Mohammad Al-Harbi Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEEDAH — The media is playing a proactive role in exposing corruption, Mohammad Al-Shareef, President of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha), said here, Thursday. Speaking to newsmen during a visit to the Okaz Organization's headquarters here, Al-Shareef said: “The media is Nazaha's eyes as it uncovers corruption activities in different departments.” The media, he said, should continue to highlight shortcomings in the functioning of various government departments. Elaborating on the commission's task, he said it is only a monitoring body and is not entrusted with issuing any penalties. Al-Shareef said Nazaha faced great difficulties when it was formed. “The Nazaha faced lack of cooperation from bodies under its purview. These agencies were not applying Nazaha's recommendations. They were also not informing us of any actions they have taken. However, these bodies later felt the best way to combat corruption was to cooperate with Nazaha,” he said. According to Al-Shareef, once officials began realizing that their noncooperation will make them accountable and they will be subjected to inquiries, they began cooperating with the society to crack down on corruption. “Any deviation from standard work ethics is corruption,” the Nazaha chief said. Al-Shareef said Nazaha is responsible for monitoring any financial violations of government bodies, loopholes in regulations and irregularities not discovered by the General Auditing Bureau or the Control and Investigation Board, or any other monitoring bodies. He added that Nazaha works in accordance with Islamic teachings and principles. The commission's policies, he said, can be better implemented and prove effective if full cooperation is achieved from various bodies. He asked parents to educate their children on the scourge of corruption and called for more and better education and awareness programs that target the general public.
