Regular Irregularities

November 15, 2016: I visited Yangchenphug Higher Secondary School (YHSS) as a Visiting Examiner (VE) for the Board Examination Secondary Physics (Year 12) Practical Examination officially for 3 days. I evaluated 123 science students’ (Physics) project entries on the first day. The physics practical exam was administered over the course of the final 2 days. To prevent questions from being tampered with or declassified, schools across the nation start and end the practical examinations on the same day. However, due to the large class sizes at YHSS, we commenced the practical tests for the first cohort of students at 5:30 AM in the cold winter morning to strictly end it uniformly with other schools. I do not recollect precisely when I departed for home after the first day’s tests which wrapped up at 7:30 PM.

Although the modalities of administering the practical exams emerge to have been customised recently, at the time I served as VE, grade 12 science students were primarily oriented to the same set of questions. For this reason, the first cohorts who completed the practical exam in the morning were required to remain segregated inside the allocated room until the other fellow students complete the test. VEs are mandated to function as watchmen to keep the students confined to the closed-off room. VEs must even accompany students visiting the restroom to limit students' communication with the acquaintance they encounter on their way to the restroom and thereby defend against the accidental or intentional release of the exam questions.

I discharged my duties as VE in accordance with the obligations declared in the Letter of Undertaking from the Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (BCSEA). On day 5, I claimed my Daily Allowance and Travel Claims (TA/DA) as permissible for all other civil servants for 5 days [3 days for practical examination duty, 1 day for travel to the examination site (YHSS), and another 1 day for return journey]. 

A few months later in the school, I was notified that I have claimed an additional amount of Nu. 500 when tasked as VE during the board practical examinations. According to the BCSEA office,under the new financial regulations, a person is only entitled to a half-day allowance for the return trip to working stations that are lesser than 70 kilometres away. This means that from the entitled daily allowance of Nu.1000 per day, I need to refund Nu. 500. This also suggests that the previously established official 70-kilometre distance between Wangdue (my place) and Thimphu (Test centre), has abruptly been shortened based on the measurements provided by the BCSEA.

A lengthy list which in the view of the BCSEA office has violated the financial regulations by claiming additional allowances of Nu. 500 has already been forwarded to the respective District Education Office. My name was publicly declared by the school administration on the school social networking platform, WeChat, pronouncing the same issue. There were also some whirlpools of unconfirmed cautions and whispers circulating around that, certain punitive administrative prosecutions may follow for those who fail to refund the amount promptly. 

I did not react to the notification instantaneously. This is because, I can recall with sufficient clarity that over the course of my last 12 years of employment, I have NEVER been ensnared in any behaviours that have culminated into a drama involving financial irregularities against my name. But learning that I have to refund Nu. 500 from the entitled allowance, I was dumbfounded and thus, revisited the distance between Wangdue and Thimphu on the financial map. The map reads 70 kilometres obviously. 

I quickly reimbursed the money that same day, choosing not to debate about the distance. As an emotionally sensitive individual, I remember being humiliated even as a small child when my name was announced in the face of others for something I had not done or because something I had done was not in violation of the law. For example, I had a horrendous psychological trauma which I still cannot forget and forgive when the principal of the school terminated me because of another student’s offence (coming soon).

But above all else, whenever there are FI, especially relating to the state money, as a citizen, I feel duty-bound to do everything to stop anyone profiteering through manipulation, mishandling, or fraud, so that we can use the funds for others, higher, and nobler causes. Even though I was aware that I had not claimed more than what I was legally entitled to, I nonetheless reimbursed the money as instructed by the BCSEA office. 

I write this opinion after getting disturbed by repeated news of FI. Before I turn to discuss the FI reported by the Royal Audit Authority (RAA), at the outset, I begin by discussing some information associated with FI. 

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What is Financial Irregularities (FI)? 

 

Whether we know it or not, we have heard about it periodically – from the mainstream media or the annual publication of the Royal Audit Authority (RAA). In almost every issue of their publication, mainstream media report snippets of stories associated with the FI. The RAA as the supreme audit institution of the Kingdom yearly takes this task to publish reports like the annual lochoe (annual religious event) which is calendared in their yearbook episode. Ironically, nobody seems to bother about these reports. Not even those avid social media icons with huge followers or public figures who are otherwise so vocal in advertising commercial merchandise when they are paid a fortune. Consequently, the FI phenomenon in our context has now easily transformed into regular irregularities.

Under a broad conception, FI includes intentional false statements or omission of data pertaining to financial operations including but not limited to: 

·      Embezzlement

·      Fraud 

·      Falsifying documents/records 

·      Mismanagement of funds  

·      Misappropriations of assets, 

·      Falsification of records or 

·      Noncompliance with laws or regulations.

·      Corruption (such as giving bribes, bid riggings)

 

Why does FI occur?   

Money is the root of all evil they say. The obsessive desire that individuals have for money is what makes it the source of all evil. More significantly, the fact that money is deployed as a universal tool to do everything in this world only serves to compound the situation by making money the root of all evil. 

But what can be done without having money these days? 

Money is not everything, we are frequently told. But I always believe that these are the thoughts of people who have amassed enough wealth. As a person who lived a life without even having a bare minimum, I do not buy such idiocy. 

For instance, at the international level, money is heavily employed as a means for a nation to dictate and demonstrate dominance, authority, and global super-power. At the government level, politics function only when there is abundant money. At the individual level, we engage with money for absolutely everything.

But do these reasons stated above cause FI? Maybe or may not. 

Whenever I hear of FI, the following things spring into my mind: 

Human Greed

Some people have unquenchable desires and longings. They do not think twice about engaging in criminal activity and breaking the law to get filthy rich and have it all for themselves, even at the expense of the national coffer.

 

Opportunity to Access 

People take advantage of the opportunity to do anything they like when they have access to public funds. They can fiddle with the calculations, bribe someone, embezzle money, or engage in corrupt practices.

 

Inefficient System

The fact that we always hear about FI signals the ineffectiveness of our check and balance system. It is not surprising that we frequently witness the same individuals and institutions indulging in FI because of the fragile system. These people are already informed of the system’s vulnerabilities, which are neither remedied nor considered to be addressed despite frequent FI incidents.

 

Toothless Laws 

We often lack robust legal action against FI culprits. Most of the time, perpetrators are given administrative action as punitive sanctions. Administrative action means transferring the wrongdoers to a new place (so-called remote posting). New places are locations with all the contemporary amenities in place. Because they receive the same monthly income with less work and responsibility, lawbreakers who are relocated to remote areas are often contented, comfortable and convenient. 

 

Who is involved in FI?   

Nobody needs a subtitle to decipher this question. Based on the evidence of mainstream media reports, FI is connected to those in positions of authority, have access to public funds, and deal with money at work. 

 

Why is FI a Big Concern for Bhutan?  

Although we emphasise on Gross National Happiness (GNH) over Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GDP is still an important constituent of GNH. Our economy is still at an embryonic stage, which requires abundant efforts to keep it emerging and evolving. When there is FI, our emerging economy will be corrupted and will be diseased to function efficiently.

We are a donor-recipient nation where most of the developmental activities are completed through bilateral aid or loaned capital. We should not be complacent to witness this gamble of financial illegitimacy contaminate and hurt our delicate economy.  

At the societal level, the recurrent incidences of FI will deteriorate the noble foundations of harmony, and tha-damtsig (commitment/trust to the relationship). If FI is not nibbed in the bud, it risks the potential in creating an unequal and illegal wealth distribution, causing disharmony and distrust in society. That’s where we will keep seeing more people having plenty of money to support three to four generations of their families, while others even lack a basic roof to keep them safe from the heat and cold. That’s how the bridge between haves and have-nots will only get widened. 

Curbing FI

I am not an economist or financial expert. But I certainly feel that for a very small nation like ours, we can fix everything. Although FI cannot be eliminated, there are mechanisms to mitigate it. 

Annually RMA publishes the findings regarding the FI. It is now time that they remedy the identified vulnerabilities in our system. When regular FI are reported annually like an Olympics event, at times, we can only sense that we are already in auto-pilot mode. FI has been the elephant in the room. Some people and organisations have already earned a permanent seat in this financial Olympic event due to their ritualistic engagement.

Curbing FI is a collective responsibility. It is time to hold people accountable if they are engaged in any FI-related practices. It is time to introduce zero tolerance into action. It is time to revamp our system and make it more robust, transparent, and dynamic.

At the individual level, it is time that we school our attitude. For instance, I reimbursed the money despite being aware that I had not claimed any more money than what was legally entitled. I refunded the cash immediately, even though I understood the cashier was to blame in the first place. I am mindful that working with ethics, professionalism, high morals, and integrity are key ingredients to any human behaviour.