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:
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.
