Dili – Monday, December 9, 2013. Commissioner of Anti-Corruption Commission (CAC), Aderito de Jesus officially launched Public Service Integrity Survey in the celebration of International Anti-Corruption Day, that co organized with President of Public Service Commission, Eng. Liborio Pereira, MIM at Dili Convention Center (CCD).
The ceremony was attended by Vice Prime Minister, Dr. Fernando “Lasama” de Araujo, member of government, Former President of National Parliament, Dr. Fracisco “Lu Olo” Guterres with Member of Parliament. More than 1000 public servants from General Directors to Chief of Departments, District Administrators, NGOs, development partners and diplomatic corps participated in the event.
The survey findings show that majority of public servants are pleased with the institution they work for, however they also highlighted some improvements need to be done to monitor transgressions, strengthen prevention, improve tendering processes, raise awareness about standards of conduct, and alleviate tough working conditions.
Undertaken by the Anti-Corruption Commission (CAC), the Integrity Survey of Public Servants in Timor-Leste, is the most comprehensive survey carried out in Timor-Leste on the attitudes of public servants.
Nearly 1,400 public servants across 29 different public institutions, in all 13 districts of Timor-Leste, were interviewed by CAC during August and September this year. This represents more than four per cent of Timor-Leste’s 31,000 strong public service.
The purpose of the survey was to discover what parts of the public service were operating efficiently, and what improvements could be made in order to better serve citizens.
The findings are informative and will assist government institutions in the future.
Tackling institutional change is no easy task, and although public servants are engaged and committed, they also highlighted a number of concerns.
For example, a third of respondents said they had witnessed corruption, collusion an
d nepotism in the workplace during the last year. Nearly 70 per cent believe they saw public servants place their own private interest over the public service and the community.
But equally, many public servants identified room for improvement in the overall performance of the public sector. Additionally nearly every public servant interviewed wanted a stronger focus on doing the right thing at work, and expressed interest in further training.
This is a great recognition by the public service and shows the priority its places on improving the services it delivers.
CAC will use these findings in its prevention and education programs. “We will take the survey as a baseline of broad public service expectations and its understanding of appropriate processes to tailor our workshops.” said Deputy Commissioner José António de Jesus das Neves who supervised the survey. “We will assist the service to build up the correct culture when hiring of employees and tendering for government contracts” he added.
In addition, CAC will also continue to help public officials confidentially report cases of corruption.
CAC extends its gratitude to FOTI Timor-Leste, the MCC/USAID Anti-Corruption Program, for its generous assistance in developing the survey and providing financial support. (*)
