Mauritius: A one-day workshop focusing on the theme ‘Enhancing Integrity and Effectiveness in the Inspection Function’, organised by the Independent Commission Against Corruption Mauritius (ICAC) for officers of different public bodies who are assigned inspection functions, kickstarted this morning at the ICAC Headquarters in Réduit Triangle, Moka.
The workshop will cover topics related to weaknesses and integrity risks in inspection functions and will reflect on integrity measures and challenges in the inspection function.
In his address during the opening ceremony, the Secretary for Public Service of the Ministry of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms, Koosiram Conhye, dwelt on the relevance of the workshop’s key topics to the daily inspection duties of the public officers. He described corruption at their level as any form of abuse and misuse of public funds and encouraged them to adhere to the principles of integrity and effectiveness.
Furthermore, Conhye called upon the public officers to refrain from any acts of corruption as they exercise their enforcement powers and to instead work to add value and improve the system.
The Secretary of Public Service recalled that as public officers, they are the custodians of the values of the Government, adding that any act of corruption will tarnish the image of the Government, erode the values of public service, and bring disrepute to it.
As for the Supervising Officer of the Corruption, Education and Prevention division of the ICAC Mauritius, Mrs Nandita Suneechur-Nunkoo, she underpinned the key role of inspection in the public service delivery, in ensuring a secure environment for citizens by promoting compliance with rules, laws, regulations, policies and procedures.
She highlighted that the nature of inspection function comprising site visits, frequent interactions with stakeholders and discretionary powers, creates a potential breeding ground for corruption and malpractices.
The ICAC Mauritius, she stated, beyond its role of law enforcement, puts significant emphasis on corruption prevention and aims to enhance systems, processes, and procedures within public sector organisations.
Besides, Nandita Suneechur-Nunkoo stressed that ICAC’s education mandate focuses on sensitising and empowering public officials to foster change in mindset, behaviour and attitude to reject and report corruption.
She added that enhancing the inspection function to mitigate corruption risks is imperative since corruption erodes our resources, damages our institutions and decreases public trust.