Integrity Officers to Decrease Bribery and Corruption (LK0024)

Improve public engagement for prevention of bribery and corruption through the presence of Integrity Officers within public authorities
1st March 2019– 31st August 2021
Lead implementing agency/ actor Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC)
Commitment description
What is the public problem that the commitment will address? There is a lack of faith in the integrity of the public sector due to corruption. Citizens have grievances stemming from corruption such as extortion and bribe requests, but are unable to follow up on the complaints filed. Lack of awareness on the procedures, costs, time involved in obtaining a public service has led to manipulation of service recipients by some public officials leading to bribe taking. Citizens do not know whom to turn to when facing bribery and corruption at the point of service delivery. This this undermines their confidence in public institutions. Although various laws and regulations are introduced to curb bribery and corruption, they focus mainly on enforcing the law or penalizing offenders consequent to the occurrence of an incident of bribery and corruption. CIABOC has observed that implementation of laws and regulations alone has no effect in creating a culture free of bribery and corruption.
What is the commitment?
Many countries which have successfully curbed corruption in their societies have focused on raising integrity in the public service as an effective tool to prevent bribery and corruption. The purpose of this commitment is to limit opportunities for bribe taking and corruption by educating citizens on the means and modes of public service delivery with the assistance of Integrity Officers appointed in public institutions. When citizens have greater awareness on the type of public service that can be obtained from institutions, the procedure, time and cost involved, it will curtail opportunities for public officials to mislead them and thus engage in bribe-taking or corruption. In the process, public sector employees too will be made aware on how to prevent bribery or corruption in their institutions.
How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? This commitment will provide for the appointment of Integrity Officers in public institutions to create wide awareness on public service delivery and facilitate citizens to obtain their services. The Integrity Officers will be responsible for creating Citizen Charters. Where necessary, the Integrity Officer, under the guidance of the Head of the Department, will appoint a facilitating officer to provide guidance to the citizens, facilitate communication with the relevant service providing officer, and ensure that an efficient service is being provided. Further, the Integrity Officer will be responsible to simplify and clarify circulars that lack clarity and take action to raise awareness among citizens and staff employees concerning such circulars. They will also take action to implement and comply with a code of ethics, Conflict of Interest rules, Gift rules and provision of assets declarations.
Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? This commitment promotes transparency and public participation as it guides and facilitates citizens on the services that could be obtained from the public Institution. It also enhances public accountability since this whole process of having Integrity Officers improves the clarity of the actions of public institutions.
Additional information The Commitment supports the objectives of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption; the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal No. 16 which calls for reducing corruption and bribery; and the current initiatives by the CIABOC, including the implementation of an envisaged national action plan to combat corruption which is under preparation.
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Start Date: End Date:
1. Cabinet approval is obtained to appoint Integrity Officers in all public institutions and circular instructions are issued accordingly. March 2019 July 2019
2. Role and responsibilities of Integrity Officers are disseminated by electronic, print and digital media and a public awareness campaign. Integrity Officer contact details and functions are displayed at the entrance of all public institutions (trilingual and Braille) and websites. July 2019 December 2019
3. Citizen Charters providing information on the type of services provided, costs for such services, delivery time etc are displayed in every service providing institution. July 2019 December 2019
4. Examine procedures and circulars in operation in the institution, and where such procedures and circulars lack clarity or are complex, take necessary steps to make them simple and clear. January 2020 July 2020
5. Where required, under the guidance of the Head of the Institution, appoint a ‘Facilitating Officer’ to guide and facilitate the public. January 2020 July 2020

1. Integrity Officers at Public Authorities

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to Open Government: Yes

Potential Impact: Minor

Completion: Not Started

Integrity officers were not appointed during the implementation period. Under the previous action plan, the National Action Plan for Combatting Bribery and Corruption in Sri Lanka 2019–2023 was launched, requiring all public institutions to appoint an integrity officer. Their intended responsibilities were integrated into this commitment, including monitoring and reporting on bribery and corruption in their institution, ensuring employees’ compliance with integrity related rules, and creating and managing a citizen’s charter on the institution’s services. Their responsibilities were also to include examining procedures and circulars in operation within the institution and where necessary, clarifying such documents. Additionally, they were to be responsible for appointing a facilitating officer as necessary, who could provide guidance to the public on obtaining services from the institution. ^[35] The previous government’s Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption received permissions for appointment of integrity officers. However, under the current government, implementation halted. [36]