Jordan Times
Monday, June 27, 2005
King steps up
anti-corruption fight
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday directed the government to form
an independent commission that is to draft a law to combat corruption and stamp
out “wasta” as another measure to speed up reform.
In a letter, King Abdullah told Prime Minister Adnan Badran to prepare a draft
law on the commission and refer it to Parliament “with urgency status.” The law
is intended to fulfil what the King stated was a “clear strategy” to combat
corruption and prosecute its perpetrators.
“Our anti-corruption efforts were marred by some impurities, defaults and
failures at certain stages over the past years,” the Monarch said. “This
necessitates that we set a new mechanism to combat corruption that ensures more
transparency, justice and integrity.”
King Abdullah stressed that the commission is mandated to seek out cases of
corruption and keep the public informed of the negative and dangerous
consequences of such illicit actions.
As part of its mandate, the commission will monitor all state agencies, civil
society institutions, public shareholding companies and establishments that deal
with the public sector, the King said.
Article 45 of the Constitution states: “The Council of Ministers shall be
entrusted with the responsibility of administering all affairs of the state,
internal and external, with the exception of such matters as are or may be
entrusted by the present Constitution or by any other legislation to any other
person or body.”
According to a legal expert, the article, therefore, allows for the creation of
the anti-corruption commission as an independent body.
Last year, the London-based Transparency International ranked Jordan 37 out of
146 countries included in the organisation's annual Corruption Perceptions
Index, the King noted.
On Wednesday, King Abdullah told a group of deputies that a Royal Court
“integrated study” reconsidering anti-corruption mechanisms and guaranteeing
more transparency, justice and integrity was ready.
In the letter, the King said corruption and character assassination were one and
the same. He said Jordan refuses to deal with those who seek to defame persons
either by libel or slander, and call for legal action against those who commit
such wrongs.
Following the recent resignation of Bassem Awadallah as finance minister, the
King reproved those who, he said, used unjustified attempts to attack supporters
of reform.
Yesterday, the King stressed that “wasta” (favouritism) and nepotism have
infringed on people's rights, allowed for the abuse of public funds and deprived
some citizens from deserved opportunities.
“Wasta and nepotism, of which citizens complain, are forms of corruption,” he
stressed.
He called for considering the “criminalisation of wasta” as a value of Jordanian
society.
The system of wasta has long been criticised as a debilitating factor in all
spheres of government.
In February, the King formed the Steering Committee for the National Agenda to
determine the Kingdom's political and socio-economic reform policies and
programmes over the next 10 years. The panel, which comprises a subcommittee on
fighting corruption, is expected to draft guidelines and recommendations in
September.