With corruption in public life proving a prime national concern and point of public debate, I believe the measures announced by the government for a new legislation on certain of our key institutions for a proper accountability under the Mauritius Revenue Authority is right.

I think there is nothing wrong with the legislation, which is aimed at widening the administrative and financial independence of the Auditor General - an institution charged with enhancing accountability and transparency in public sector financial transactions.

The new legislation under the Mauritius Revenue Authority would be a deterrent to the corruption, which has infested as well as affected certain key institutions including those of finances in this country. In certain of those institutions, there is a general lack of control by top management over their subordinates who seem to do whatever they want. There are cases where some “brebis galeuses” in these institutions do what they want contrary to the rules, discipline and regulations of their departments. Such a “laissez-faire” attitude of supervisory officers in these institutions has deteriorated from bad to worse and corruption has become the name of the game.

Over the years, numerous public sector institutions have come under the increasing scrutiny of even our principal donor financial agencies on account of their decreasing financial viability and ineffectiveness as service providers.

The panacea usually proposed for these ailing bodies is privatization and the reduction of the State’s financial stake in them—processes, which have come to be known popularly as “selling the family silver”.

Service to the public

Under these arrangements, important public assets have come to be owned and managed by the private sector.

Putting these national assets “under the hammer”, however, should be a last resort and resorted to in the absence of other alternatives. The better option would be to explore the possibility of improving their financial viability and strength by enhancing the accountability of the officials guiding their destinies.

It would be in the public interest to remain as committed as we can to the fundamentals on which these institutions are expected to function: service to the public. On the other hand, private sector managements are actuated by profit motives and not public service.

Accordingly, many honest citizens in this country welcome the State’s plans to improve the financial viability and accountability of our public sector organizations. It is a good move to appoint sectoral committees of Parliament for the overseeing of these organizations and for enhancing their accountability to the legislature and, indirectly, to the citizens.

Two such legislative bodies, which have been dormant for quite some time, are the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Enterprises. The opposition members of Parliament should participate greatly in the functions of such committees for the sake of transparency and effectiveness. Both government and the opposition should work together so that public interest is served greatly in the process.

Opaque screen of secrecy

Parliament and the Audit Department could be considered as a formidable duo in this task of protecting the national interest. There have been occasions in the past where audited accounts and performance reports of some government institutions have not been submitted for parliamentary scrutiny for years.

This is a serious dereliction of duty. What is inferred is that these public bodies have operated behind an opaque screen of secrecy for the period of time in question. Small wonder that massive financial irregularities have been found to be rife in some of these organizations.

Would the new regulations under the Mauritius Revenue Authority stop or reduce corruption over night? Let us hope that this new regulation will be implemented effectively to stem the current of financial irregularities.

The objective of the Mauritius Revenue Authority is to bring under strict control by one department thus dissipating negative public opinion, and also destroying loopholes in the system, that lead to the practice of corruption.