The Head of the Integrity Commission, Judge Haider Hanoun, confirmed the Commission’s determination to drain the sources of corruption from its roots and clean state institutions.
He said in a statement, “Implementing the government’s anti-corruption program is a duty on the authority and requires ensuring that its projects, especially service projects, are protected from the scourge of corruption.”
He pointed out, “the Commission’s efforts to dry up the sources of corruption expose it to a soft war from the corrupt, one of the aspects of which is their allegations that the Commission exceeds its jurisdiction to the jurisdiction of other parties with the intention of limiting its work and preventing it from reaching the most corrupt people.” He called for increasing the pace of seizure operations and following up on the inflation of officials’ funds.
Hanoun stressed "following up on contracts and tenders and ensuring that the budget amounts go to their real resources."
According to the statement, “Hanoun urged the Commission’s Investigation Directorates and offices in Baghdad and the governorates to increase the pace of seizure operations and follow up on the files of money inflation and illicit gain.”
During a meeting held at the headquarters of the Investigation Department and attended by its Director-General, and the directors of the investigation directorates and offices in Baghdad and the governorates, he affirmed the Authority’s determination to dry up the sources of corruption and pursue corruptors in all state institutions, especially service ones, pointing out that those who harbor hostility to the oversight agencies and their deterrent measures in those Institutions are a group of influential people who benefit from the proceeds of corruption.
He added that the anti-corruption file should proceed in line with government efforts in providing services to citizens and tangible success in the security file, urging the necessity of following up on contracts and tenders, and ensuring that investors are not exposed to blackmail and bargaining, warning that the reconstruction and investment processes and the shift towards development and progress in the country must to create an environment free of corruption.
The Chairman of the Commission pointed out the importance of the Commission’s procedures being legal and not exceeding the powers granted to it according to the applicable laws, stressing respect for human rights and institutions, and preserving human dignity, even if he is accused, as “the accused is innocent until proven guilty.”
He added that our determination and resolve must increase in the field of combating corruption and preserving and maintaining public funds, especially with the presence of a huge budget whose resources the government aspires to go to implementing its program and ministerial platform, and ensuring that they do not leak into the pockets and assets of the corrupt. He pointed out that implementing the government’s program in combating corruption it is a duty on the authority and requires ensuring that its projects, especially service ones, are protected from the scourge of corruption, indicating that the task is difficult, but with true will and sincerity, “we will be able to overcome all the difficulties and obstacles that may face the oversight work.”
Source: National Iraqi News Agency