FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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New charter: The buck stops here for next PM

New charter: The buck stops here for next PM

The outcry went up even before anyone got to know the details of a new clause in the constitution now being wrapped up at a Hua Hin retreat: Three public agencies will be accorded new powers to keep close checks on the government over any policy considere

This, declared one Pheu Thai Party member, was nothing short of the institutionalisation of a “fourth power” – in addition to the executive, the judiciary and the legislature.
Another critic from the political sphere argued vehemently that the new authority granted the “independent agencies” to interfere with the executive branch would spell calamity. It would create chaos, confusion and disaster, pitching the whole of society into a new state of confrontation, he said.
But the Constitution Draft Committee (CDC) chaired by Meechai Ruchuphan insisted that the new provision would improve the checks and balances of a democratic system to enhance the degree of accountability.
Meechai suggested the new powers would not be legally binding but could be used against the powers-that-be if any policy proves to be damaging to the national interest.
Suspicious minds, of course, will immediately link the new clause to the ongoing case in which former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is charged with ignoring written and verbal warnings from various public bodies about the damaging effects of her administration’s rice-pledging policy.
If the new provision is rammed through, Cabinet members will come under close scrutiny by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Office of the Auditor-General and the Election Commission. The principle is pure and simple: Politicians seeking high office should be subject to close monitoring for any possible misbehaviour, especially unethical activity of any shade or form.
“Failed policies” is the new key word. What that means is that politicians should not be allowed to make impossible promises as part of populist election platforms designed solely to get them elected, while at the same time disregarding the damage that could be wrought by policies that weren’t meant to be workable in the first place.
Clearly, Meechai’s aim is to highlight mistakes made by previous governments that could have been prevented if measures had been in place to warn them of possible failures – or punishment meted out in cases where those warnings had been summarily dismissed.
The CDC chief said that, under the new provision, future governments would have to take full responsibility for failed policies, with the prime minister bearing the brunt of the blame. The PM would no longer be able to pass the buck to his Cabinet members – or bureaucrats tasked with carrying out the flawed schemes.
In practice, the new powers granted to the three public agencies will mean they can issue a joint warning to the House of Representatives – not directly to the government – which may also incorporate recommendations to correct policy missteps.
But the warnings won’t have any legal status, which means that the ruling party could continue with the policy in question. Neither the three branches nor Parliament could order the government to halt any action. It would be up to the administration to decide whether to heed the advice or warnings, or to proceed without any change to the policy.
The public would, of course, be made aware of any such warning from the three public bodies. And if the policy in question ended up inflicting serious damage on the people or country, then the prime minister would have to take the full blame.
So the new controversial charter provision will accord public bodies additional powers to curb corruption and abuse of power. They would be in a position to initiate investigations without waiting for a formal complaint to be lodged – and specific timelines will be drawn up for the completion of probes on these cases.
Of course, the big question that needs to be addressed by the charter drafters is: Who will audit the auditors? Who will warn the warners? And who will probe the probers?
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