A draft on government procurement will include penalties for high-ranking officials involved in corruption in the procurement process. The move is part of government efforts to combat graft, said Manas Jamveha, director-general of the Comptroller General's Department.
Government procurement is now governed by the Prime Minister's Office announcements and penalties are based on Article 157 of the criminal law, which stipulates that state officers charged with misconduct or dereliction of duty that causes damage can be fined 2,000-20,000 baht and/or imprisoned for one to 10 years.
Mr Manas said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, required specific penalties for state officers involved in bribery and such penalties must cover high-ranking officers as Gen Prayut said that corruption in the procurement process did not only involve low-ranking officers.
The draft will govern procurement made by state agencies, local administrative organisations and state enterprises, public organisations, entities under the constitution and independent bodies.
A source said local administrative organisations' procurement always drew criticism over the transparency of the bids as their procurement process is not governed by the Prime Minister's Office, so they set their own regulations.
Under the draft, a committee tasked with providing policies and management for government procurement will be set up and chaired by the finance minister.
The law will authorise the committee's chairman to suggest policies and directions to improve the efficiency of government procurement and propose royal decrees or ministerial announcements to comply with the act.
The committee will also have the mandate to finalise private sector complaints that allege state agencies have failed to comply with the law.
The law also requires the establishment of a committee overseeing reference prices to make the bidding transparent.