CAI

Governance Action

Governance Action Directorate ​​

What we do

Publications

Every yea​r the Directorate prepares two governance action publications which inform the public of the concerns identified by institutions of oversight – the National Audit Office (NAO) and the Office of the Ombudsman. In preparing the publications, the Directorate, in collaboration with the Internal Audit and Investigations Department and the ministerial focal points, seeks to ensure that the Public Administration implements the recommendations made by the NAO in an effective manner. Futhermore, the Directorate examines and follows the outcome of the investigations conducted by the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Commissioners. With the assistance of the ministerial Liaison Officers, the Public Administration is urged to submit timely replies to the Ombudsman.

Compliance

To amplify the governance function, the Directorate analyses the actions reported as implemented in the published reports and selects a sample to verify that implementation is being carried out in an effective manner and, where applicable, to ensure adherence to policies/standard operating procedures in place. The Directorate also seeks to assist in addressing any difficulties with implementing effectively specific actions and ensuring compliance.

Integrity and ethical conduct

The Directorate manages the implementation of Directive 15, which introduced and made mandatory the Integrity and Ethics Awareness and Learning Programme (IEAL) for public employees whose duties are susceptible to high risk.

As from January 2024, the IEAL programme has been revamped, transforming it into a formation course, based on factual experiences shared in face-to-face discussions among participants during three sessions of formative meetings. ​

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Mission, Vision and Values

Our Mission

Our mission is to promote the principles of accountability and integrity in all actions taken by public employees, leading to the delivery of an excellent service to the public.

Our Vision

At the newly established Governance Action Directorate, we strive to enhance the level of accountability, transparency and good governance in the operations of the Public Service and the wider Public Administration. We also aim to further uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical behaviour in the Public Administration.

Our Values

Our commitment is to uphold the Public Service values and to promote awareness of these values on a regular basis to all public employees. We aim to be a point of reference to public employees on issues concerning governance and integrity.

The Compliance Unit

The Compliance Unit within the Governance Action Directorate was set up recently, consisting of two newly recruited Compliance Officers. These officers have been tasked with the responsibility to follow up on audits which had been identified by the NAO in their annual publication Report by the Auditor General – Public Accounts (20XX) and also reported upon in GA's annual publication Governance Action on the NAO's Report on Public Accounts (20XX) and other NAO Reports (20XX).

The Compliance Unit is required to verify that the committed action proposed by the ministry to address NAO's recommendations are being effectively executed and implemented. This is done by carrying out a desk-based investigation, followed by a physical meeting, requesting documentation, evidence and one-to-one meetings, which ultimately lead to a final report with findings and recommendations to be endorsed by Permanent Secretary (Coordination and Implementation) and sent to the respective Permanent Secretary.

The unit is also committed to follow up on Ombudsman cases where irregularities in the operations of the public administration were evident.​

The Integrity and Ethics Awareness and Learning Programme (IEAL)

The public administration constantly seeks to strengthen its governance and accountability structures, through technology, directives and policies and their implementation through the competence and ability of public employees. The Code of Ethics for Public Employees and Board Members appended as the First Schedule of the Public Administration Act, embodies the principles and obligations which must govern the behaviour of public employees. Another significant initiative in this direction was the launch of the Integrity and Ethics Awareness and Learning (IEAL) Programme.

The IEAL Programme is intended to enhance integrity standards in the day-to-day activities of government officials by offering them a development programme to increase their awareness and knowledge about the responsibility tied to their actions and decisions.  It also provides guidance and reflections on how to take the appropriate and ethically correct decisions when faced with awkward and dubious situations.

By virtue of Directive 15, which came into effect on 20 April 2021, the IEAL programme became mandatory for categories of employees whose role and responsibilities are susceptible to high risk, which include the following:

   1. Public employees in posts within the Public Administration that are listed in the Sixth Schedule of the Public Administration Act; and

   2. Prospective candidates for Senior Management Positions (Category A – Headship Positions Scales 1 – 5)

The employees on the Sixth Schedule of the PAA shall be obliged to repeat the assessment every two years.

As from January 2024, the IEAL programme has been revamped, transforming it into a formation course, based on factual experiences shared in face-to-face discussions among participants. This contrasts with the original version which was undertaken individually through a web-based system. The programme is currently being delivered to public officers in headship positions. Eventually, the programme will be extended to all public employees.

The IEAL programme comprises three formation sessions targeting: Concepts, Insights, and the Integrity Framework. It provides participants with important and critical highlights of proper conduct at the place of work based on appropriate codes of conduct. It provides guidance and reflections on how and why ethical dilemmas arise and what one should consider when deciding what is ethically best to do.

Following the third session, participants are required to sit for an assessment. This involves a 30-minute web-based multiple-choice assessment that candidates must pass.

Officers who fail the assessment will be requested to re-attend the third session of the Programme (Integrity Framework) and re-take the assessment.

The Governance Action Directorate manages the IEAL Programme in collaboration with the Institute for Public Service (IPS) within the People & Standards Division (P&SD). Periodically the Governance Action Directorate identifies participants and communicates the list to the IPS. As the administrator of the training system, IPS subsequently asks identified participants to register for the Programme.

The Directorate also attends to queries from participants, monitors attendance for the programme and outcome of the assessments, draws up statistics and reports to the respective Permanent Secretaries regarding the list of participants falling under their responsibility who were successful or failed the assessment. The respective Permanent Secretary is also informed about officers who fail to carry out the Programme without providing a sound justification. Permanent Secretaries are empowered by Directive 15 to resort to disciplinary proceedings against those officers who fail to abide by the directive.