Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

I read a report recently in Okaz newspaper in which the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) was demanding that the Ministry of Housing investigate the cause for the delay in implementing a housing project in Sakaka city in Al-Jouf region. Nazaha asked the ministry to find out who was responsible for this as well as to report to it about the procedures taken to tackle the issue. The anti-graft body also sought clarification from the ministry for not discharging its duty to serve a warning notice to the project contractor and to revoke the contract if it has violated the terms and conditions agreed upon with the ministry.



Nazaha urged the ministry to take action against all those found guilty of negligence and the violation of regulations. It also called for activating the role of the concerned agency under the ministry to conduct a follow up and supervision of the project implementation by sending representatives to the project site or making arrangements for weekly visits to the site by the concerned officials.



According to the contract, the deadline for completion of the project was the third week of the current month of Jamad Al-Thani. This means that only 14 percent of the project was completed at the time of the visit of Nazaha officials to the project site to assess the progress of work. Nazaha officials entrusted two of its engineers to look into the project file and make an assessment of it.



It was revealed to Nazaha that the project for the construction of 364 housing units was awarded to a Saudi contracting establishment for SR166.63 million and the period of implementation was 24 months, starting from the date of signing the contract in Jamad Al-Thani 1431H. Later, 10 percent  was added to the amount to make the value of the contract SR183.26 million, and 12  extra months were given to complete the project. This means that the total period for implementation of the project was three years and that the deadline ended last week. However, only 14 percent of the work has been completed and the project has been delayed in a flagrant and disgraceful way.



This raises several questions. Was there any evaluation of the contractors who presented their bids for the project and were they required to produce any bank guarantee that would force them to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract? Which agency drafted the contract specifications, and how has it dealt with this contractor who has done nothing worth mentioning to implement the project over the past three years? What was the reason for not taking the project away from the contractor when it was realized that he was neither capable nor serious in his implementation of  the project? How much of the total contract amount has been released to the contractor? If the amount of money released is more than  the 14 percent of the project the contractor has completed, then how has this happened and what was the criteria for releasing this money? Were there not any mechanisms and terms and conditions to check the progress of the work before delivering the contract money in installments? Is there not any concerned financial official at the Ministry of Finance to make certain that money is not released before ensuring that the project has been properly implemented?



I think that this issue, as mentioned by Nazaha, cannot be considered simply as a stalled project, but that it is clearly a scandal. Everybody involved in this affair should be tried in court. The contractor should be deprived of the right to continue implementing the project. The committee in charge of awarding tenders should also be held accountable for selecting the contractor without ensuring that he was capable of carrying out such a vital project.



We learned about the details of this stalled project thanks to the revelations made by Nazaha. There may be other projects which Nazaha or other monitoring bodies do not know about. There is no way to know about those who are responsible for the delay in implementing these projects and those who resort to corruption.



It is worth noting that the head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission has announced on several occasions that the anti-graft body will investigate everyone involved in corrupt practices to earn personal gain, and that the Commission will look into any cases of corruption and will refer them to the concerned investigation agencies.



The Nazaha chief has also asked citizens to inform the anti-graft agency about any cases suspected of involving corruption and shortfalls in services extended to the public, so that it can follow them up and refer those involved  to investigating agencies and then to the courts. Apart from this, Nazaha has assured the public that it will not make known the names of those involved in corruption or the embezzlement of public wealth so as to safeguard the honor and dignity of their families and tribes.



However, I am of the view that any tribes or families, which are not keen to raise their members in the right manner and yet at the same time are eager to safeguard their dignity and reputation, should not be exempted from blame for their failure to deter their family members from resorting to dishonesty, corruption, and illegal earnings as well as the misuse of public wealth.



— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com