THE Parliamentary Opposition Group has urged the Prime Minister to inform this nation of the current status of the proposed Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
In a statement yesterday, the Parliamentary Opposition says this might just be another propaganda by the current Government as the Prime Minister has failed to live up to his promise.
The statement says Prime Minister Sogavare in March this year has assured the nation that the anti-corruption bill will be tabled in Parliament this year where he hopes a National Antic-corruption Steering Committee will be set up to begin the process of nation-wide consultations.
The Parliamentary Opposition says the Prime Minister’s assurance is “doubtful”.
“So what is the status of the bill now? Has the committees been setup yet? This does not reflect well of the Prime Minister and DCC that promised to tackle corruption head on. This might just be propaganda,” it said.
The statement said the Prime Minister’s assurance is also contradictory to what the Deputy Secretary to Prime Minister (DSPM) stated during the recent Anti-Corruption workshop in St Petersburg, Russia that the bill will be tabled next year and not this year as promised.
“For many years, undetected and unchecked corruption in the public sector has caused serious damage to this country.
“As a result, corruption has caused inefficiencies in operations, it has undermined public trust in government, and it has exhausted public resources and money as well as causing injustice through advantaging some at the expense of others.
“So is this Government serious about tackling corruption head-on? They must put words into actions and not just empty promises,” it said.
