ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq’s Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced the formation of the “Supreme Anti-Corruption Council” in a bid to start tackling rampant corruption within the country.
“We have made the decision with the power of Allah and the will of our steadfast nation to fight corruption and the corrupt with a serious and honest will. We want reforms, with an open mind and a believing heart,” Abdul-Mahdi said on Tuesday, announcing the formation of the task force.
The premier cited good governance, meeting expectations of people, strengthening growth in Iraq, dangers of corruption and other factors.
He called for the “legal formation” of anti-corruption measures to be sped up, calling on the parliament and the Council Ministers to undertake their responsibilities and approve the necessary laws.
There is a “strict commitment” for officials to disclose property within a week and for ministries to prepare programs and plans for themselves within 90 days.
He also called for expediting the establishment of a “national index for integrity” (anti-corruption measures) in a bid to hold those accountable that fall into the area of corruption.
Image: Transparency International
The program will be called ‘Where did you get this?’” It calls on the parliament to legislate a law on illegal gains.
Another point emphasizes for the independence of the judiciary to undertake its work of holding the corrupt accountable.
According to Decree No. 70, the council will be headed by the PM himself.
The Supreme Judicial Council will have two members. The heads of the Federal Financial Oversight Office and the Integrity Commission will also be on the council.
A representative from the General Inspectors Office in the Ministry of Interior will serve as a coordinator, and a staff member from the PM’s office will serve as the commission’s secretary and seventh member.
Duties of the council include establishing a “national strategy” for fighting corruption and ensuring its implementation and also working on completing “legal framework” and “filling the gaps” which permit corruption.
It shall be tasked with “supervising the completion of the institutional framework for the anti-corruption formation,” read the decree.
Coordination and uniting the efforts, supporting anti-corruption efforts, discussing challenges facing the fight against corruption and proposing solution, evaluating and following up on implementation of anti-corruption campaigns, and executing tasks ordered by the PM are also among the 8 duties of the council.
The task force also aims to retrieve Iraqi property that have been “looted” and taken abroad, the PM announced.
Iraq and the Kurdistan Region suffer from endemic and rampant corruption. Too much bureaucracy and red tape make tackling the problem difficult. Both governments, however, have expressed the desire to fight corruption.
After winning the military fight against ISIS in 2017, Iraqi politicians and many analysts said Iraq had a second war: The war on corruption. It was a central theme of many parties’ election campaigns last year.
On the 2018 corruption perception index by transparency international, Iraq ranked 168 of 180, a score of 18 out of a 100, thus ranking as one of the most corrupt countries around the world.
