King urges concerted effort to implement integrity charter

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday stressed that all institutions should work hand-in-hand to ensure the implementation of the National Integrity Charter, in accordance with the best practices in this field. 

During a meeting at the Royal Court with members of the Royal Committee for the Follow-up and Evaluation of the National Integrity System, the Monarch expressed his appreciation of the committee's efforts since its inception to come up with recommendations that would support the charter to become a point of reference. 

Receiving the committee’s first and second periodic reports, the King told panel members that the Integrity Charter and its Executive Plan need to be translated into facts on the ground, noting that citizens should have the chance to learn about the committee's progress, according to a Royal Court statement.  

The King stressed that the draft law on integrity and anti-corruption needs to be endorsed as part of this effort. 

At the meeting, His Majesty was briefed by the committee’s president, Rajai Muasher, on the main observations that the committee has enclosed within its report. The remarks were based on the outcome of its fieldwork. 

During the meeting, Muasher highlighted the committee’s work mechanisms in following up on progress in implementing the charter’s executive plan with all concerned entities.

He noted that the committee seeks to end the overlap in the work of oversight bodies through better coordination among them, the statement added. 

In its periodic reports, the committee called for establishing a national centre to boost integrity and combat corruption with a mandate to ensure that public institutions are in compliance with integrity and transparency guidelines. 

The committee recommended that a bill be drafted to govern the work of the proposed centre, which will serve as an umbrella body to include all entities concerned with boosting integrity and combating graft. 

They also recommended drawing up a national strategy on integrity, to be coupled with tools to measure progress in achieving the charter’s goals. 

Moreover, the committee called for unifying the legal reference points resorted to when addressing corruption cases. 

The integrity and anti-corruption bill, currently at the Lower House, is one of the committee’s foremost recommendations that the government has adopted. 

King Abdullah sent a letter to Muasher in February 2014, in which he entrusted him with chairing the Royal committee to evaluate and follow up on progress in implementing the executive plan of the National Integrity Charter. 

Speaking to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, following the meeting, Muasher said the committee believes that government procedures should be more transparent and that citizens should be allowed more access to information. 

Also, representatives of media outlets should be able to have easy access to information to be able to perform their job properly. 

In order to achieve this goal, the committee has established a website that citizens can visit to post their feedback on the committee’s reports and accomplishments.