President of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Mariyam Shiuna states the institution can only work optimally after major systemic changes are implemented. She made the remarks while speaking at the ceremony to inaugurate the first National Anti-Corruption Policy in the Maldives.
At the ceremony, ACC President Shiuna said the commission's most important mandate is to investigate corruption cases. Shiuna said it is also important for the commission to establish policies to prevent corruption-related crimes to take place, and noted countries with low amounts of corruption have established such policies. She also praised the government for making changes at the policy level to stop corruption but said there is still numerous work to be done.
Furthermore, Shiuna said laundering state funds was common in the previous years, and recovering the stolen funds is a difficult task. She said work needs to be done to not only establish policies and regulations to prevent corruption but also build the capacity to implement those policies and regulations. She also said that the relevant authorities need to work together to acquire the necessary resources and to increase public awareness of corruption. She added that any other person who becomes the head of the ACC will also need to have the necessary resources and the systemic changes in place to obtain adequate results.