Corruption Commission (NACC) has submitted its draft regulations, on probes into public sector financial corruption, to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for his final approval. Muhammad Al-Shareef, Chairman of the NACC, was quoted by Al-Madina Arabic daily as saying that the regulations cover investigations of officials who “make decisions related to public money such as directors of finance departments, accountants and paymasters”. This is to prevent any public servant from embezzling or squandering public money, Al-Shareef pointed out. Al-Shareef defined corruption as abuse of power to gain personal benefit, including nepotism. He said the NACC has achieved positive results and discovered a number of corruption cases in its short history. He said the NACC will investigate any matter in the public interest including incomplete and delayed hospital and other projects and the failure of some municipalities to provide water services to some villages. He said the NACC will follow up on all corruption cases until the courts deliver their final verdicts. “Corruptors are smart but we'll discover their tricks with the help of citizens,” Al-Shareef said. He said no one has yet been convicted of corruption because investigations take a long time. Government agencies are required to respond to any NACC enquiry within 30 days or they will be reported to King Abdullah, he said. The NACC is also responsible for ensuring public works and maintenance contracts are corruption-free, he added. “Any case discovered will be referred to the pertinent monitoring body and the NACC will follow up with the results of its own investigations.”
