His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday announced the formation of the National Integrity Committee, a panel of institutional and civil society representatives to review the performance of monitoring agencies and develop a holistic approach to the fight against corruption.

King Abdullah named the prime minister to chair the Committee, a first-of-its kind in the Kingdom, in a letter that outlined the new panels’ objectives and guidelines.

“Jordanians’ confidence in state institutions, which will motivate them to actively participate in decision and policy making and implementation processes, is the engine that drives comprehensive reform efforts towards success and reassures Jordanians of their present and the future of their children,” the King said in a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour.

The Committee will work to support the national integrity system by evaluating current laws, reviewing the performance and assessing the needs of anti-corruption and monitoring public agencies, and submitting recommendations to strengthen them.

“Entrenching an atmosphere of justice, accountability and good performance is in the public interest, which is our top priority and higher goal.”
 
His Majesty pointed to “the need for the Committee to establish communication and dialogue with all civil society organisations, including parties, professional associations and political forces.”

The King urged the Committee to be open to the ideas and views of Jordanians, as it fulfills its objectives of fighting all forms of corruption, reforming the financial and administrative systems, strengthening organisational capacity and ethics across state institutions.

While promoting accountability and transparency in the public sector - especially with regard to budgets, tenders, government supplies, appointments, standards for services and mechanisms to receive and handle complaints – is crucial, His Majesty’s letter highlighted that the private sector and civil society play as important a role in enrooting transparency and fighting and deterring corruption.