Transparency International chief to address Gov’t Leaders Forum

AMMAN — Managing Director of Transparency International Cobus De Swardt will be a guest at the 10th Government Leaders Forum, slated to be held Saturday and to be attended by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, organisers said Monday.

Minister of Public Sector Development Khleef Al Khawaldeh told The Jordan Times that De Swardt will address participating government employees on instilling principles of transparency, fighting corruption and improving public administration performance. 

The minister said De Swardt will also discuss Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index and how Jordan can improve its score and ranking, adding that the ministry will brief the international expert on the achievements the government has made in the field of enhancing integrity and transparency. 

Khawaldeh indicated that the ministry will release in the first quarter of next year a report analysing the main international rankings of governments and Jordan’s performance in these indices, adding that the report’s goal is to enable public departments to benefit from and follow up on content relevant to their work.

In the annual Corruption Perceptions Index, released last December, Jordan ranked 55th among 175 countries, scoring 49 out of 100, up from the 66th place among 177 countries and territories in 2013.

The Government Leaders Forum, the minister said, seeks to help leaders such as secretaries general and directors of public agencies learn from the experiences of countries that achieved economic growth by reforming public administration.

Over the past two years, the forum has hosted a number of foreign politicians and experts in the field of public administration, such as Ireland’s Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin and Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Mari Kiviniemi.