Saudi Arabia’s top auditing body is planning to link government offices electronically to its main computer network to keep their finances under its scrutiny as part of an intensifying war on corruption.
The General Auditing Bureau (GAB) has drawn up plans to stop its periodical visits to government departments to review their reports and documents and switch to a computerized auditing network, the Arabic language Almadina newspaper reported on Monday.
“The Bureau will shift to electronic financial control of all government departments in the coming stage with the aim of upgrading transparency and curbing mismanagement of funds,” the paper said.
It quoted GAB sources as saying 10 government offices had already been linked to the Bureau’s computer network on trial basis ahead of the project, which it said could be carried out in the next few months.
The plan follows a royal decree last month to set up the Gulf Kingdom’s first specialized anti-corruption body after persistent complaints about widespread mismanagement and other malpractices in the public sector.
In a working paper last month, GAB said Saudi Arabia’s government offices are suffering from low performance because of bribe and other corruption practices and this is putting pressure on the country’s coffers.
The recent 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, said the paper, presented to a local seminar.
“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,” the paper 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.”
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