The RAA revoked his audit clearance for upcoming LG elections

Choki Wangmo | Tsirang

After the Royal Audit Authority (RAA) revoked his audit clearance for the local government election for alleged misuse of authority, former Patshaling gup Chabi Kumar Rai is now awaiting a decision from the authorities concerned.

According to the letter issued by the RAA on November 19, there is a complaint against the former gup with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for allegedly misusing his authority while serving as a gup.

“The RAA’s advisory committee decided to revoke his audit clearance and forward the case to the ACC for their final decision,” it states.

After appealing to the ACC on November 22, Chabi Kumar Rai said that he was asked to submit a statement saying that he had served Tsawa-Sum with utmost dedication.

He said that the ACC has directed him to support his claims with evidence from the dzongkhag administration, stating that the limited gewog budget was used for developmental purposes in the gewog.

“I am planning to approach the Tsirang dzongkhag administration soon to seek help in proving my points through official records and evidence,” he said.

However, he said that if the RAA had revoked his audit clearance earlier he would have had some time to resolve the issues without having to run from pillar to post when the nomination deadline arrives. “I got the initial clearance from all the relevant offices and submitted my nomination to the election office on November 18. Rejecting the clearance at the eleventh hour was shocking.”

The deadline to submit the nomination papers was on November 22.

Sources Kuensel talked to allege that the gup’s misuse of authority includes misusing cement meant for gewog development, misuse of a gewog Bolero pickup truck, partiality in chiwog development, and making claims about himself being the best gup in the dzongkhag, among others.

The audit clearance to the accused will be issued once the ACC completes its investigation. However, he said that there is no hope that he can participate in the current local government elections.

With Chabi Kumar Rai’s nomination revoked, the gewog has one gup candidate.