SAO wins transparency award despite collapsed building scandal
Critics raise doubts over credibility of national integrity rankings
The State Audit Office (SAO) won first place as the most transparent and integrous government department in Thailand, but the public expressed disagreement, citing allegations of corruption linked to the collapse of the under-construction headquarters in March.
The Office of Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA), under the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), announced the results of its annual evaluation of government agencies for the 2025 fiscal year and held an award ceremony on Friday, 15 August.
In the category of independent organisations, the SAO ranked first with a score of 94.64 points. The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) came second with 93.47 points, followed by the NACC with 93.18 points, the Office of the Ombudsman with 90.51 points, and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with 90.27 points.
These top five organisations were selected from 8,317 government units. The overall national score was 93.82 points, an increase of 0.77 points from last year, and higher than the benchmark set out in the national strategy’s master plan on combating corruption and misconduct.
The SAO’s victory raised questions among the public, as the agency was recently accused of corruption in connection with its new headquarters in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district. The building collapsed in March following tremors from an earthquake in Myanmar.
The incident prompted concerns over the quality of construction materials and the design plan, given that the project carried a budget of more than 2.6 billion baht. The case remains under judicial consideration.
In response to the online backlash over its victory, the SAO used its official Facebook page to explain the ITA assessment process.
According to the clarification, each agency is evaluated through three surveys: the Internal Stakeholders’ Perception Survey, the External Stakeholders’ Perception Survey, and the Public Information Disclosure Survey.
The SAO defended its top ranking, insisting that it was assessed fairly. The office noted that the only indicator on which it scored below 85 points was the “Work Improvement” indicator in the Internal Stakeholders’ Perception Survey, where it received 81.74 points. The organisation pledged to improve this score in the coming year.
This is not the first time the ITA award sparked controversy. Last year, the public also expressed dissatisfaction when the Election Commission of Thailand received top marks.
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