A draft bill which amends the current anti-corruption proclamation and calls for investigation and prosecution of non-state institutions has been tabled to the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR).
The draft bill puts civil society organizations and the private sector under scrutiny in addition to the powers it currently has. It also gives Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission the power to issud recognition to other federal government offices who wants to investigate corruption in their respective sectors.
According to The Reporter, a legal framework is going to be established whereby private corporations, unions, share companies, civil society organizations, education and health institutions, banks, insurers, money transfer agents and other institutions will be held accountable in the fight against corruption.
The Draft Bill explains there is the necessacity to include the private sector, particularly those who administrate funds collected from the public or collected for public purposes in the category, under the inspection power of the Commission.
Nonetheless, the draft bill has ruled out in engaging religious, political organizations and international organizations. It stipulates the reason it is not going to get its hands in to the affairs of these organizations, is because of “the amount of the finance they are mobilizing, and due to the small number of members they have, are not equivalent to the amount of financial and labor cost that is spent to investigate and bring them before justice.” In addition to these organizations Edir, small and micro-finance institutions and other organizations of a traditional and religious nature are not going to be under the inspection of the Commission for the same reason the others are not.
The report in addition to this the draft bill states religious organizations and political parties are not dealt with in the draft law because “during investigation attempts some believers and members may take it negatively. as if the government is intervening in their affairs, they may also take it as if the government is attacking them, which may in turn affect the development and stability of the nation.”
The draft also gives power to the Commission a role to regulate other federal government agencies in their pursuit of taking action against any suspected corruption acts.
The Bill has been referred to the House’s Law and Justice Standing Committee.
Source: The Reporter
