TRANSPARENCY International Papua New Guinea (TIPNG) and the Interim Independent Commission Against Corruption (IICAC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday, which formalizes a partnership to develop an agency-level anti-corruption strategy for the IICAC.
The initiative is part of TIPNG’s Promoting Anti-Corruption and Integrity Strategies (PAIS) Project, which is funded by the European Union, to restore and reinforce public trust in national integrity institutions.
“Papua New Guinea’s National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2010-2030 calls on state agencies to develop internal anti-corruption strategies. This new partnership signifies the proactive steps being taken by the IICAC Office to respond to the TIPNG’s call to enable greater integrity in the operation of their mandate.
“TIPNG welcomes this opportunity to partner with the IICAC Office through an MoU for the development of an internal anti-corruption strategy that will support their mandate to administer and facilitate the establishment of the ICAC proper,” said Chief Executive Officer of TIPNG, Arianne Kassman in a media statement.
The IICAC Office was re-established by the NEC Decision No. 187/2018 for the purpose of administering and facilitating the establishment of the “ICAC Proper.” Through the development of its regulations and other robust internal systems and processes that will empower the ICAC in combating corruption via investigation, education, prevention and international cooperation.
TIPNG through the PAIS Project will be working with state agencies to develop internal anti-corruption strategies in 2021, which will be shared with citizens and journalists, to enable greater engagement with the public sector in taking action against corruption.
This work has been informed by TIPNG’s 2021 National Integrity System Assessment (NISA) Report, which found that all 14 National Integrity pillars in PNG were less than adequate.
Furthermore, the NISA identified a clear integrity gap between the existing laws and practice by agencies. The internal anti-corruption strategies developed by TIPNG in partnership with selected agencies will go towards bridging this integrity gap.
