President of Parliament Drs. Gracita Arrindell message on International Anti-Corruption Day, observed globally on Thursday, December 9, was an appeal to the community to help stop corruption in public and private sectors and wherever else it may be happening.
Corruption plagues effective governance, discourages investment, obstructs progress and hampers credible national development.
Corruption also fuels poor service delivery, severely harming individuals, communities and society as a whole.
The United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), recognizing the need to make public administration accountable and effective, have agreed to collaborate to establish and manage a new category of the UN Public Service Awards, one of the most prestigious recognitions of excellence in public service worldwide.
The new category, entitled "Preventing and combating corruption in the public service," will empower the two partners to collect, disseminate and, where possible, replicate noteworthy programmes and practices of Governments to foster integrity in public service.
The partnership of UNODC and UNDESA aligns their respective missions in the areas of integrity, accountability and transparency. It will encourage higher standards of public conduct and promote greater awareness of the importance of tackling corruption in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
"I commend the two aforementioned UN organizations for taking the initiative in adding a new category to the prestigious UN Public Service Awards. Every one of us has a role to play in society. We have a responsibility to make things better not only for ourselves, but also for the common good.
"We form part of a nation, a community. If part of that community is sick, it also impacts us in various ways, and therefore, we each have a role and responsibility and in this case, stamping out corruption where ever it may lay. The Ombudsman is a body that can and will play an integral role where the delivery of services to the community by public bodies is concerned.
"Our missions as a nation must be to prevent corruption in all spheres within society, let us all recommit ourselves to that," President of Parliament Gracita Arrindell said on Thursday.