By DALCY LULUA
THE Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) co-hosted an event with the Law Society of Papua New Guinea on July 4 to celebrate its first year of operation as an established organization in the country.
The theme of the event: “ICAC-The First Year, where to from now?” – was supported by the United Nations Development Programme through the European Union funded project,
Preventing and Countering Corruption in PNG.
During the opening speech, President of the PNG Law Society, Hubert Namani, highlighted the importance of strong collaboration of lawyers and legal professionals with the ICAC in combating corruption.
“Understanding roles and structure of ICAC is crucial, whether we are handling complaints or defending clients,” Mr Namani said.
“Knowing how the ICAC operates is key to ensuring we do our part in upholding justice and integrity,” he said.
European Union Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Jacques Fradin, co-opened the event and congratulated the ICAC on its one-year anniversary.
He encouraged the ICAC to forge strong partnerships with anti-corruption agencies and maintain existing partnership to continue the fight against corruption.
Fradin also emphasized that the ICAC should be granted the necessary independence to conduct its roles and functions fully.
“The establishment of the ICAC in 2018, is in line with Article 6 of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), requiring the State to establish the body responsible in the
prevention of corruption and the implementation of the prevention policies,” he said.
ICAC Commissioner Andrew Forbes informed those in attendance of the main roles and functions of the ICAC, the investigation processes, ICAC’s engagement and prevention activities and the intersection of ICAC’s roles and functions with other regulatory agencies.
The Commissioner also highlighted that dealing with corruption is a “multifaceted exercise that needs many agencies coming together.”
The seminar included panellists from the ICAC, Deputy Commissioner Prevention & Corporate, Graham Gill, Supreme and National Court Judge Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika, Public Solicitor, Leslie Mamu, and Commissioner General for the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC), Sam Koim.
The event also created an opportunity to discuss on PNG’s experience in dealing with and prosecuting corruption matters and discussions around new regulations and other possible legislative reforms.
Supporting the work of the ICAC, Commissioner General of IRC, Sam Koim, applauded the ICAC for hosting the seminar and involving the legal professionals.
He shared the same view as the ICAC’s Commissioner on effective collaboration in combating corruption.
He highlighted that corruption can only be addressed by integrity agencies cooperating and coordinating their efforts.
“The lawyers are the gate keepers to corruption and can be the gateway to corruption,” Koim said.
He said the move by ICAC to host such an event in collaboration with the PNG Law Society was a strategic move in combating corruption by educating lawyers.
Chief Justice of PNG, Sir Gibbs Salika, also stated that corruption prevention is a difficult task in PNG and needed strong collaboration.
“There have been winnable cases that have been lost because the witnesses have been paid off,” Sir Gibbs said.
Public Prosecutor, Leslie Mamu, called on the lawyers to join the fight against corruption stating that: “Corruption will remain with us. The challenge is how we deal with it.”
