Democracy and Political Governance Chapter 3 Chapter 3 259. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and ICAC were established after FIAMLA and POCA were enacted. 260. ICAC has developed a strategy to build integrity in Mauritius and Rodrigues. Its objectives are to: 264. • • • • • Despite the blatant lack of transparency about the finances of political parties and the numerous allegations made against politicians, the CSAR notes that the only case that has been prosecuted is that of Ringadoo v Jugnauth. However, the case is more about electoral bribery than the financing of political parties. ii. Findings of the CRM 261. ICAC is currently implementing a three-year action plan for 2006 to 2009. This outlines the strategies to achieve the country’s objectives of preventing corruption that are consistent with regional and international requirements and focus on building integrity in the nation as well as on improving the credibility of institutions. The commission aims to reinforce a culture of integrity and to build greater trust in public institutions through prevention and education programmes. 265. 262. The National Assembly adopted the Public Procurement Act in 2006. It repealed and replaced the Central Tender Board Act of 2000. The act established the Central Procurement Board (CPB) to foster new and transparent public procurement procedures and to supervise, or monitor, all forms of procurement by public bodies. The CPB is responsible for developing policies and issuing directives for the operation of a transparent and efficient public procurement system. The Public Procurement Act enables an actual or potential bidder to challenge the procurement proceedings of a public body, at any stage, and to ask the chief executive officer (CEO) of the public body to consider complaints and, where appropriate, take remedial action. The CRM noted that Mauritius has progressively tried since the 1990s to strengthen the fight against corruption by passing legislation. Adopting POCA in 2002 was a milestone in the fight against corruption in the country. POCA applies to all civil servants and people who have public authority (MPs, ministers and the members of various constitutional bodies). ICAC, created after the enactment of POCA, is responsible for investigating acts that violate the law. This commission is also responsible for preventing corruption by educating the public and civil servants about the provisions of the law. It also assesses the administrative procedures implemented in the public sector to make them more transparent and effective in the fight against corruption. Finally, it helps to carry out research on corruption. Besides its anticorruption activities, ICAC is responsible for drafting reports that FIAMLA requires on money laundering activities and the financing of terrorist activities linked to corruption. It works with FIU to do so. The role of FIU is to gather, analyse and submit, to the investigative authorities, the financial information relevant to suspected cases of money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. 266. POCA and ICAC are undeniably important legal and institutional tools in the fight against corruption. However, the CRM noted some loopholes that may threaten their complete effectiveness. Create a corruption-free Mauritius. Create public awareness and intolerance of corruption. Improve governance in the public and private sectors. Develop responsible citizens and an ethical workforce. Make corruption a high-risk and low-gain activity. to declare the amounts in their books, political parties do not keep detailed financial statements and only very few members know about their party’s financial status. Funding political parties 263. 128 Democracy and Political Governance Despite the numerous efforts Mauritius has made to counter corruption in the public and private sectors, the CSAR emphasises that a regulatory framework for funding political parties is necessary. The Sachs Commission, the select committee, which reviewed the Sachs Report, the code of ethics of the Joint Economic Council (JEC) and a number of trade unions all seek to promote the transparency and accountability of political parties. Consequently, they all emphasise that it is necessary to regulate the financing of political parties. While the JEC’s code of ethics invites all companies that make donations to political parties Limitations of POCA 267. One important loophole is the lack of clarity in the definition of corruption in Mauritian law. POCA19 attempts to define an act of corruption and corruption offences. However, it may be useful to use the more comprehensive definition of corruption contained in UNCAC20. 19 - POCA, 2002 (with amendments and updated as at 8 May 2006). 20 - UNCAC became effective on 15 September 2005. 129