The activities of the conference, organized by the Federal Integrity Commission in cooperation with (UNODC) and Basra Governorate, entitled (Supporting partnership and dialogue between the public and private sectors, the way to combat corruption) kicked off today.
The head of the Federal Integrity Commission, Judge Haider Hanoun, confirmed during the conference, which was held under the auspices of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Al-Sudani, and in the presence of the Governor of Basra, Asaad Al-Eidani, MPs of the Basra Governorate, the Ministries of Industry and Agriculture, the Federation of Iraqi Industries, private sector companies, the Contractors Union, the Association of Banks, and international organizations working in the field of combating corruption. The major contest and the fateful battle against corruption and the corrupt has been prepared for in the past months, and the Commission is about to announce its launch at all levels, calling on the private sector to be an active part in it, by not being involved and participating in corruption and its commitment to reporting corruption crimes.
Judge Haider Hanoun described corruption as the greatest danger and the worst enemy that impedes all attempts at progress and the main undermining of the pillars of development, indicating that the commission has completed the preparations for the battle against corruption in which victory depends on the amount of those preparations, which include strengthening partnership and dialogue between the public and private sectors, and taking measures to prevent private sector involvement in corruption in accordance with the provisions of the articles and provisions of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which Iraq joined a decade and a half ago, noting the importance of citizen interaction and participation in it, and the cooperation and participation of community actors, trade unions, federations, civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations.
He warned of the repercussions of the phenomenon of corruption and its extension to the economy and its contribution to impeding economic growth and wasting part of the state’s resources, and the flight of national and foreign investments due to the absence of incentives, pointing out that corruption violates the distributive justice of income and resources and the decline in economic effectiveness, and the widening gap between the rich and poor groups, as well as the weakening of revenues of the state as a result of evading paying taxes and fees, explaining that corruption is one of the causes of poor spending of state resources and depriving important sectors such as health, education and services from benefiting from them, and the low efficiency of public investments and the weakening of the level of quality in infrastructure due to the bribes that are paid to ignore the required standard specifications.
He touched on the negative effects of corruption in the political and social sectors, including: distorting the required role of the government in implementing the state’s general policy and achieving the goals of development plans, weakening all reform efforts that promote democracy, destabilizing political stability, excluding honorable and competent people and preventing them from reaching leadership positions. This increased the state of discontent among the people and their aversion to cooperation with state institutions, as well as affecting the social fabric and spreading the spirit of hatred among the classes and groups of society. As a result of lack of justice, equality, equal opportunities and nepotism, and the direct and indirect impact of the economic and political repercussions of corruption on the stability of the security situation and social peace.
For his part, the governor of Basra expressed his optimism about holding this conference in the province, pointing out that this represents a message in the launch of the partnership between the private and public sectors in this province, which has embarked on reconstruction and is on its way to achieving development.
For his part, Ghulam Muhammad Ishaq, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, warned in his speech at the conference that choosing Basra as a venue for the conference reflects the deep connection between the public and private sectors, and highlights the commendable efforts made by Basra to create an attractive business environment.
For his part, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Iraq, Ali Al-Barir, indicated: “The economies of the Middle East and North Africa region face great challenges to develop trade and investment related to corruption, calling for the need to ensure fair competition by raising awareness and strengthening the implementation of joint anti-corruption provisions and the application of deterrent measures to combat bribery, pointing out that cooperation between the public and private sectors is one of the decisive factors in protecting integrity and preventing corruption.
In turn, Ibrahim al-Baghdadi, head of the Iraqi Economic Council, warned against administrative and financial corruption, accusing it of dangerous phenomena facing public and private institutions alike and having a significant impact on the process of construction, reconstruction and economic, political and social development in the country, pointing out that a large part of the private sector is the major victim of corruption, which must be combined with benevolent efforts to confront it and stand against it.
He stressed that the Iraqi Economic Council and businessmen and women from the federations, organizations and entities of the Iraqi private sector stand entirely on the side of the oversight bodies, as they consider themselves the best partner, supporter and consolidator for their role in curbing the corrupt and reducing corruption paths, praising the government and its ministerial program for issuing many decisions, which he described as bold.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
