Corruption: the greatest solicitude [Archives:2005/874/Opinion]
By Prof. Dr. Abdulaziz al-Tarb
I would like it very much the idea of contemplation that is scrutinizing and searching for factual explanation to talking about corruption. What concerns most is the applicable aspect of this talk rather than its formalistic one that is lacking serious action in this issue that occupies dreams of the people. The talk about corruption and its related matters and aspects, is the essential topic for the majority of the people, seeking clear-cut answers to their questions, answers bearing serious purport, not the contrary.
The legal opinion on doting the i's and crossing the t's with regard to how to draft a law that stop the serial of corruption, has to be taken seriously by the government, and it has to listen carefully and legally to viewpoints of people who believe in the work in the legal work for years and have left their imprints in this regard, people who are known for their uprightness, at a time there exist many kinds of whims and deviations.
I am also confident that fighting corruption demands collective efforts with sincere intentions in favor of this country. Those efforts are exerted by people harboring good will towards the country and its sons, people who are capable of effecting balances between rights and duties. Those who give priority to their legal, moral, financial, productive and tax duties and obligations towards the state and its institutions, waiting for rights to be deservedly granted.
To pass a contemporary and impartial law for encountering corruption and its supporters with any exclusion of names has become now an urgently important matter. The ordinary citizen who has rushed to the streets demanding for his right to dignified living, healthy food, clean residence, convenient position and good medicine, would do that again. In their private meetings and discussions, the citizens have reached to explanations and analyses tending to be pessimistic, closer to crisis of confidence in comparing between word and action, particularly in the question of combating corruption. In order to annul that tendency and abolish its extension, there must be actual embarkation on part of the government on listening to experienced men of law. Discussion should be made public with a legal clarity of phrases to avoid any legal interpretations that one character could change adversely the equation where the corrupt would be the winner and the homeland the loser.
The UN General Assembly had adopted the UN Convention Against Corruption in its resolution No. 58/4 on 31 October 2003. Many states have endorsed it. Yemen has endorsed the convention under the law No. 47 for 2005 issued on 3 August 2005.
Endorsement of the UN Convention Against corruption in these very circumstances we are leading, especially following the rise in oil products prices and spiraling prices of all goods and services, and employees are not getting any increase in their salaries, makes it imperative to request the president of the republic to send files of corruption, submitted by the Central Apparatus of Audition, to prosecution so that the officials involved in this situation would stand trial. This would help gain the public participation in annihilating the phenomenon of corruption as long as there are a number of appropriate treatments.
Fighting corruption requires a national unity government working for its political future and interest of the nation, away from unnecessary appropriations and this would urge the citizen to be very accurate in selecting his representatives at local councils and next parliament.
The president is requested to work out suitable and necessary treatments particularly after he has given a two-year space of time to a government that offered mere promises while the citizens have paid all their obligations whereas the government has not met is obligations stipulated at the time of granting it confidence.
Would the citizen remain mute against a government that does not respect its decisions or carry out its promises, with the existence of market depending not on supply and demand rule? The market does only pursue a policy of continuous rising of prices under absence of the state monitoring on goods and products. The state does not monitor weights and quality of those goods and products. It is really corruption of values, customs and responsibility, aloof from accountability.
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