Signature of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ICAC and the Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms

On 25 August 2021, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) formalised its longstanding collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The aim of the MoU was to strengthen the partnership between the two institutions and harness other avenues of cooperation aiming at reinforcing public sector integrity.

In his speech at the signature ceremony, Mr B. Boyramboli, the Secretary for Public Service outlined the joint initiatives taken to promote a zero-tolerance culture in the public service. In his speech, he highlighted that “(Because of the) negative consequences of the COVID-19, it has become imperative for us to come up with novel initiatives to develop and implement effective anticorruption strategies, empower individuals to promote greater government accountability and transparency, and strengthen institutional capacity to improve citizen-oriented service delivery”.

He further stated that the fight against corruption requires not only tools, mechanisms and structures but also bold commitments that can curb the tide of corruption and can instil high integrity conduct in the public service. “In this context, the setting of Anti-Corruption Committees at the level of ministries with the collaboration of ICAC is an effective tool for the detection of corruption practices, assessment of corruption risks and management of these risks to prevent corruption in the public service”, he added.

For his part, Mr L. Boodhoo, Supervising Officer of the Corruption Prevention and Education Division highlighted the bold anti-corruption initiatives taken in the public sector, namely the implementation of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Framework, the conduct of Corruption Prevention Reviews, training on corruption risk management as well as the empowerment of public officers.

The signing ceremony was followed by a workshop on discretionary powers targeting some 45 heads of Anti-Corruption Committees from Ministries and Government Departments. The workshop was essentially based on the Guidelines on the Exercise of Discretionary Powers which was launched by the ICAC in December 2020. The guidelines advocate the prudent exercise and management of discretionary powers within the public sector that rests upon the principles of fairness, transparency, accountability and integrity. The guidelines can be downloaded from here.