The Public Has Spoken: The Recent Arrests And The Freezing Of Assets Of Princes
25 November 2017By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
The recent arrests and the freezing of assets of princes, businessmen and
public servants have been met with robust approval by the public. With its
swift and decisive actions, the newly formed anti-government commission has
declared its intentions publicly and has avowed to continue targeting more
corrupt people by casting a much wider net.
It should be noted that corruption has been one of the elements that served as
a springboard to the Arab Spring. And we have not been immune to it. Perhaps,
the most public example was the aftermath of the Jeddah rains in 2009 in which
130 people died in the resulting floods. It was determined that bribery played
a major part as city officials had granted housing permits illegally on city
land not zoned as residential areas. According to an independent published
report at the time, the flood disaster exposed bribery and other corruption
practices in government departments, which also suffered from the absence of
clear policies.
In another instance, in a major charitable organization with funding in the
millions, the directors of the charity started first with charitable acts
toward themselves. Trusted with dispersing relief to those in need, some went
so far as to pad their per diems by falsifying the number of days on their
trips or on their flight expenses! And since audit and accountability were
sketchy at best, they got away with it.
A new anti-corruption body was formed at the behest of the late King Abdullah
to stem the rising tide of corruption and to report on offenders. King
Abdullah issued a royal decree in March 2011 for the formation of the
commission. This body was set up to deal with all forms of financial and
administrative graft, and also to promote the principle of transparency.
At the time, the chairman of the National Authority for Combating Corruption (NACC)
affirmed its intent to spare no one in its campaign to stamp out mismanagement
and other malpractices at public establishments, adding that there would be no
exceptions. "We will not hesitate to strike at corruption wherever it is. Our
crackdown will target small and big heads...no one, whoever he is, will be
excluded in line with instructions by King Abdullah," Mohammed Bin Abdullah
Al-Sharif was quoted as saying. Unfortunately, the organization has not
uncovered any major wrongdoing during all this time.
Under a recent decree by King Salman, the swift action by Crown Prince
Muhammad Bin Salman who heads the newly formed commission produced immediate
results. Those suspected of corruption, money laundering and bribery were
carted off for investigation. Their assets were seized and notice was served
on many others not to leave the country.
Hussein, a businessman, says that the public should also play an active part
in alerting the appropriate authorities. "Everyone has a role to play in this
respect whether he is an official, a businessman, a citizen, a journalist or a
scholar...the Kingdom's anti-corruption strategy should carry over to the
school curricula and must include lessons advocating sincerity and protection
of public funds."
Mona, a lawyer, believes that the declaration of assets by public servants can
be one tool for checking on ill-gotten gains. "Public institutions will need
to set up fair and sustainable compliance management systems. This will help
to determine areas that are vulnerable to corruption. They should also launch
anti-corruption training for all employees. Whistleblowing should be
encouraged. And finally, public service organizations should promote the
message to the business sector that the contract with the best bid and not the
biggest bribe will be the winner."
And Ali, a retired civil servant, adds his gratitude to King Salman for this
move that should return some of the stolen money and property back to its
rightful owners. "The public has witnessed a grand scale robbery since the
early 1980s and enough is enough. Let the guilty rot in jail for even that
punishment is not enough for the pain they have inflicted on people."
The authorities' current determination to stamp out corruption has certainly
got off to a good start and people are nodding their heads in affirmation.
— The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
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