King urges anti-graft attitude within community through education

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday said that enhancing integrity is an important part of the comprehensive reform programme and efforts to instil respect for the rule of law in society, a Royal Court statement said.

During a meeting with President of the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) Mohammad Allaf, His Majesty stressed that combating corruption and realising justice is likely to boost citizens' confidence in the state agencies and institutions.

The King, who received the commission's annual report, called on the concerned agencies to work collectively on developing policies and amending the relevant legislations.

He urged benefitting from the international practices and modern technologies to improve the JIACC's performance, calling for the continuation of awareness programmes to instil integrity and rejection of graft as deeply integrated social values.

The report includes the most important achievements of JIACC in 2016 and the recommendations that aim to improve the commission's performance.

Among the achievements was launching JIACC's national strategy for 2017-2025 and establishing a department concerned with overseeing the implementation of national integrity system that is based on the National Integrity Charter.

According to the report, the commission received last year 1,241 complaints, of which 165 were acted upon through judicial channels, while correctional measures were taken regarding 487 cases. Meanwhile, a total of 432 complaints received no action as they held no sufficient evidence to build a case and 157 were delayed to be dealt with in 2017.

Of the 635 cases that were investigated on criminal grounds last year, 151 were referred to the Prosecutor Office, according to the statement.

On the legislative level, the report recommended amending the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Law of 2016 to expand the commission’s jurisdiction and scope of operation.

The agency also suggested unifying the regulations related to the government’s tenders and purchases and addressing any legislative loopholes in this regard.

The commission also called for making the necessary legislative changes to oblige companies to adopt a unified a code of good governance, activating and expanding the e-government services bundle as that would “curb bribery and nepotism”, and revisiting criteria for appointing chairpersons and members of companies where the government owns stakes. 

In a related development, the newly appointed members of  the JIACC Osama Museisin and Mamoun Qatarneh took the oath of office before His Majesty on Sunday.