August 27, 2025
THIMPHU – The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has cleared most of its long-standing backlog of cases, even as it struggles with one of the highest attrition rates in the civil service.
The ACC currently has only 134 employees, far below its approved strength of 165.
Records show that out of 319 employees who have worked with ACC since its establishment in 2006, 170 have left the organisation. The commission started with just eight officers in 2006.
Many of those departures have been voluntary, particularly from key divisions such as investigation, legal, prevention, and advocacy.
ACC officials said that the shortage affects all divisions, but the commission is committed to fighting corruption. “We are still facing a shortage, but there will be few backlogs left to clear from next year,” said an ACC official.
According to ACC’s annual report, six employees left in 2019, 10 in 2020, 11 in 2021, 12 in 2022, 25 in 2023, and 28 in 2024.
The attrition rate dropped to 8.33 percent last financial year, but the five-year average remains high at 12.8 percent, which is much higher than the national civil service average.
“Many left because of the high-risk nature of the job, limited career growth, and heavy workload,” said another official. “Even though we provide a professional allowance of 45 percent of basic pay for investigators and 20 percent for others, it has not been enough to retain our staff.”
Currently, almost half of ACC’s staff, which is about 43.28 percent, have less than two years of experience. Only 18 percent have worked for more than 10 years. This means a small group of senior officers handle most of the complex investigations.
Although ACC did not share the exact number of investigators, sources say it is too few to meet the growing demands. Officers from other divisions, such as prevention and legal, are often reassigned to help with investigations.
Despite the shortage of human resources, the commission has completed 197 investigation cases in the last five years.
“The average time to complete a case has improved to just over 51 working days, compared to 90 days in the past,” said an official.
To manage the workload, ACC reviewed old reports and merged some with ongoing cases. As a result, the number of pending corruption reports dropped to just 32 by the end of the 2024–25 fiscal year. These are cases pending for more than two years.
Every year, the ACC highlights its manpower shortage in its annual report. However, officials said they will no longer mention it in future reports.
“We are optimising our workforce through an ‘All for one, and one for all’ strategy,” said an official. “This promotes teamwork, flexibility, and shared responsibility.”
The ACC’s public education division, which creates awareness about corruption across all 205 gewogs, has already completed three rounds in 2013, 2018, and the ongoing round that began in 2024. “By the end of this financial year, all gewogs will be covered again,” said the official.
To improve staff retention, the ACC has submitted proposals to the Royal Civil Service Commission(RCSC), including recommendations for flexible promotion rules, better training opportunities, and targeted incentives.
“In the past, ACC staff were carefully hand-picked. Now, they are assigned by the RCSC,” said a senior official. “We need more autonomy in recruitment and promotions to build a stable and skilled team.”
Officials also expressed concern about whether young professionals see ACC as a noble and sustainable career. “We still attract talented people, but many leave after only a short time,” the official said.