By Neo Kolane
An official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the four partnering institutions; Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) and Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) was witnessed today, June 23.
The four partnering entities have agreed to provide each other the fullest mutual assistance within the framework of the MOU.
Mindful of their duty to heighten their efficiency and effectiveness in the administration and enforcement of the laws they administer, the institutions recognise the importance of attainment of full cooperation, coordination, complementarity and harmonisation of enforcement strategies.
Speaking at the event head stakeholder management at LRA, Pheello Mphana revealed that the MOU sets out a framework for the institutions to facilitate co-ordination, co-operation and mutual assistance in enforcement actions, investigations, preventive programmes and exchange of information as may be relevant for carrying out the laws administered by the institutions individually.
Mphana said the institutions agree that consistent with their separate roles, they will provide to each other the fullest mutual assistance within the framework of this MOU.
He continued to say that the institutions agree to afford and lend each other the widest possible measure of mutual assistance in preventive programmes, investigations, enforcement actions and operations concerning the spheres of their individual mandates and areas of common interest.
The DCEO guards against corruption and the economic offences through investigation and instituting court actions against the criminal acts while the FIU works on intelligence based on financial activities. The LMPS is a law enforcement agency while the LRA is a taxman who collects taxes revenue on behalf of the government.
