Manama: A Bahraini parliamentary bloc has pledged to take action against financial and administrative irregularities highlighted in a searing report published by the National Audit Court.
“We will this week study the 2011-2012 report and we will review the practical steps to confront corruption practices and the waste of public funds and national wealth,” MP Abdul Halim Murad, the head of Al Asala Bloc, said.
“The failure by the parliament to address the irregularities and to holding those responsible accountable is a betrayal of trust and a cover-up of corruption. It is no longer acceptable that lawmakers confine themselves to issue statements of condemnation. We should have no fear in dealing with those behind irregularities,” Murad said.
Al Asala, the expression of Salafism in Bahrain, holds the view that people are tired of listening to positive statements that did not bring about any change in the ground reality. “We will coordinate our efforts and positions with the other parliamentary blocs and independent lawmakers to investigate and quiz ministers with repeated irregularities in their ministries and abuses of trust and of public funds,” Murad said.
The audit report, a major annual feature of the accountability reforms launched in the kingdom highlights abuses and irregularities in ministries, government institutions and state-owned establishments.
The report has become an audacious compilation of serious financial and administrative faults that include blatant mismanagement, undeserved allowances, favouritism and issues related to wages, employment, wages, promotions, feasibility studies and rewards without consent. However, lawmakers have repeatedly failed to address such issues properly and initiate appropriate action against wrongdoers, prompting heavy criticism in the newspapers and social networks.
The current parliament is dominated by independent lawmakers who supplanted the three main religious societies. The Islamic Menbar, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Al Asala, lost most of their representatives in the 2010 parliamentary elections while Al Wefaq withdrew its 18 MPs in protest during the unrest that hit the country in 2011. Al Wefaq refused to contest in the by-elections.
