Initiative to develop corruption risk index
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Initiative to develop corruption risk index

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The Comptroller General's Department has teamed up with the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) to develop a risk index for corruption in government procurement.

According to director-general Patricia Mongkhonvanit, the department signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the OCP earlier this month with the key objective of jointly developing a risk assessment system for public procurement projects, known as "Red Flags".

The system will proactively identify and prevent corruption risks, such as bid collusion, monopolies and delays in project delivery.

The department will integrate this risk data with auditing agencies and make it available on the public procurement website (www.gprocurement.go.th).

This will enhance the efficiency of audits and encourage public participation in oversight, elevating the transparency of Thailand's public procurement processes to an internationally recognised standard, she said.

Furthermore, the department plans to leverage its procurement data with modern innovations and technologies, she said.

OCP is an international non-profit organisation working with about 60 countries worldwide, headquartered in Washington, DC.

It is recognised by international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Union and the World Bank.

OCP's mission focuses on transparency in public procurement to ensure taxpayer money is spent transparently, fairly and efficiently, ultimately delivering better outcomes for public spending, benefiting society as a whole.

Mrs Patricia said the MoU marks a significant step towards improving the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by using data from the Electronic Government Procurement system to analyse and set indicators to identify high-risk projects for corruption or inefficiencies.

The Red Flags system applies digital technology to maximise the benefits of extensive public sector data while streamlining collaboration between auditing agencies for greater efficiency and reduced costs.

She provided examples of indicators for identifying risks in government procurement, such as bid collusion. These indicators include bids with similar pricing, a rotation of winning bidders within a group, bids slightly under the procurement budget and the final bidder consistently emerging as the winner.

CPI-related indicators in procurement include embezzlement of public funds, reducing government corruption and access to information on state activities.

On Jan 15, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra issued directives to government agencies for preparing the 2026 budget.

The key strategies for this budget are: not reducing government investment or economic support budgets; not increasing operational or regular expenses, emphasising efficiency improvements without increasing the budget; and not increasing government workforce numbers.

Government procurement accounts for over 1 trillion baht annually, utilising 10 methods, such as e-market, e-bidding, selection methods and specific methods.

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