Maryam Al-Sagheer
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
RIYADH — King Saud Medical City squandered SR1.3 million on unused building and facilities, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) has found.
Nazaha spokesman Abdulrahman Al-Ajlan said the commission launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from a citizen that a KSMC building has not been used for three years.
“The commission investigated the report to find out that the building was empty. It was planned to be an administrative building and the administration has paid its rent for the past three years without using it,” said Al-Ajlan.
He also said the rent of the building throughout the three years accumulated to over SR1.3 million. “It is the commission’s job to combat corruption in every way possible. Squandering money on unused facilities means there is money being drawn out of the budget and wasted on unproductive services and facilities.
“The money wasted could have been invested into something which would benefit the citizens,” said Al-Ajlan.
He added the commission has forwarded the report to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution.
“Nazaha does not have punitive authority. We have forwarded the case to the pertinent authority after doing our part of the job and verifying the report submitted to us by a citizen. We welcome such reports from citizens and we try our best to ensure that citizens never lose their rights and never have to deal with administrative corruption,” said the spokesman.
He added the commission was established to protect integrity and combat corruption.
“We are here to protect the rights of the citizens in the workplace and the services sector. We are here to represent and defend the citizen when he/she are underrepresented. We coordinate with both the public and private sector to ensure integrity and honesty,” said Al-Ajlan.
He also said the commission’s function is to fill in the gap between the service user and service provider.
