Saudi reward for corruption informants

Saudi Arabia, seeking to improve its image as one of the most attractive investment destinations, has announced it would give awards to persons who uncover and report corruption cases to the authorities.

The National Authority for Combating Corruption (NACC) said it had drafted a law setting rewards for anti-corruption efforts and would present it to King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz for endorsement.

“We have completed a draft law to reward those who reveal and report corruption cases against nationals and expatriates as this will save the state coffers large funds,” said Nassir Aba Alkhail of NACC.

“The law will set the value of these rewards and those who report any real corruption case will be handed the reward immediately,” he told students at King Saud university in Riyadh, according to Saudi newspapers.

He said NACC, created by King Abdullah last year, is stepping up efforts to fight corruption in the world’s largest oil exporter, adding that its members “are working even during holidays to tackle corruption reports.”

“We have been given the green light to examine corruption cases in all their forms and no one will be excluded from investigation.”

In a recent report, Saudi Arabia state auditing bureau blasted ministries and other government offices, saying they are suffering from low performance because of bribe and other corruption practices.

It said last year’s flood disaster that hit the Western Red Sea port of Jeddah exposed such flaws in government departments, which are also suffering from the absence of clear policies.

"Saudi Arabia is facing a series of problems including the modest performance of some government departments in the absence of incentives, efficiency and an environment that could support innovation,” it said.

“What happened in Jeddah clearly illustrated the poor performance of government departments because of bribery and widespread corruption. These institutions are also suffering from the lack of clear policies and action plans besides bureaucratic complications in decision-making…this is only putting pressure on the budget and increasing economist costs.”

Over the past three years, Saudi newspapers have given expanded coverage to heated debates by Shura (appointed parliament) about abuse of public funds following recurrent Royal statements about the need to fight corruption in the Kingdom, the largest Arab economy with a population of 27.1 million.

In 2010, newspapers reported that the auditing bureau complained to King Abdullah that government offices are involved in illegal spending of public money while some are holding up projects and others do not comply with budgetary allocations.

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