Another 'honest mistake', really?

Another 'honest mistake', really?

Over a decade ago the Constitutional Court famously found that then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra made an "honest mistake" in finding him not guilty of assets concealment by a vote of 8:7. Two of the eight votes which ruled Thaksin not guilty in 2001 came from sitting judges who abstained from voting.

And now we have another memorable quote. This time from Gen Anantaporn Kanchanarat, chairman of the committee charged with following up and examining government agencies' expenditure and who heads the panel investigating the overpriced-microphones controvery.

The general said the inquiry did not find any irregularity in the procurement of the excessively priced microphones and the wall television sets, except for the way-too-high prices.

He explained that those responsible for the procurement -- in this case the Department of Public Works, Town and Country Planning -- had "good intentions" in their rush to have the fancy, ultra high-tech microphones and television sets installed in the cabinet room and a few other meeting rooms at Government House.

PM's Office Minister ML Panadda Diskul shows off the overpriced Bosch microphones installed in the cabinet meeting room at Government House on Sept 4, 2014 (Post Today photo).

The department was tasked with the renovation of Government House, which was said to be in poor condition after it was illegally occupied by anti-government protesters. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had moved cabinet meetings to army headquarters pending completion of the work.

Although Prime Minister Prayut said after Gen Anantaporn’s "good intentions" remark that the investigation was not yet over, the tone of the investigating panel chief's comment makes it clear that it will have a happy ending. That is, the cabinet have their new toys, albeit at half the originally quoted cost, and no one is guilty because all who were involved, particularly the Department of Public Works, Town and Country Planning, had "good intentions".

I wonder what actually defines "good intentions". Good intentions towards the country? Or is it more simply a desire to appease the generals in the cabinet?

What is of major concern is the implications of this case toward other cases of suspected corruption, if "good intentions" can be used as an acceptable excuse without taking into consideration other factors such as excessive prices, the proper procedure that must be followed including open bidding, the setting of median prices, negotiations and contract signing.

This particular purchase broke all the procurement rules. There was no open bidding, no price negotiation, no median price and no contract signing. These pricey gadgets were installed bypassing all the rules. It was uncovered only when reporters at Government House were given a tour to view the progress of the renovations.

I beg to disagree with Gen Anantaporn acceptance of "good intentions". The difference in the prices quoted by the supplier and the actual market prices were not small at all, but excessive – a sort of one-time strike at the heads of the buyers.

The 60 inch television set was quoted at 520,000 baht, whereas a television of similar specifications can be bought for 70,000-100,000 baht, and the price of each microphone was quoted at 140,000 baht, whereas the price for the same product quoted on the supplier’s website was 70,000 baht.

The whole concept of equipping the renovated Government House with high-priced sophisticated equipment, for instance the same type of microphones used in the White House, is wrong given the economic situation in the country and the hardships facing people in the farming sector. We are not as rich as the US, which can print dollars at will.

And if the government wants people to get behind the concept of a sufficiency economy while the country is struggling economically, then it should set a model example first - a model others would feel encouraged to follow.

Veera Prateepchaikul

Former Editor

Former Bangkok Post Editor, political commentator and a regular columnist at Post Publishing.

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