Samoa has finally acceded to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. This was made official when the Prime Minister of Samoa signed the Instrument of Accession in April this year.

This milestone culminates years of consultations and workshops amongst Government agencies, non-government organizations, media and the private sector. Most of these sessions had been made possible with the assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Development Program, through the Fiji-based United Nations – Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project.

The first workshop was conducted in June 2016 for senior government officials followed by a validation workshop in November of the same year. Further to the above, the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), UNDP and UNODC came together to conduct an integrity workshop for Samoa’s Parliamentarians at Taumeasina Resort. The Public Service Commission was invited to present the outcomes of the Validation Workshop, the first one calling for Samoa to accede to the UN Convention Against Corruption.

The recommendations were generally supported by the Parliamentarians. A positive outcome of all these workshops and consultations saw the Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi endorsing the first recommendation for Samoa to begin its accession process to UNCAC. The Public Service Commission took the lead and was responsible for the follow-up work, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Office of the Attorney General which has now been realized with Samoa acceding to the Convention.

Acceding to the Convention has provided further support towards the realization of Goal 3 of the Public Administration Sector Plan 2013/14-2017/18, which looks at strengthening the integrity and a culture of service across the public sector.

The long term vision for this Sector is to attain a professional and competent public administration that would provide quality and coordinated services for all Samoans in a cost effective and transparent manner.