A three-day workshop for investigators and prosecutors on anti-corruption, ended yesterday at the Mendana Hotel conference room.
The workshop was facilitated by the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with assistance of UNDP Office in Fiji.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in his opening address on Monday re-iterated the call by the Government to be firm and efficient in the fight against corruption.
“We have heard and at times felt the cry of the people of Solomon Islands over what they usually term as ‘corrupt dealings’ by public officials and leaders.
“The Government has been vocal about the position it takes in this fight.
“We are the people that turn the engine and we should now be more proactive than ever in this fight.”
He told participants to make use of the training in acquiring further skills and networking even more, in order to do their job better and more efficiently.
“We want to do our job better. We want to raise our standard of performance and we want to be effective in carrying out our responsibilities.”
About 20 personnel from the Financial Intelligence Unit, Central Bank Audit Branch, Ombudsman, Law Reform Commission, Leadership Code Commission, Anti-Corruption Unit of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions attended the workshop.
Jason Reichelt, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, UNODC was the presenter of the training with support from Luisa Senibulu of UNDP Office, Suva, Fiji.
Participants appreciated the proactive and beneficial discussions over the three days of training.
Mr Reichelt in response to the DPP’s opening remarks pointed out that Solomon Islands should be proud of having a lot of positives coming out of the Mutual Evaluation done in country previously.
He said at least the Anti-Corruption Bill has been at the stage of Presentation to Parliament.
“This is remarkable, given the short time Solomon Islands has had since the evaluation/review.”
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
