25 May 2023

        In collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, ACC conducted the ceremony of an awareness programme on corruption prevention at the Meeting Hall of Ministry of Industry, on 20 May 2023.

         Union Minister for Ministry of Industry Dr. Charlie Than, Chairman of the Commission Dr. Htay Aung, Deputy Minister for Industry U Yin Maung Nyunt, Directors General, Managing Directors and Officials from the Ministry of Industry and the Anti-Corruption Commission attended the Ceremony.

 Minister for Industry Dr. Charlie Than addressed that corruption can occur in various forms in different fields. He highlighted that committing corruption not only leads to legal consequences but also damages one’s reputation in the community. Thus, it is necessary for civil servants to know and avoid it. He stressed the need for civil servants to uphold values such as integrity, responsibility, accountability, and transparency in their public service activities, and it is necessary to act in a fair manner, regardless of gender. Clean Government and Good Governance system can only be implemented and built by civil servants who are free from corruption. As the saying goes “prevention is better than cure,” rather than investigating and taking action after the occurrence of corruption, we must prevent corruption before it happens. As the officials attending this ceremony, we will gain the knowledge on the corruption and have to share it back to our organization and abide by the rules of ethics that public employees must follow, as well as the code of conduct of academics enacted by various academic councils.

 Dr. Htay Aung, Chairman for the Anti-Corruption Commission, delivered a speech in which he stated that corruption is a significant obstacle to the country’s development. Due to the occurrence of corruption, the development of the state is affected and that may cause harmful effects on cultural and social contexts as well as administration, judiciary, politics and economy. The Commission is conducting the anti-corruption activities with three main functions; investigation, prevention and awareness raising, as a national cause. The State Administration Council also stated that the reform activities are being accelerated by establishing the forward processes for the development of the country.

He said, corruption is much broader than taking bribes. Abuse of entrusted authority applies not only to government departments but also to private businesses, from giving/taking small bribes to the state’s money, material including damage to property. As the Commission, the fourth amended law is being informed through the news media including social media; and explained in various ways, in order to better understand and satisfy not only civil servants, but also businessmen and the public as a whole; discussed and shared the books of Anti-Corruption Law in workshops; distributing the books of Anti-Corruption Law to civil servants through the Union Ministries in Nay Pyi Taw. We have done with a wide range of awareness activities such as explanation and discussion.

 He expressed, the Commission has established Corruption Prevention Unit (CPU) in 38 Union Ministries/Organizations and 14 Region/State Governments, including the Commission. In coordinating with the departments that have established CPUs, the Commission set up (3) missions and (6) agendas for CPUs for the prevention of corruption and is cooperating as necessary. 

Then, a video clip of the ongoing process of the Anti-Corruption Commission is shown.

After that, U Htein Lin, Director General of the Department of International Affairs and Prevention, explained about the anti-corruption law; U Kaung Zaw Thant, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Affairs and Prevention, illustrated the features, causes and negative effects of corruption, and regarding the activities of the commission; Director Daw Aye Myat Mon discussed the matters on corruption prevention; and Director U Aung Khant explained about the investigation aspect. Moreover, the participants asked what they wanted to know and the points that were not clear, and the relevant officials explained the details, and the ceremony of awareness-raising was successfully finished.