Honiara, Solomon Islands: The Solomon Islands Independent Commission Against Corruption (SIICAC) signed new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with integrity institutions to pave the way for coordination and collaboration on corruption prevention (Part 3 of the Anti-Corruption Act) and investigating and prosecuting corruptions – Part 4 of the Act.

Global experiences elsewhere have revealed that coordinating anti-corruption efforts is one of the most challenging of anti-corruption work, with various integrity agencies established, with a diversity of mandates, and competing agendas that contribute to the general absence of systemic clarity.

The Inter-institutional anti-corruption coordination made possible with the signing of the MOUs is in line with the overall country’s international and regional anti-corruption commitments, including the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the 2030 SDGs Agenda and specifically SDG 16 which recognizes peace, justice and strong institutions includes key elements to reducing bribery and corruption; and the Teieniwa Vision-Pacific Unity against Corruption.

Through Section 10 of the Anti-Corruption Act, SIICAC is required to cooperate with the Office of the Auditor General, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Leadership Code Commission, the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution. Under Section 91, it also states that cooperation with these institutions entails sharing information for the purpose of investigation and prosecutions of corruption offences.

Facilitated by UNDP as part of Japan and Solomon Islands-funded Transparency and Accountability Project and UK-funded Pacific Anti-Corruption Project, the MOUs provide the frameworks to guide the relationship between the parties through exchanging of information, joint investigations, staff trainings and capacity building activities, resources sharing of expertise with another agency, and generally, participation in inter-agency fora on a frequent and ongoing basis.

Opening the signing ceremony, Chairperson of SIICAC, Sir Frank Ofagioro Kabui, expressed his gratitude to the signatories, partner agencies, development partners and donors and highlighted “the MoUs' role in fulfilling the requirements of section 10 of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2018 that requires SIICAC to liaise and cooperate with the eight integrity institutions, five of which are being represented here today.”

On behalf of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Madame Rachel Olutimayin added that “The signing symbolizes a collective determination to safeguard the rights of every person by empowering various institutions to investigate, uncover and prosecute those who engage in corruption through inter-agency cooperation.”