Director General's Message in the context of International Anti-Corruption Day 2010

The International Anti Corruption Day is celebrated on the 9th  December each year and Mauritius, having signed and ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption has shown that as a nation, we strongly believe that corruption has to be kept in check. Indeed, corruption flourishes when it is seen as customary, when it goes unreported and when its consequences are misunderstood.

Since its inception, the ICAC together with other stakeholders have led a relentless campaign against corruption. At this stage we may fairly say that through the multi-pronged strategy of investigation, prevention and education, progress is palpable. We have achieved miles through our strategies in raising awareness against the harm done by corruption and make our anti-corruption agenda familiar to the civil society including the youth. During the past few years, we have had direct interaction with at least 200,000 people.  I wish to highlight that through our interactive sessions and feedback we have noted that many stakeholders have shown strong concerns about the imperativeness to fight corruption. And to mark this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day, we have also launched our first issue of ICAC’S Newsletter.

The process for a clean, corrupt free Maurice Ile Durable is well under way. When detected, cases of corruption are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.  While the flow of prosecutions started in 2008, the number of convictions until November 2010 has risen to 50. With some 225 cases awaiting trial and advice from the DPP’s office, we can safely say that the momentum for a graft free Mauritius has been set. We have noticed that the quality of complaints has improved with clearer details of issues involved.