The statement opened by stating that the 5-year development plan that was presented by the Cabinet to the parliament contained proposals that were adopted by the society in regard to transparency, integrity, and counter-corruption aspects, which are the proposals for five draft laws. These include the counter-corruption law, a public information law, a financial disclosure law and a witness protection law.
However, the statement continued by stating that none of these laws were included in the list of 43 priorities that the Cabinet prepared following their presentation of the 5-year plan. This supports the notion that the Cabinet failed to uphold their duties in fighting corruption, despite the fact that they signed the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in 2003. This means they have failed to execute the clauses of the convention for seven years.
The statement also added that former Minister of Development Affairs, Dr. Moudhi Al-Homoud, was contacted in order to make sure that the clauses of the UN convention would be given a great deal of consideration while preparing the Cabinet’s development plan. The current Minister of Development Affairs, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, MP Abdullah Al-Roumi, were contacted in order to include the five transparency laws in the priorities to be finalized during the upcoming parliamentary term, Al-Qabas reported.
Furthermore, the society announced through a statement that they have started a political media campaign titled: "No Development with Corruption." This will continue until the counter-corruption laws are enforced. They will work to make these laws among the top priorities for the upcoming parliamentary term. They also called for assigning the December 9 parliamentary session to discuss and enforce these laws because the day marks the international "Anti-corruption Day." They called for all concerned organizations as well as parliamentarians to take part in the planned campaign in order to counter corruption.
