PARLEMENTARY, Jakarta – Member of Commission VII DPR RI, Mulyanto, asked the Government to reactivate nickel mining activities in the Mandiodo Block Mining Business Area (WUP), North Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, which was previously closed due to a corruption case.

“The process of investigating this case must be accelerated, so that there is legal certainty for the perpetrators of corruption. So that the companies where hundreds of people work can resume operations. So that people have the opportunity to earn income. And economic activities can return to life,” said Mulyan to in his short message to the Parliament, at Jakarta, Thursday (25/1).

This politician from the PKS faction explained that currently local economic activities seem to have stopped. This has resulted in unemployment and poverty rates around the mining site increasing drastically. This was complained about by the local community who lost their livelihoods due to the closure of the mine.

“The legal process for this mining block case must be resolved immediately, don’t drag it out too long to the detriment of the community’s economy.”

Previously it was also reported by Member of the Indonesian Ombudsman, Hery Susanto, that the cessation of activities around the Nike mine? The Mandiodo Block has caused unrest in the community. The community complained about the mine closure policy because their livelihoods were lost. Meanwhile, trading and farming are no longer possible because environmental conditions have changed.

Because of this, the Ombudsmen recommended to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) to reactivate the mining, noting that it was necessary to evaluate the company’s standard operational procedures.

“I urge the relevant parties to reopen this mining permit. The legal process for this mining block case must be resolved immediately, don’t take too long to the detriment of the community’s economy. I also received information that there is a smelter company that is importing nickel ore from neighboring countries due to the temporary closure this block,” said this PKS faction politician.

Not only that, Mulyanto also asked the Government to optimize the community’s legal and economic efforts related to this mine as well as possible, so that the community does not experience difficulties like now.

“The government must think about the fate of the people who are experiencing difficulties due to this mine closure policy. The government needs to listen to the complaints of the affected people so that they can avoid bigger problems,” he stressed.

The members of the Ombudsman’s National Preventive Group (NPG) conducted monitoring in boarding schools of the Ministry of Science and Education, including the Sumgait City Boarding Gymnasium and a Sumgait City Special School for Children with Limited Health Opportunities, within the framework of the national preventive mechanism activities.

During the visits, treatment issues and the existing situation in these institutions were monitored. The implementation status of the previously given recommendations was assessed, and documentation was checked. A talk was held with the staff of these institutions and children.

It was found that several previously identified shortcomings at the Sumgait City Boarding Gymnasium had been addressed. However, there is a need for major repairs in the dormitory. The NPG members had confidential meetings with children to investigate the treatment-related issues.

In addition, it was observed that some of the issues previously identified at the Sumgait City Specialized School for Children with Limited Health Opportunities such as the lack of special ramps and the ventilation system, still remain.

The Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan will be appealed regarding the outcomes of the monitoring.

Reinstatement of an illegally dismissed employee and recovery of 20 million soums from the defendant – V.A., a citizen of Fergana region, filed an application for unlawful dismissal and asked for assistance in restoring his labor rights.

According to the applicant, he worked as a leading specialist at the Fergana Oil Refinery LLC. The employment contract concluded with him was terminated in October 2023 on the basis of Article 161 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is based on the minutes of the relevant meeting of the company’s trade union committee.

Citizen V.A. also noted that she had been working in this company since 1995, had never previously been brought to disciplinary responsibility and was a single mother with no breadwinner.

The appeal was studied jointly with the regional representative of the Ombudsman in Fergana region and the Fergana regional council of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan.

During the study of documents related to work, it was established that the employee went on regular vacation in July 2023, without notification of the time of going to work, due to the deterioration of health during the vacation, she was issued 2 times of certificates of incapacity for work, as well as studied the reasons for 2 x day absence from work without a valid reason.

The documents were studied, cases of violation of labor legislation by the employer were established, and a lawsuit was filed in court for reinstatement to work.

The decision of the Fergana Interdistrict Court on civil cases recognized the employer’s order as unlawful and canceled. Claimant V.A. was reinstated in her position, and 19,680,000 sums were recovered for forced absenteeism and moral damage.

At present, the claimant continues to work in her former position.

– Launching the Collective Complaint Task Force to identify regional conflicts in advance and listen to voices on the ground –

A large-scale collective complaint triggered by prolonged conflicts between local residents and administrative agencies was “mediated,” resolving a longstanding issue raised by 120,000 local residents.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) resolved a total of 211 collective complaints, including by mediating* 63 cases out of 360 collective complaints raised by multiple persons of 5 people or more.

* In accordance with Article 45 of the “ACRC Act,” ACRC conducts mediation for grievance complaints that involve multiple persons or are deemed to have a significant impact on society, initiated at the request of persons concerned or by its authority. If successfully concluded, the mediation has the effect of reconciliation under the Civil Act.

In the wake of the spread of COVID-19, the number of mediated collective complaints decreased to 41 and 33 in 2021 and 2022, respectively, from 53 in 2020 over the past two years.

In this regard, ACRC launched the Collective Complaint Task Force team in 2023, while identifying issues regarding conflicts in advance and strengthening onsite visits by monitoring regional pending issues of local governments and media reports.

As a result, as of December 2023, the number of mediated cases amounted to 63, reflecting a two-fold (91%) increase compared to the previous year, while the number of citizens benefiting from the mediation more than doubled, reaching 116,107 from 45,000 in 2019.

The representative cases addressed in 2023 include a collective complaint regarding the “request for the completion of the Youngju Multipurpose Dam, delayed due to the restoration of cultural assets” (raised by 33,434 people) and a collective complaint on the “lifting of the military facility protection area at Anheung Castle in Taean for repair and public access” (raised by 19,544 people).

The construction of the Youngju multipurpose dam began in 2009 with the purpose of ensuring a reliable water supply and preventing flood damage. However, there has been a seven-year delay in the completion of the dam resulting from the delay in settling project costs for the relocation and restoration of cultural assets, due to differing opinions among relevant agencies in 2016.

In August, through arbitration by ACRC, Youngju-si and the Korea Water Resources Corporation settled the project costs associated with the relocation and restoration of cultural assets conducted up to date. Subsequently, the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Water Resources Corporation have agreed to initiate the administrative procedure for approving the completion of the dam once the project costs are settled. All these efforts expedited the approval of completion in the same month, resolving long-standing issues raised by residents.

Anheung Castle in Taean, Chunchungnam-do is a stone castle standing at a height of 3.5 meters with a perimeter of 1.7 kilometers, holding significant value as cultural assets.

However, in 1976, the Anheung Center of the Agency for Defense Development was established, which restricted access to approximately 45% of the castle’s areas. Moreover, the castle was designated as an important national facility in 2022. Consequently, there have been limitations on restoration and repair, causing inconveniences for local residents.

Following the arbitration by ACRC in September, Taean-gun and the Agency for Defense Development agreed to discover and restore Anheung Castle by 2025 through identifying the areas to be opened to the public. The Cultural Heritage Administration decided to provide support to ensure that Taean-gun completes restoration of the Castle and opens it to the public in a timely manner, resolving long-standing issues raised by local residents.

ACRC Vice Chairperson Kim Tae-Gyu said, “ACRC’s “mediation” is a meaningful function ensuring that residents and administrative agencies seek ways for the co-existence. Since it holds significant impact on the livelihood of citizens, we will actively resolve pending issues of conflicts by listening to the voices on the ground and enhancing the Collective Complaint Task Force team.”

The Ombudsman of Azerbaijan, Sabina Aliyeva, participated in the 10th Board of Directors Meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ombudsman Association (OICOA), held in Pakistan.

During her speech at the event, hosted by the Federal Tax Ombudsman of Pakistan and attended by ombudspersons from Türkiye, Morocco, Indonesia, Bahrain and Bulgaria, the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan said that as a result of the increasing armed conflicts and natural disasters, new serious challenges have emerged in ensuring human rights and freedoms, fundamental human rights were severely violated, and forced migration was raised.

In the context of the mentioned incidents, the Ombudsman also said that the initiatives for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were weaken and emphasized the crucial role of national human rights institutions in promoting those calls.

The Ombudsman spoke about the negative impact of occupation and armed conflicts on the environment, highlighting ecological terror acts committed on our lands by Armenia during the nearly three decades of occupation and the existing landmine problem in the liberated territories.

The Ombudsman provides information about building-construction works carried out for the purpose of ensuring sustainable settlement and safe living in the liberated territories.

S. Aliyeva said that the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)- COP29 will be held in Azerbaijan in 2024, and this decision, accepted by countries around the world, is a clear manifestation of significant trust and respect for our country. She further brought to the attention of the participants that, as a member of the Organizing Committee established for the purpose of organizing this important event, she actively participates in the process.

The Ombudsman  suggested the organization of a joint event with the participation of the ombuds institutions of OIC member countries on this topic that will facilitate the exchange of positive experiences in the protection of the environment and campaign.

During the meeting, various issues of mutual interest among the OIC members were discussed, and the necessity of the association’s representation in international forums was underlined.

A complainant was ticketed by the Public Security Police Force (PSP) for illegal parking in the area around the Rua do Comandante Mata e Oliveira as detected by the illegal parking detection system. After that, the complainant paid the fine voluntarily, but he questioned the scope of area monitored by the system installed in that area and requested for information on the scopes of areas monitored by the illegal parking detection systems installed in the entire city from the PSP for the reason that he had the right to information. At the same time, he also lodged a complaint to the CCAC concerning the protection of his right to information.

Following an investigation, the CCAC pointed out that the relevant video record showed that the complainant once got off his car and entered a shop nearby instead of waiting in his car for an available parking space. The CCAC verified the legality of the PSP’s handling of the penalty for the complainant’s illegal parking. At the same time, the PSP has also taken measure to ensure the interest party’s right to lodge administrative and judicial complaints.

As regards the right to information mentioned by the complainant, the CCAC pointed out that the information on the scope of area monitored by the illegal parking detection systems and the places where they were installed was open to the public. Residents may easily obtain the information through various channels such as the Transport Bureau and local newspapers. Therefore, the situation that the complainant was deprived of his right to information did not exist.

In addition, the CCAC has been advocating the awareness of lodging a complaint responsibly. Given the necessity of striking a balance between residents’ right to information and the principle of confidentiality of case, the CCAC provides complainants with an online enquiry code so that they may check the basic information on the follow-up progress of the cases at any time. For the complainants who want to obtain further information, the CCAC has established a mechanism of arranging face-to-face notification and explanation, seeking to maintain effective communication with residents.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E.2560, Chapter 5, Duties of the State, Section 55 stipulates that the State must ensure that the people receive efficient public health services universally, ensure that the public has the basic knowledge in relation to health promotion and disease prevention, and shall promote and support the advancement of wisdom on Thai traditional medicine to maximize its benefits. The public health services under paragraph one shall cover health promotion, control and prevention of diseases, medical treatment, and rehabilitation. The State shall continuously improve the standard and quality of public health services.

The Ombudsman is aware of civil rights in public health and whether state agencies are able to efficiently provide public health services under their duties and mandates to citizens. In the meantime, there have been complaints filed with the Ombudsman concerning the need for pregnant women to take folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements to prevent birth defects in newborns in a daily dose of 0.4 milligrams before pregnancy, especially during the three months before getting pregnant and the first three months of pregnancy.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are guidelines to reduce birth defects in all countries worldwide. Women of reproductive age or those preparing for pregnancy should take folic acid supplements of 400 micrograms daily before getting pregnant. However, the fact that Thailand had not yet produced folic acid tablets (vitamin B9) with a specific dosage in milligrams causes ineffective prevention of birth defects in newborns. The cost of folic acid tablets (vitamin B9) was also expensive, making the vitamin unaffordable for people with insufficient income. Therefore, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) was requested to produce 0.4 milligram folic acid tablets for distribution to the public to prevent birth defects in newborns because the currently available folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements were 5 milligrams, which exceeds the body’s daily requirement.

The Ombudsman conducted a fact-finding and held meetings with related agencies. The facts obtained from the investigations show that if women of reproductive age take a daily folic acid tablet (vitamin B9) of 0.4 milligrams, it can prevent 50 percent of birth defects in newborns, including the prevalence of neural tube defects, congenital heart disease, limb deformities, urinary tract dysfunction, an rectal malformation, cleft lip and cleft palate, as well as Down syndrome.

Hence, the Ombudsman recommended that the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) produce 0.4 milligrams of folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements for people to conveniently acquire in general within May 2020. The Ombudsman also suggested that the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Ministry of Labour, National Health Security Office, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration promote and raise awareness among citizens, youths, students, university students, and the working-age population, especially women of reproductive age, about the benefits of folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements. This is to ensure that they understand the importance of taking folic acid (vitamin B 9) supplements to prevent birth defects in newborns and have access to these supplements.

Referring to the Ombudsman’s decision stated above and Section 48, paragraph one of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E.2560, which stipulates that the rights of mothers during the period prior to and after giving birth shall be protected and assisted, and the designated government agencies must provide people with public health services per Section 55 as mentioned previously; the Ombudsman decides to formulate a campaign to remove causes of problems, prevent birth defects, and reduce the number of handicapped people. This campaign will focus on mothers’ rights to take folic acid supplements during the period prior to and after giving birth, offering reproductive age women an opportunity to obtain enough folic acid supplements free of charge.

Later, the Ombudsman convened a meeting to discuss matters with related agencies, including the Provincial Public Health Offices, Provincial-level Agencies, and the Sub district Health Promoting Hospitals. The Ombudsman made site visits to the four regions, encompassing a total of eight provinces, namely Pathum Thani, Chiang Rai, Kamphaeng Phet, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai, Maha Sarakham, Songkhla, and Satun. The purpose of these visits was to gain insights into the challenges and obstacles faced by the agencies involved in providing public health services to women of reproductive age or mothers during the period prior to and after giving birth, particularly in relation to access to folic acid (vitamin B9) services.

The fact-finding showed that public health service agencies in most areas have been implementing the project “Vitamin Supplements for Healthy Thai Women”, which is the policy of the Department of Health under the Ministry of Public Health aimed at encouraging women between the ages of 20 and 34, who are planning to have children, to maintain good nutrition by taking iron and folic acid supplements once a week, in addition to receiving a balanced diet from all five food groups. This comprehensive approach not only helps in reducing the prevalence of anemia but also mitigates the risk of birth defects in newborns, thereby contributing to safe deliveries and the birth of healthy newborns.

However, the challenges and obstacles found included problems in the operation processes of related agencies, including the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and Ministry of Interior. Although there was promotion of the rights to access folic acid among women of reproductive age at a certain level, the problems included irregular and incomplete operations affecting the access of folic acid supplements for the target group (women of reproductive age), a problem of data collection at some provincial public health offices that didn’t fully input the health data to the Health Data Center (HDC), a problem about policy enforcement, a budgetary problem that led to irregular and incomplete project operation, a legal problem about protecting mothers during the period prior to and after giving birth, a problem about insufficient population of staff in designated areas causing additional workload, a deficiency of staff counseling skills about pregnancy preparation and the importance and benefits of folic acid (vitamin B9), as well as a problem with communication and networking.

At the present time, social media are part of daily life, but there are still not various techniques to proactively access and educate the target group of reproductive age women in both formal and non-formal education segments as well as in the community. This prevents the group of reproductive age women from getting the folic acid (vitamin B 9) supplements. Additionally, the operation of the mother and child working group is a cohesive collaboration among agencies, which still needs the responsible activities coordinator.

According to the aforementioned problems, it is the duty of State agencies to provide effective public health services to the public, as well as to educate citizens about basic knowledge on health promotion and disease prevention programs, especially the target groups – women of reproductive age and mothers during the period prior to and after giving birth. They should be informed about the benefits of folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements, which can reduce the risk of birth defects in newborns, and be aware of the importance of healthcare, contributing to a good quality of life. Moreover, State agencies should provide women of reproductive age with access to folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements free of charge as part of the welfare state. Therefore, in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B. E. 2560, Chapter 5, Duties of the State – the Ombudsman, by virtue of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E.2560, Section 230(3), presented the fact-finding report that the practice of government agencies is not fully compliant with Chapter 5, Duties of the State and provides recommendations for the Council of Ministers’ consideration about mothers’ rights to take folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements during the period prior to and after giving birth as follows:

1. Recommend the government to advance the protection of birth defects into the national agenda – to carry forward the policy on unceasing actions of related agencies and to further improve the population’s quality of life – because the newborn statistics reveal that among 700,000 newborns annually in Thailand, there is an amount of over 20,000 birth defects, and the amount of this group is increasing every year.
2. Recommend the government to formulate the propulsion committee for a cohesive collaboration of agencies actions in accordance with the national agenda concerning the protection of birth defects at the national and provincial levels, which is the substantial mechanism in proficiently managing all schemes.
3. Recommend the government to formulate the law of the rights of mothers during the period prior to and after giving birth to protect mothers and pregnant women in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E.2560; and to assign related agencies to develop a guideline of mother and child rights that outlines all about privileges, which are in range of the agencies’ responsibility, for mothers during the period prior to and after giving birth to ensure convenience, swiftness, and easiness of action in accessing the welfare state and protection as well as assistance from the government.
4. Recommend the government to allot more funding for the Ministry of Public Health in providing health promotion and disease prevention programs in order to reduce long-term medical expenses and to constantly and proficiently establish vital policies about an improvement of population quality of life.
5. Recommend the State agencies, namely Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Ministry of Labour, National Health Security Office, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to collaborate in campaigning and promoting through various channels of communication to the groups of reproductive age women, mothers during the period prior to and after giving birth – about the benefits of taking folic acid (vitamin B9) supplements to reduce newborns’ birth defects. According to the duty on campaign promotion involving with many agencies, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health is then nominated as the core agency to work with related agencies in developing the master plan for promotion of birth defects protection and to formulate the promotion committee or subcommittee at the central and provincial levels to appropriately and proficiently access the target groups in each area.
6. Recommend the Ministry of Health and related agencies to urgently input the health data to the Health Data Center (HDC) for the purposes of quality, accuracy, completion, reliability, and timeliness which can be used to proficiently formulate the policies and strategies about health and health promotion to protect diseases at the particular area and national levels.
7. Recommend to educate the Village Health Volunteer (VHT) who work under the supervision of the Department of Health Service Support, Ministry of Public Health in the delivery of knowledge about birth defects protection to reproductive age women because VHTs are currently considered the critical part in providing community health services, particularly for gaining the trust from the group of reproductive age women.
8. Recommend all provinces to emphasize the importance of birth defects protection by establishing the propulsion committee to push forward agencies’ collaboration at the provincial level and to formulate the provincial agendas about policy deployment. The committee has the responsibility and authority concerning matters of birth defects protection to enhance the provincial agencies’ collaboration. Additionally, the committee responsible for campaigning and the committee in charge of monitoring and evaluating the project shall be established to ensure that the target group of reproductive age women is educated and able to access the folic acid supplements which can result in a reduction of birth defects.
9. Recommend that the Ministry of Public Health, as the core agency, collaborates with related agencies to select a pilot province as a prototype for implementing actions and activities to protect against birth defects, in accordance with the operational plan of the Ministry of Public Health’s 2nd national reproductive health development policy and strategy (2017 – 2026) for the promotion of quality birth and growth. Additionally, recommend the development of a handout as an operational model for public health staff and health professionals in every province.

Proceedings according to the Ombudsman’s decision:

1. The Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Public Health to consider and act upon the Ombudsman’s opinions and recommendations, and to prepare an issue for consideration and propose it to the Cabinet for further orders.
2. After the Government Pharmaceutical Organization produced 0.4 mg of folic acid (Folic F GPO) as recommended by the Ombudsman, public hospitals and the Thai Red Cross have contracted to purchase 0.4 mg of folic acid for public service, free of charge, and have made it available to the general public at all GPO pharmacies.
3. The Department of Health has organized a workshop on the development of prenatal preparation services by encouraging women of reproductive age to take iron and folic acid supplements, which can help reduce anemia and the risk of birth defects in newborns.

– Public institutions’ efforts to prevent corruption have led to an overall improvement in their respective comprehensive integrity levels

– ACRC released the 2023 Public Institution Integrity Assessment Results

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) announced the results of the ‘2023 Comprehensive Integrity Assessment of Public Institutions,’ which comprehensively evaluated the integrity levels of 498 administrative agencies and related public entities.

The results of the 2023 Comprehensive Integrity Assessment was derived by combining the scores of: ▲ the “Integrity Perception Index” the result of which is based on the survey of approximately 224,000 participants, including 157,000 citizens with experience in public institutions and 67,000 public officials working in those institutions; ▲ the “Integrity Effort Index,” which assesses the anti-corruption efforts undertaken by various institutions over the past year; and ▲ the “Corruption Status Index,” which evaluates the occurrence of corruption incidents in the public institutions.

The overall integrity score for administrative agencies and public organizations in 2023 decreased by 0.7 points compared to the previous year, reaching 80.5 points. While the integrity effort score remained at the same level as the previous year, at 82.2 points, the perceived integrity score dropped, leading to a decline in the overall integrity score.

By institution, 123 institutions saw an increase in their overall integrity grade compared to the last year, while 134 institutions experienced a decline. The number of institutions in the top grade decreased from 28 in 2022 to 16 in 2023.

The public institution that showed an increase of three or more grades in overall integrity level compared to last year was Pocheon-si in Gyeonggi Province. Additionally, 41 institutions, including the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Ministry of Personnel Management, experienced an increase of two or more grades.

In the area of perceived integrity, Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education and Gyeongsangbuk-do Development Corporation, both of which were in the 5th grade in 2022, have ascended by 4 grades, achieving Grade 1 in perceived integrity. Furthermore, in the pursuit of anti-corruption policies, five institutions demonstrated significant progress in their integrity efforts, each experiencing a three-grade increase. These institutions are the Public Procurement Service, Gimje-si in Jeonbuk Province, Songpa-gu in Seoul, Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation, and Korea National Oil Corporation.

In particular, only six institutions have achieved Grade 1 in the overall integrity assessment for two consecutive years. These excellent institutions include: the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Yeoju-si in Gyeonggi Province, Gyeongju-si in the North Gyeongsang Province, Boseong-gun in the South Jeolla Province, Buyeo-gun in the South Chungcheong Province, and Guro-gu in Seoul. In the area of perceived integrity, only the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation secured Grade 1, while in the integrity effort domain, only the National Health Insurance Service achieved Grade 1 for the second consecutive year.

Assessment of Integrity Perception

The external integrity perception level, evaluated directly by 157,000 complainants with experience of public services provided by the public institutions, slightly decreased compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the internal integrity perception level, assessed by 67,000 public officials, showed a slight improvement.

However, it appeared that the internal perception level was significantly lower* than the external perception level, indicating the need for measures to eradicate corrupt practices in the internal operational processes of the public institutions.

* External perception score (87.0 points, down 3.3 points from last year), Internal perception score (63.3 points, up 0.7 points from last year)

When examining specific items related to integrity perception, external complainants gave the lowest evaluation to ‘Lack of transparency in the standards and procedures of public institution business processing (86.8 points).’ Internal public officials, on the other hand, gave a very low score to ‘Special favors granted due to personal relationships or personal interests (55.4 points).’

The percentage of complainants who experienced corruption in the business processing with public institutions was 0.42%, while the percentage of internal officials who experienced corruption in internal processes was 1.99%, more than four times higher than the complainants’ experience rate.

The areas of work where the proportion of complainants with corruption experience was very high, exceeding 5%, were 11 in total, including finance, taxation, and subsidy support, all of which were the basic tasks of local governments. Even in the detailed analysis of the task of local governments subject to the integrity assessment, the area where the corruption experience rate increased the most compared to the previous year was ‘subsidy support’ for both metropolitan and provincial governments. It was evident that urgent measures to enhance the soundness and transparency of public finances were needed.

Assessment of Integrity Efforts

The score for the Integrity Efforts of 498 public institutions was 82.2 points. Public institutions of various levels faithfully implemented customized anti-corruption action plans of their own, including the tasks of improving corruption-prone areas, etc. given the characteristics of their tasks and members.

In particular, in order to strengthen transparency in the hiring process of non-civil servants in public institutions, 87.9% of the 306 central administrative agencies, local governments, and metropolitan and provincial offices of education reflected “the Standard Criteria for Fair Non-Civil Service Recruitment” which provides for matters to be complied by public institutions in each stage of the hiring processes into their own recruitment rules, etc.

Among the 192 public service-related organizations evaluated this time, 98.4% have actively pushed ahead with national tasks by stipulating routine audits of the recruitment process in their internal audit regulations.

On the other hand, among the institutions rated as Grade 4 and 5 in the Comprehensive Integrity Assessment last year, 13 out of 24 institutions that received integrity consulting from the ACRC showed an improvement in their overall integrity ratings. In particular, Pocheon-si in Gyeonggi Province achieved a three-grade increase in the Comprehensive Integrity Assessment through the integrity consulting and transformed into an outstanding institution.

The anti-corruption efforts of public institutions have resulted in actual improvements in their overall integrity levels. Statistical analysis reveals that institutions with higher anti-corruption efforts in the previous year demonstrated excellent results in this year’s comprehensive integrity scores, indicating that the efforts exerted by public institutions at all levels continue to show sustained effects.

Assessment of the Current Status of Corrupt Public Officials

Cases where corrupt acts are detected by external organizations such as the ACRC, supervisory agencies, prosecution, and police, resulting in disciplinary action, prosecution, and conviction, lead to deductions of up to 10 points in the Comprehensive Integrity Assessment. This year, 531 corruption incidents resulted in deductions in 160 institutions. By type of corruption, misappropriation of public funds and embezzlement accounted for 36.3%, bribery for 17.5%, and improper solicitations for 8.1%, indicating that corruption incidents related to monetary bribery and improper solicitations still constitute a significant proportion.

Major cases of deductions include: demanding money from subordinates by abusing high-ranking positions and providing personnel and contractual favors (A public service-related organization); incidents involving bribery and corruption related to promotions to high-ranking posts, as well as bid and contract irregularities (B public service-related organization); and disciplinary actions against 139 employees who received license allowances based on fraudulently obtained certifications (C public service-related organization).

The results of the Comprehensive Integrity Assessment will be made public to the citizens through the official websites of the ACRC and the respective institutions. For public enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions, the results will be reflected in the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s evaluation of public institution management. Additionally, improvement measures for areas identified as vulnerable to corruption, pointed out by complainants and public officials, will be ly developed by each institution and prioritized for implementation.

The ACRC plans to conduct focused inspections in collaboration with government agencies on institutions revealed to be vulnerable to corruption in this assessment, and also intends to provide diverse support, including anti-corruption education and integrity consulting, for a year.

The ACRC Vice Chairperson and Secretary General Chung Seung-yun stated, “While the enforcement of laws such as the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act has significantly improved the integrity level in the public sector, citizens still experience corruption first hand in the internal and external processes of public institutions,” emphasizing that “based on the results of this assessment, we will implement strong anti-corruption measures for vulnerable institutions and thoroughly eradicate lingering corrupt practices in the public sector.”

In 2023, a complainant reflected to the CCAC, claiming that despite a school had received the subsidies under the “Science Popularisation Funding Scheme for Schools”, it failed to disburse the subsidies to the instructors who provided training after a protracted period of waiting for the vetting, approval and endorsement of the final report by the Science and Technology Development Fund. Therefore, the complainant criticised the Science and Technology Development Fund for its inefficiency in processing the vetting and approval of the relevant final report.

Upon investigation, the Science and Technology Development Fund would, prior to the launch of the activities subsidised by the “Science Popularisation Funding Scheme for Schools”, issue subsidies to the schools in advance in order for them to launch the activities. Moreover, the CCAC found out that the progress of completion of the vetting and approval of the subsidised projects under the scheme in the same year was different. The reasons could be summarised as adjustment of functions of the department, inadequate experience of some personnel responsible for the vetting and approval procedures, influence by the epidemic, etc.

After intervention by the CCAC, the Science and Technology Development Fund further reviewed the optimisation measures of the work arrangement concerning the “Science Popularisation Funding Scheme for Schools” and followed up the situation of subsidy payment to the instructors. It also took measures to clarify to dozens of schools in Macao concerning the purposes and legislative intent of the subsidies with a view to facilitating them to follow up the payment of subsidies to the instructors and ensuring the authenticity of payment documents, among others. In addition, it looked into the vetting and approval procedures, adjusted the distribution of work among its personnel and strengthen the training once again in order to enhance relevant work efficiency.

SEPARATE PORTAL TO BE ESTABLISHED FOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR SPEEDY REDRESSAL OF COMPLAINTS-WAFAQI MOHTASIB.

DOORS OPEN FOR PROMPT REDRESSAL OF BUSINESS COMMUNITY’S COMPLAINTS, ASSURES WAFAQI MOHTASIB.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib, Mr. Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi has said that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry plays a key role in every society and a separate portal would be established for the chamber to facilitate speedy redressal of the problems being faced by the business community.

He was talking to a representative delegation of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, headed by Mr. Ashan Zafar Bakhtawari, which called on him in Islamabad today. It included Vice President Engr. Azhar-ul-Islam, Malik Nadeem Akhter, Ch. Maqsood Tabish, Raja Muhammad Imtiaz Abassi and Col (R). Kamran Baig.

‘If the complaints appearing on the portal are not resolved by the Agencies concerned within a period of 30 days’ these would be automatically transferred to the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat and we would take cognizance of them and initiate action accordingly’, he observed.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib went on to say that it was his endeavor to remain in touch with the business and industry people as it employs millions in the country. We are committed to speedy resolution of their problems. He urged the delegation to setup a Committee, which may apprise this Secretariat of their pressing problems in writing.

He further added that our doors are open for the industry people on 24/7 basis and they may approach us with regard to their complaints pertaining to mal-administration against the federal government agencies. Nearly 200 federal government entities and departments fall under our purview and this office has resolved over 194,000 complaints against them in the outgoing year, 2023 said the Mohtasib.

The leader of the delegation earlier requested the Wafaqi Mohtasib to appoint a focal person for the business community for fast-track resolution of their problems and also invited him to spare sometime for addressing the Chamber of Commerce.

The Wafaqi Mohtasib assured the business community of his highest consideration and said the business community can also bring to our knowledge pressing public complaints in addition to their own problems. ‘Our 22 Regional Offices and complaints centers are there to take care of the public complaints and people belonging to the far-flung areas of the country are benefitting themselves from this arrangement. We would soon be opening Regional Offices in Gilgit Baltistan & Azad Kashmir too’ he informed.

Expressing the opinion that the Wafaqi Mohtasib is mostly approached by the poorest of the poor who cannot afford to engage expensive lawyers, he held out the assurance to the delegation to forward their individual complaints which would be attended to promptly as per the legal provisions.