The Bhutanese Leading the way.
If one takes a look at the numerous Audit reports and even ACC investigation reports over the years, then a common thread of weak internal controls will string them all together.
Be it an accountant or junior official siphoning off a few hundred thousands in a remote area to major scams involving hundreds of millions in the capital, the issue will again be the same with weak internal controls.
The bureaucracy of the United Nations is not any better or faster than our system, but it has a strict system of verifications for everything from what you claim to what work you are doing or not.
The UN and other international systems will trust and verify apart from having a strong and accountable organizational culture.
A key weakness in the Bhutanese system is that we trust but we do not verify. This is coupled with a weak organizational culture where no one is accountable from the top to the bottom and convenient excuses abound.
This is made worse by wages or pay which are not commensurate with inflation or the times, be it at the higher or junior levels. This creates an incentive to cheat the system.
It is only human nature that once such conditions are created there will be a large number of fraud and other cases.
The RAA and ACC have been shouting themselves hoarse for years on the need to strengthen internal control in agencies, but it is not being done.
The problem is not only in our government agencies but also in our Financial Institutions, Corporate Sector and even the Private Sector.
One would assume that FIs above all would have the strongest internal verifications and checks, but many cases in the past or even recently have shown that the opposite is true.
When it comes to our mentality at one level we Bhutanese have a strong sense of community and working together for the national and societal good. There is also a strong culture of national ethics and morals honed by Buddhism.
However, at another level there is also a very strong individualistic, selfish and survival mode streak where people are ready to wreck everything and everyone for a little gain.
The solution is to strengthen internal controls, create a better culture of accountability and also ensure that wages are at par with expenses.
Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time. –Arthur Ashe