Sudanese cabinet sends anti-graft bill to parliament
August 27, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese cabinet on Thursday approved a draft law submitted by the justice minister Awad al-Hassan al-Nur that establishes an anti-graft commission and defines acts that constitute corruption.
The minister said that the law demonstrates the will of the nation in accordance with the constitution “to enact laws that protect society from corruption and social evils and promote its good values and establish institutions that limit corruption and prevent abuse of power”.
The cabinet spokesman Omer Mohamed Saleh said in press statements that the draft law identifies terms of reference for the commission and its powers. It also defines the crimes related to corruption that are punishable by law.
Last July, the head of the committee tasked with drafting an anti-corruption law Babiker Gashi, said that corruption poses serious danger to the national security, pointing that nobody should escape punishment including public official who enjoy impunity.
President Omer Hassan al-Bashir vowed at his swearing-in ceremony last June to form of a supreme body that reports directly to him with the task of enforcing transparency and fighting corruption.
Early in 2012, Bashir ordered the establishment of an anti-corruption commission to “monitor and follow what is being published in the media about corruption and to coordinate with the presidency of the Republic and other competent authorities in the ministry of justice and the national assembly in order to complete information on what is being raised about corruption at the state level”.
But after more than a year of seemingly zero activity, Bashir sacked the commission head and did not appoint a replacement, dealing a major blow to demands by the public for more robust investigations of corruption.
Over the last few years, the federal and state governments have been rattled by high-profile corruption cases.
(ST)