A series of training sessions on combating corruption jointly initiated by the State Inspection Authority (SIA) and ILSTA concluded today with a final workshop in Vientiane for inspection officials from five central provinces.
In total, three workshops on prevention, anti-corruption and international best practices have been organised respectively in Luang Prabang for northern provinces, in Champasak for southern provinces and in Vientiane for central provinces and line ministries. In total, more than 150 inspection officials received the training thanks to financial support from Luxembourg and Canada.
The joint initiative is to ensure that inspection officials throughout the country gain deeper insight into the prevention of corruption and ways to combat dishonesty within government departments and have a better understanding of the legal framework, best practices and international experiences in tackling corruption.
Speaking at the opening of the last workshop in Vientiane this week, Mr Vilayvanh Bouddakham, Vice President of State Inspection Authority said, “Corruption continues to cause significant damage to the rights and legal interests of citizens, organizations and the state, facing such a challenge the Party and government see the importance of prevention and countering corruption and have come up with appropriate measures outlined in the 10th Party Congress’s Resolution as well as other legislation aimed at tackling corruption at all levels and in every state agency. Once inspection officials have received sufficient knowledge and have a better understanding of their work, I am convinced that they will be able to effectively exercise their duties in stricter law enforcement in order to punish offenders.”
During the three-day training, participants learned about existing legislation on prevention and anti-corruption work at domestic, regional and international levels. Ways to implement the strategic plan on the prevention of corruption up until 2020 were also discussed and international experiences on ways to combat corruption were shared by the ILSTA expert. The training included both theoretical and practical elements to help participants put the plan into action.
ILSTA expert Mr Erik Haggqvist, who was also one of many speakers at the workshops said, “Research has demonstrated that countries with a high level of corruption not only deter legitimate foreign investment but attract organised crime seeking soft targets and an easy means of laundering their dirty money. Therefore, it is essential in our globalized world to increase efforts to stamp out corruption at all levels.”
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Mr Claude Jentgen, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Laos said, “I am very pleased to be here at the opening of the final workshop and witness this solid commitment by the government of Laos in fighting corruption in the country. As you are aware, this training series is a successful result of the Luxembourg-Lao PDR Cooperation on countering corruption. I assure you that we stand ready to provide further support to the State Inspection Authority in its efforts in addressing this deep-rooted problem in Lao society.”
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