A recent study has revealed that nepotism is the most widely spread form of corruption in Saudi Arabia, estimating that it represents 90 percent of corruption cases.

The study indicated that figures this year superseded previous years, stressing that favoritism was most rampant in higher and middle levels of government administrations.

The study entitled “Financial and Administrational Corruption: Reality, effects and ways to limit it,” was presented by Ahmad Al-Suqaih during the Riyadh Economic Forum.

Al-Suqaih recommended establishing a direct connection between all the entities concerned with corruption to ensure great coordination and supervision.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) was established in 2011 with the aim of supporting the work of the Control and Investigation Board and the General Auditing Bureau in monitoring government performance and detecting corruption in government entities.

The study also recommended speeding up rulings in corruption cases by eliminating slow litigation procedures. In addition, it recommended establishing a control and supervision system for executing government projects, highlighting that tampering with government contracts is one of the most significant practices of corruption in the Kingdom, especially in rural provinces and large public facility projects. The study called for the implementation of e-government procedures in government tendering to eliminate the possibility of awarding projects to undeserving contractors.

During the presentation, Al-Suqaih stressed the need to encourage the use of governmental websites and electronic services in order to ease procedures and eliminate the element of human intervention.

He also recommended compelling companies to implement accounting legislations that prevent bribery.

Finally, the study suggested including subjects on integrity and anti-corruption in school curricula to raise greater awareness among the youth.