The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Annual Report presentation at the National Assembly (NA) took a detour as contents of the presentation became ready-arsenal for the Health Minister to dress-down the commission.
“Punish the guilty and free the innocents. Now it’s high-time. With the beginning there should be an end,” the health minister Lyonpo Zangley Dukpa said. “It is enough! For how long will we tolerate?”
Lyonpo Zangley said it’s been four years since ACC started off with their investigations and still it is without concrete conclusions.
Currently 25 cases were still under investigation as of March 2012. Some cases were stalled or pending due to other pressing cases, one of which included the bribery and fraud case in health procurement.
He said that Ministry of Health (MoH) has become a football ground for Royal Audit Authority (RAA) and ACC to play their match. One has to do their work but there is a way to work and we also have our work to do.
“In fact, our working environment is disturbed and many staffs resigned and some could resign soon,” said Lyonpo Zangley.
The Education Minister Thakur Singh Powdyel believes that the work of ACC is unfair.
“Crime and punishment do not match,” said the education minister describing ACC’s judgement.
Even as shortage of Doctors was a huge problem in the country, two more doctors had been suspended for fraud and bribery in health procurement.
“The Media’s interest also shows on such news and positive sides are never the interest of the Media. I beg you ACC not to give stress to the extent of bleeding,” said Lyonpo Zangley.
“There is no substitution either for those doctors, so we need to study the situation because people’s lives are at risk,” said the Phuentsholing MP with regard to the suspension of two doctors.
The Trashigang MP said the ACC report showed there are number of complaints since 2006. “ACC’s investigations which took longer periods would hamper people’s trust,” he said.
The ACC report meanwhile states in it that when there are important and hot pursuit case resources are redeployed.
“Cases vary in complexity and hence their duration. Investigation requires tireless tracing and careful examination of loads of varied information from multiple sources besides tracing of people,” states the ACC report.
Further, it is stressful and highly time-consuming, which is invariably aggravated by bureaucratic procedures in obtaining information and serious systemic problems of poor record-keeping and frequent absence of public servants from office without whom no one knows anything, stated the ACC report.
Time taken to respond to ACC’s enquiries by agencies significantly impact on the efficiency of investigation.
ACC received 456 complaints in 2011 as compared to 375 in 2010 and 512 in 2009.
About 64 cases have been successfully disposed-off, of the total cases of 113 investigated so far and averaging 10 cases annually. Out of the 15 cases of the reporting period, only 3 cases have been disposed-off, ACC report states.
Mr.Zangley Drukpa should stop making a joker of himself. ACC is doing a great job. let them take time n get the real culprits. Who pocketed millions and ran off. ACC cheers.
My only prayer is the real culprits should should be caught not poor doctors (small fishes), the sharks are still at large and hiding behind the scenes. from Moh no one will resign it’s a gold mines, who will leave a gold mines, never!!!!!.
In fact most must be waiting for ACC to go, in order to make profits from govt’s money and build buildings in Thimphu or Pling.
Lynpo Zangley- Good Job. ACC is a peanut. Always chasing the weak ones. They take enormous time and energy in making a real report, when TL didnt take a week to uncover differnt scams of different gravity. Aunty Neten will make a big mouth out of any issue but at the end she is just like any other mouth piece of politicians. Get real and come out with tangable outcome. “Walk the TALK”
But ACC cannot take whole life to solve a case. They have to come to an end at some point. Otherwise don’t cause inconvenience by suspension. Until proven guilty of crime by the Court, ACC should at least leave the system undisturbed. Especially Doctors are hugely wanted in our hospitals. We have to acknowledge the scarcity of Doctors in our country though all the health ministers until today are responsible for not solving that problem. However there is no use blaming for that. What is important is to assess the realities. So ACC should be considerate in some cases. At least they can’t go on suspending a surgeon and leave critical patients on the death bed. Then the ACC’s goodwill service to the nation is negated if someone dies because of their interruption in the system. It can be constituted as a third or fourth degree felony of a crime.
They are saying shortage of doctors is there but look what our doctors get in return, they don’t get support from the very ministry they work tirelessly for ages. Then people might say doctors get trained using govt’s money. The money spend on training doctors are not even half og what is spend on person going Australia for 2 yrs. then why is it so they can go any place they wish after bond period but not doctors. somebody should do a auditing about the expenditure inc cured to train one doctors vs one HRO going to Australia.
The corrupt must pay, no matter how long it takes! This government never supported ACC because they themselves are thick into it!
Dont blame the mini(ster), such persons are termed “Mackey’s model” to mean that they are developed in older ways and are characterized by failing to give a better statement, both inside hall and with media.
What is his goverment doing when hundreds of students are undernourished, hundrends of essential drugs are wanting, no doctors?
A snake will be always defend his poison gland, i would do so if i were the health minister, but no one hasitates to allow speculaion freely unless one has a black scar.
Why does DPT DEFEND THE CORRUPT DOCTORS? we dont live in the cocoon, India will be happy to send some doctors if we have courage to ask them for help.
The government finds billions to spend in hydropower, millions to construct GNH centers, Crores to fund vehicle quotas, and lakhs to provide free fly-eat-lodge into US and else andthe minister has a plea for everyone to wonder who prevents sending more students for MBBS?
Hungry for free money, using every means to hide their scars DPT is nothing better than a southern Pythons of our past.
Does he know what kind of students pass from RIHS? Is that enough? Say DPT to cover their scars with the map designed for educity. We dont wants bulgars to draft the next five year plan neither DPT to implement it.
Tertiary education should be health inclussive for all, a merit of marks shall not be bible-law of incountry tertiary education. No tertiary education should cost more than 25000 a semester. We have much to do and our selected leaders hardly do anything besides corruption.
Remind other parties to make better plans than sending their leader and collegues to US when NA is going on.
Will DPT send all MP to attend the Rio20+ and neglect the last session? Actually government should be showing their budget this session, don’t vote for DPT again, please.
ACC jobs will never be over because corruption is still continuing with finance officer, procument officer…the ivestigation is of past corruption, who is responsible for present corruption…I know one enterprise owner who has become crorepati in three or minimum yrs because of favour of procument and finance officers in Thimphu..
Foundation of all success is justice. Bhutan trully lacks justice and truth. Unless Bhutan adopt truth above all principles our country will not grow and there will be continue corruption after corruption and as a result, Bhutan will be one of the saddest nations despite of GNH. At this wee hour of time our country needed leader like 18th century leader Abraham Lincon of America who built America of today. King Sejong of Korea who gave alphabet to Korean and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore who had not only built the modern Singapore but also South East Asian nations and ultimately 4th Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuk. This is the Bhutan We Want to Build.
What as joker zanglay is proving to be. I haven’t noticed him untill he started opening his mouth from last few months. His knowledge and thinking is super superficial. Zanglay is disgrace to DPT.
while we all know that issues related to any form of corruptions must be dealt with speedily, i personally do not think that mps have any rights to criticize the acc since it is and must always remain an independent constitutional body.
…wish our mps know their parliamentary role and stick to it….parliament is certainly no place for emotional outbursts!!!!!!!!!!!
i have watched the NA question n answer session live regarding the curruption in the country. well, ,most of the MPs and other members discussed the ways to minimize the curruption most stressed on introducing stringent laws and rules they failed to discussed the root cuse such practise and a solution to address. well, I personally feel that the root cause of te curruption is living that forced individual to embezzle money. if the earning for the living is enough there won;t be curruption, unless the individual is driven by greed and other motives. therefore its time to think beyound box and law makers should try to addres such issues. when one has limitted earning one is forced do enter in such practice to live taking bold risk. i think no one would like to indulge in danger if living is made comfort and worth.
Isn’t it nice for corrupt bureaucrats to have their own voice in the parliament? He’s been speaking on their behalf for quite some time now. I don’t know why the ACC is taking so long, but I’m guessing it takes a long time to unravel a decade of corruption.
The MOH is undoubtedly one of the most corrupt ministries, at least in parts of it especially the procurement section. I hear many private houses were built during the building of the hospital buildings and other works, and that it ran so deep that even junior officers were able to get away.
In that sense, Zangley is climbing up the wrong tree. He need to read the writing on the wall. If the important staff are required for so many questions for the past 4 years, instead of asking ACC to speed up what cannot be speeded up, he should respect the importance of the rule of law and simply give these people extra ordinary leave. Put someone else in their place in the meantime and let the works go on unhampered. Isn’t that a more sensible solution?
I am not sure what this government is thinking, especially PM? People are suffering in Bhutan, there is drinking water problems around the country, yet, we have money to built GNH centers, education city, etc. Why is our government so happy going around the world introducing GNH? We have so many issues that needs to be solve within the country. I am sure it wasn’t in mind when Fourth Druk Gyelpo introduced GNH to its own people. How many staffs are involved preparing for this Rio +20 conference? Imagine what they could have accomplished if they weren’t working for this conference. For outsider, GNH mean something but for Bhutanese people GNH is becoming some sort of joke now.
If this PM doesn’t get reelect in 2013 (which I doubt that will happen) he will land up job in UN as a happiness consultant!!!!! New Hope for 2013!!!
cabinet minters are ordinary MPs only. how can an MP disguise as health minister make such demands from a constitutional agency like the acc???? MPs must learn to uphold the rule of law first…..!!!!!!