St Helena Government is entitled to expect that employees who have concerns about matters of policy, possible breaches of procedure or the misuse of public money/assets, should feel able to voice those concerns internally within the organisation without fear of reprisals or victimisation or feeling it necessary to ‘blow the whistle’ outside the organisation.
In line with its commitment to the highest possible standards of service, probity and accountability, a confidential reporting procedure is available to encourage employees, at any level of the organisation, to have the confidence to raise issues of serious concern and to call into question any examples of possible malpractice.
This procedure exists to enable employees to raise issues of serious concern relating to the workings of the Government. It provides a mechanism for dealing with matters, which fall outside the scope of other procedures and may include, for example:
- Abuse of clients or service users or colleagues
- Corruption or unethical or improper conduct
- Misuse of public funds
- A breach of Government Regulations (including the Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure Policy and Confidentiality Agreement)
- A Health & Safety risk
- A failure to comply with the laws of St Helena
- Damage to the environment
This procedure will operate outside the normal directorate reporting arrangements. It should not be used where a specific policy and procedure is available. However,
if there is a valid reason why using the normal policy or procedure is problematic or inappropriate, a report can be made under this procedure and the Designated Investigating
Officer will determine whether to refer the issue back to the normal procedure.
This Procedure relates to the Code of Conduct Policy detailed in Section 1of the Code of Management.
All reporters and witnesses of instances of fraud and negligence’s anonymity will be protected and held in the strictest confidence.
To ensure a fast and smooth investigation the following information must be provided:
Full name of person involved, accomplice if any, date(s) on which the matter occurred, nature of the matter being reported who may be able to corroborate it and contact details of reporter for clarification (optional).
The contact details of the Head of Internal Audit & Risk are:
- Letter: Addressed to the HIA in the Internal Audit Unit at the Castle, Jamestown
- Email: fraud@sainthelena.gov.sh
- Phone: 22692 (direct line)