November 17, 2005
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