Board Members and Senior staff of Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has signed the National Integrity Pledge at a function held in Anti-Corruption Commission on 29th November 2016. Commissioner General of Taxation Mr. Yazeed Mohamed and MIRA’s board members initiated the signing during the function.
Speaking at the function Commissioner General of Taxation Mr. Yazeed Mohamed assured that MIRA continues to work with corruption preventive measures. He also highlighted that the main factors leading to corruption are weak internal controls within institutions and the difficulties faced by the public while obtaining services from state institutions. He said MIRA has established a robust internal process that delegates decision making power within the institution and that a clear procedure in making the decisions has been implemented. He also noted that the MIRA’s employees submits financial statements and action will be taken if any irregularities are found in any of the statements. Mr. Yazeed Mohamed also assured that MIRA has established procedures that will enable the public to receive services without difficulty.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)’s Chairman Mr. Hassan Luthfee delivered remarks on behalf of ACC at the function. He thanked the Commissioner General of Taxation and the senior staff of MIRA for taking the initiative to sign the National Integrity Pledge. He also noted that signing the Pledge is one of many activities in the National Integrity Plan and a number of activities are currently being planned for the long term to enhance integrity in state institutions. Chairman Mr. Hassan Luthfee highlighted that ACC gives a high priority to transparency and that the Commissioners and Investigators submit financial statements, a practice started many years ago. He also noted that the financial statements of Commissioners are published in ACC’s website.
Chairman Mr. Hassan Luthfee said that he receives criticism from public but he acknowledged that the criticism is aimed at his position as Chairman of ACC. He assured that, whatever the criticism may be, he will remain steadfast in improving ACC’s efforts to eradicate corruption in Maldives. He also added that if anyone proves that he has been involved in corruption, he will not only return the money related to the corruption case but will also resign from his position.
At the function a total of 23 officials from MIRA signed the pledge which includes board members and officials in senior positions. MIRA will also make additional arrangements for the remaining staff to sign the National Integrity Pledge. The opportunity to sign the National Integrity Pledge is open to any interested parties.