Battle against corruption continuous, not linked to specific period

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‘Implement laws which prohibit conflict of interest’

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 1: Director of Planning and Follow- up Department at the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaha), Khaled Youssef Al-Muzaini, said “the battle against corruption continues and is not linked to a specific period,” reports Al-Rai daily.

He noted, “just as corruption has an integrated system, confronting it must also be through an integrated system.” Speaking of the latest developments in Kuwait’s strategy to enhance integrity and combat corruption, which has the blessing of HH the Amir, Al-Muzaini stressed “the primary criterion for success is that everyone in society feels that they live free from the environment of corruption.”

He pointed out “all government and non-government agencies are fully cooperating with the concerned government agencies when it comes to implementing this strategy, which has gone through several stages, including preparation, development, analysis, studying how to close the loopholes and identification of priorities,” considering that “the passage of the law on the right to access information by the National Assembly is an embodiment of one of the most important initiatives of the strategy.”

He went on to say, “We hope that laws which prohibit the conflicts of interest and illicit enrichment see the light of day.” He indicated this strategy, which extends for five years and will end in 2024, comes in implementation of the responsibility drawn by the law establishing (Nazaha) in its fifth article, and in implementation of Kuwait’s international obligations, being one of the signatories to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

“The implementation of the strategy is a national responsibility, and it is not only the responsibility of the implementing agencies, but all parties and segments of society that make up the anti-corruption system,” added Al-Muzaini.

This is reflected in the internal committee, which indicates that “we must work together with all national elements to combat corruption through awareness-raising campaigns, prevention, prosecution, and the opportunity for individuals to fight corruption through protected and confidential reporting.”

It must be emphasized that corruption has administrative, societal, cultural, and legal dimensions. Therefore, fighting it requires a system that covers all these aspects, and this is what “we seek through this strategy,” he said.

The strategy goals include, developing the legislative framework to combat corruption, including (conflict of interest, right to access information, protection of whistleblowers); laying down the foundations for preventing corruption in the public sector in general, so that the focus is subsequently on the most dangerous sectors by activating systems to manage corruption risks; raising awareness of the dangers of corruption, its consequences, and the best ways to fight it; building the capacities of all the basic components of the anti-corruption system, especially the specialized bodies; building national and international partnerships, as corruption is cross-sectoral and across countries, and individual action to combat it is ineffective and establishing the next phase of fighting corruption, whereby the transition from preparation and construction to implementation and fight was made.

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