Whistleblower portal launched for ‘zero tolerance’ anti-corruption campaign

A whistleblower web portal has been opened as part of a “zero tolerance” anti-corruption campaign launched Tuesday morning by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Created using software by Global Leaks, complaints and documents can be submitted anonymously through the portal, according to the president’s office.

Whistleblowers can also use the portal to communicate anonymously with an anti-corruption committee.

“Eradicating corruption from state institutions and ensuring that they become places with integrity trusted by the public is one of the most important pledges of the government,” President Solih said at launching ceremony, urging the public and government employees to report suspected graft and abuses of authority.

Reiterating the “zero tolerance” policy of his administration, Solih stressed the importance of transparency and procedural fairness.

The portal launching ceremony was followed by a workshop on anti-corruption and good governance conducted for the cabinet and political appointees.

Last month, the president and his cabinet’s personal finances were disclosed as pledged in the new government’s 100-day action plan. However, despite the unprecedented disclosure, the assets and income of spouses have yet to be made public as pledged.

A whistleblower protection bill was meanwhile submitted to parliament in December as part of the action plan.

In 2016, a former Bank of Maldives official was handed an eight-month jail sentence for leaking documents that revealed how millions of dollars stolen from public coffers was funnelled by a private company.

In a bid to end corruption within the state, we have launched a new web portal https://t.co/O9ygBs0Hf6 where citizens could report issues of corruption anonymously. I am hopeful that this portal would prove an important and useful step in our ongoing fight against corruption.

— Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (@ibusolih) February 12, 2019