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Iraq
Iraqi Officials to Make Finances Public
2004-02-07
Senior Iraqi officials, from the president down to judges, will have to disclose their personal finances under new anti-corruption rules aimed at keeping the country’s future government clean and prosecuting past malfeasance.
Another step towards democracy.
The rules, set by a new commission and announced Saturday, reflect Iraqi efforts to redress the endemic corruption that warped the economy and government under Saddam Hussein. They are also meant to show the Iraqi public that things will be different when a new government takes power by the end of June. "The commission will not have a magic wand to end all corruption in Iraq. But it’s a good start," Iraqi Governing Council member Mouwafak al-Rubaie told reporters as he announced details of the Public Integrity Commission. "It is nearly an impossible job to do."
Kinda like drying up the Tigris, I'd guess...
Iraqis will be able to make anonymous complaints of corruption to the agency, which will investigate claims including bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, false imprisonment and torture. It can also prosecute cases in court and recommend new laws, the council said in a statement.
Sounds like a decent watch-dog.
The agency will look into cases dating back to 1968, when Saddam’s Baath Party seized power. After U.N. sanctions were imposed in 1990, crippling the economy and making resources scarce, corruption and bribery became rampant.
Let the witch hunt games begin!
People who complain about witch hunts usually start from the assumption there aren't any witches to find...
Since Saddam’s fall, Iraqis have complained of cronyism and nepotism among the officials installed under the U.S.-led occupation - including among members of the council and the ministers they appointed. Last month, protesters in the southern city of Amarah pelted the governor’s office with stones, accusing him of handing out positions to relatives. Two recent studies of the Iraqi judicial establishment by the United Nations and the U.S. Justice Department found the legal system riddled with corruption and incompetence. U.S. experts training Iraqi police have worried that recruits could be prone to bribes.
Surprise meter didn’t budge that time either.
Al-Rubaie said the commission would have to prioritize cases - "We have to concentrate on the big fish," he said, rather than go after lower-level corruption. He also said the body would not be distracted by Saddam-era corruption from investigating current complaints. "The Iraqi people deserve leaders who are honest and dedicated to the transparent governance of Iraq," the council said in its statement. Corruption "eats away at the very foundation of an Iraqi citizen’s faith in the post-Saddam Iraq."
By jove I think he’s got it.
Posted by:Steve White

#1  Excellent!
Posted by: phil_b   2004-2-7 5:22:15 PM  

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