To the Leadership: Abolish 'Nizaha'
Six years ago, in July, His Highness the Crown Prince, then serving as Prime Minister, made a highly significant statement that offered a penetrating diagnosis of the poor performance of the previous government. He remarked, “The scale of corruption does not reflect the multiplicity of oversight bodies,” during a meeting with twelve supervisory agencies. He called for holding transgressors accountable and recovering embezzled funds, emphasizing the crucial role of an impartial judiciary, the Public Prosecution, and the Court of Accounts in achieving the desired objectives. He also urged civil society institutions and citizens to play their part in this national project.
His Highness’s message was clear regarding the excessive expansion of state apparatuses under the previous regime and the limited importance of some of them. This prompted the Kuwait Association for Education Quality to respond to his call by meeting with him on several occasions to outline our role in oversight and combating corruption, presenting him with relevant laws and solutions. His Highness pledged further cooperation.
From this perspective, we have, for several years, called for the abolition of certain government entities. Two years ago, in August, we published an article demanding the merger of several agencies into ministries, such as merging the Communications Authority with the relevant ministry and abolishing the Roads Authority by incorporating it into the ministry, which was subsequently abolished. We also called for the abolition of the Authority for Printing and Publishing the Quran and Sunnah, which we had helped found, and this entity was also later abolished. Furthermore, we advocated for the abolition of the General Authority for Food and Nutrition, whose functions do not exceed those of two departments within the municipality. We also suggested transferring the functions of the Public-Private Partnership Projects Authority and the Investment Promotion Authority to a department within the Public Authority for Investment, while oversight functions should remain under the Ministry of Commerce. Additionally, we called for the abolition of the National Center for Education Development, which had overseen the collapse of the education system. Regarding the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, we repeatedly called for its abolition and integration into one of the universities, and we will soon present a dedicated study on this matter.
The importance of our earlier article also lies in our call for the abolition of the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nizahat). We had collaborated with Nizahat on several occasions alongside other entities, such as finalizing procedures to develop the National Strategy for Enhancing Integrity, Transparency, and Combating Corruption, in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Planning and United Nations offices. We also responded to the first Secretary-General’s invitation to our association to establish a joint committee to combat corruption in education, for which we submitted a study comprising nine pillars.
The oversight of all public officeholders and the follow-up on the declaration of their financial status, which Nizahat currently performs, can be undertaken by other existing supervisory institutions, led by the Court of Accounts and the Civil Service Bureau, supported by oversight from the Central Bank, the Ministry of Justice, the Financial Investigations Unit, and security agencies affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, such as the Investigations Department and Criminal Investigation Department, followed by the roles of the Public Prosecution and the judiciary.
The lack of confidence in Nizahat’s ability to protect whistleblowers stemmed from a discriminatory ruling against it, published in Al-Jarida two years ago, which favored a citizen who had filed a complaint regarding damage to public funds. Many, including our association when we submitted our complaint, also believed in its flexibility in accepting complaints against officials. However, its limitations became evident, necessitating a review of its viability given the existence of larger and more effective supervisory institutions, such as the Court of Accounts, which has absolute authority to inspect government entities. We have called for thirty years to grant the Court of Accounts the power to refer cases to the Public Prosecution, notably during the Al-Rajjan case. Unlike Nizahat, which waits to receive corruption complaints from officials, the Court of Accounts’ oversight does not depend on such referrals, although this task could also be assigned to it.
In conclusion, the Anti-Corruption Authority includes some national competencies and limited tasks that can easily be transferred to existing supervisory institutions, thereby enabling the leadership to abolish Nizahat.
