KUWAIT CITY, Oct 10: The government’s newly formulated anti-corruption bill only includes 50 percent of the proponents necessary to fight corruption, as per the UN Convention against Corruption signed by the State of Kuwait 2003, says Chairman of the Kuwait Transparency Society (KTS), Salah Al-Ghazali.

Speaking at the opening session of KTS’s fifth forum on Monday, Al-Ghazali said the government bill, forwarded to the National Assembly last Thursday, only included proponents on the establishment of an anti-corruption public authority and financial disclosure. However, he added, the bill failed to include articles pertaining to conflict of interest and the protection of whistleblowers, which are needed for a fully effective anti-corruption bill.

“The anti-graft proposals by the legislative authority have included 100 percent the stipulations of the UN convention. The government and parliament proposals should be integrated and we hope that an undiminished law is approved at the NA by the start of the next legislative round at the end of this month,” said Al-Ghazali.

Under the auspices of HH the Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,  KTS held its fifth forum entitled ‘Transparency in Private Sector’, hosted by the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The 2-day forum, which ends on Tuesday, aimed at boosting private sector transparency with the help of civil societies and to discuss private sector experiences with transparency, and the role of government in the implementation of integrity and accountability laws. Discussions on international indices and agreements on private sector transparency as well as the role of the Public Prosecution Service and the legal system in combating corruption were also included on the agenda.

Al-Ghazali said that it was the best time to hold the forum, in light of the unstable political climate prevailing in the country. “Furthermore, Kuwait ranks last in transparency among the Gulf states, even though it is the most democratic and has the most powerful and outspoken parliament in the region. This means there is defect in our democracy. Instead of our democracy being the motivation to development, reform and integrity, it has become the main reason for the outbreak of corruption, which is proven by the latest events in the country,” he explained.

Al-Ghazali added the government signed the UN Convention in 2003 and the NA authenticated the convention with a bill in 2006. However, it was only in the last quarter of 2011 that the National Assembly has produced law proposals that implement the convention, necessitating the formation of a number of legislations and the establishment of anti-corruption authorities.

“What role is the National Assembly playing? Are its members fighting corruption or are many of them a large part of it? One can clearly observe that Kuwait’s path to legislative reform is very slow, while the practices of corruption are hurrying forward,” he lamented.

For its part, KTS has prepared a bill proposal pertaining to ‘right of access’ and ‘freedom of information’, in order to implement the articles of the convention. The convention was submitted to the National Assembly along with four other proposals on anti-corruption, financial disclosure, conflict of interest and the protection of whistleblowers. The proposals were presented with the cooperation of 24 MPs and 20 NGOs and they were incorporated into the Public Authority for Integrity Bill, which is currently under the review of the parliamentary Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee.

Speaking on behalf of HH the Amir, Minister of Municipality Fadhel Al-Safar said the largest and most prominent reform process undertaken by the government is the long-term development plan. “It is an ambitious plan, agreed upon by both the executive and legislative authorities....the government believes in the importance of transparency, as the wave of corruption is not confined to one party. We are confident that combating corruption requires the efforts of both the executive and legislative authorities as well as the effort of civil societies,” he stated.

Al-Safar added that, since the private sector is the state’s main artery of income, the government will not hesitate to support all who promote high standard of transparency within the companies and organizations of this vibrant sector. “As for the Municipality, we will cooperate with the parliament and civil societies to revive transparency in the management, operation and development of our facilities,” he said.

The forum included key local and international speakers such as CEO of Wataniya Telecom, Scott Gegenheimer, Transparency International Association representative, Jermyn Brooks, and Board Member of Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO), Abdullah Bishara. Five sessions addressed the contributions of civil society institutions in enhancing the transparency of the private sector through its media and reviewed the private sector organizations’ self-efforts in promoting transparency and fighting corruption.

The sessions also tackled the role of legislature in endorsing transparency and combating corruption through the enactment of binding laws on the institutions to adopt the principles of transparency. They reviewed international efforts in that regard and discussed the role of the public prosecution in the investigation and the completion of the legal aspects pertaining to transparency.

According to KTS, Kuwait’s sixth forum on transparency will be on country’s security sector. This year’s forum was sponsored by KCCI, KIPCO, Wataniya Telecom, Siemens and Union of Investment Companies among others.