RIYADH: The most transparent and fairest of government departments and nongovernmental organizations, especially those dealing with the public, will be awarded an annual prize to encourage honesty and fair play.
“The prize, entitled Good Model Palm, would be awarded annually to governmental and nongovernmental organizations that take decisions in a transparent and just manner, thus becoming a model to be emulated,” Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman said yesterday.
Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman will award this year’s prize to the winner at a function on Nov. 10, which will also be addressed by Shoura Council President Saleh Bin-Humaid.
“Our country has numerous examples of officials with exceptionally high ethical standards, but hardly anyone knows about them. The Good Model Palm aims to bring them to limelight. It would also serve as an occasion to remove misunderstanding about public offices in general,” said Prince Turki, who conceptualized the award.
The Saudi government has enacted laws and set up departments to fight official corruption and promote transparency and integrity.
“The winner would be selected after careful scrutiny. An internationally recognized firm has formulated the rules and conditions for the prize after studying similar prizes in other parts of the world. A jury consisting of Saudi and international personalities known for their fairness and objectivity will decide the winners and their decision will be final,” Saleh Al-Shenaifi, secretary-general of the awards committee, said in the statement.
He added that the list of nominees for the prize would be announced sometime next week and the winner would be announced during the function.
