More than three months ago, the commission had instructed the contractors to exhibit boards with details of projects at various work sites. The commission would take penal action against firms violating the body’s regulations, according to its top official.
In a press statement issued on Monday, Muhammad Abdullah Al-Sharif, president of the anti-graft body, noted that article five of the law governing the commission had fixed 30 days as the maximum time for giving reply to the queries and explanations sought by the body from any concerned agencies.
“However, a number of government agencies have so far not responded to the queries made 104 days ago, thus committing a violation of the law,” Al-Eqtisadiah business daily quoted Al-Sharif as saying.
He urged the concerned agencies that failed to give a reply to respond quickly. “The commission will publicize names of those agencies that fail to respond. We will also refer the cases of officials involved in delaying implementation of the directive to the concerned investigating agency,” he said.
The official recalled that the commission earlier had urged the government agencies and joint stock companies in which the government has a stake to display boards with specific measurement at the project sites. The board must contain details of the project, such as names of the project and the contractor, date of signing the contract and its amount, date of handing over the work site to the contractor, date of completion and period of extension of the contract if any, and date of ending the extension period.
The signboard would also contain the name of the supervising consultant, the date of signing him up and his remuneration.
The commission had noted that displaying such a board would help the body to exercise its duty of monitoring whether there are any financial or administrative malpractices while implementing those projects that are meant for the general public.
Al-Sharif said that another objective of displaying such boards was to activate the participation of the citizens in implementing projects that are meant for serving them. They can inform the commission in case of any shortcomings or irregularities noticed in their implementation.
The commission has been constituted with a major objective of keeping a close watch on proper utilization of public funds spent either by government officials or on public projects. It would work as a watchdog in ensuring implementation of public works in accordance with the standards set in contracts and according to deadline.
