The Shoura Council is currently attempting to produce a national strategy for promoting honesty and fighting corruption. The committee that has been set up to deal with the matter has come up with such recommendations as the need for total transparency in the functioning of government departments, giving the media information about the corruption existing in both government departments and the private sector, updating various government routines, ensuring a free and fair judiciary, public participation in reporting corrupt practices they encounter and finally, amending any regulation that obstructs the fight against corruption.
The committee also recommended steps to convince responsible officials in both the private and public sectors that the detection and reporting of corrupt practices is something to be commended and encouraged.
The committee also stressed the need for setting up units to perform periodic internal audits in government departments. Its recommendations also included listening to public opinion by installing complaint and suggestion boxes in public places, simplifying administrative procedures in government departments and publishing specifications for government works and projects.
The committee also reiterated the Shoura’s role in implementing tight financial and administrative control in addition to restricting commercial sector jobs to well-qualified citizens. The committee also considered the importance of appropriate punishments to corrupt officials and publishing the punishments in the media.
The implementation of the anti-corruption plans will be no easy task. As corruption is carried out in a clandestine manner, the implementation of the anti-corruption procedures requires intense sustained efforts as well as cleverness. The agency responsible for implementing the measures must be manned with highly skilled and dedicated Saudis who are paid well enough not to be led astray. The Shoura Council committee expects that the officials be noted for their integrity and honesty, efficiency and experience in various fields.
The anti-corruption call should not be construed as an alarm bell because of widespread corruption in the Kingdom. On the other hand, it is a move to fulfill the demands of the present and future phases of the growing and diversifying Saudi economy. There are challenges to be met in order for the strategy to be successfully implemented. The worst of them is the problem of “wasta”, which is influence exerted in order to get things done outside normal channels. Unless officials are very strong and honest, it is difficult for them to resist these pressures. This is an example of a kind of corruption that should be published and made known in the media.
