Khamis Mushayt municipality ‘guilty of corruption’

JEDDAH, 29 December 2002 — The Court of Grievances has remarked that some of the financial dealings of Khamis Mushayt Municipality amounted to criminal offense, which called for intervention by higher authorities.

The 38th Circle of the Court of Grievances called for setting up a joint inquiry committee of representatives of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy and the country’s higher investigation agencies to look into the violations and bring to book those responsible for the gross irregularities how highly placed they might be.

The court also wanted to know the steps taken by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs when it noticed the violations.

The observations appeared in a verdict canceling the transfer order issued by the director general of municipal affairs in the Asir province to the municipality’s finance manager. The official under transfer had pleaded in his petition to the court that he was transferred because he refused to comply with the demands made by some municipal officials to commit some irregularities with regard to the award of contracts.

The court said it found that “gross financial irregularities have been committed at the municipality and some of the charges, if confirmed, will constitute criminal offense such as forgery by replacing some documents with others.”

In an earlier incident, a committee set up by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs submitted a report to the minister on the municipality’s gross violations in the disbursement of public money and award of contracts without inviting public tenders and without signing the contracts with the contractors as stipulated by regulations.

The court pointed out while canceling the transfer order of the financial manager that the order did not clearly state the circumstances warranting the transfer.

The court also observed that “the matter does not rule out the genuineness of the complaint of the financial manager that his transfer was motivated by his objection to the violations, especially after a committee had confirmed gross financial irregularities.”