Amman municipality under scrutiny over potential violations

AMMAN — The Lower House's Finance Committee on Monday gave the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) a week to present a detailed report on all potential violations related to employment and measures taken to rectify those violations, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The request came during the committee’s discussion, chaired by MP Ahmad Safadi (Amman, 3rd District), of the latest Audit Bureau’s report  covering 2013, 2014 and 2015. 

Safadi said the discussions aim at ensuring transparency in public spending and that funds are used legally to serve public interest, condemning any violations that would lead to squandering public money, and stressing GAM's prime responsibility in this regard. 

The House's Finance Committee called for GAM's heads of the construction and finance sectors, and its general inspector to "investigate" suspicions of financial and administrative corruption, Safadi told local media outlets on Monday. 

He commended the Audit Bureau's efforts to uphold public accountability and its role in achieving active public money monitoring  "in accordance with the best practices and professional standards”.

For their part, several deputies inquired about the violations listed in the report regarding public agencies’ financial performance. 

Audit Bureau President Abed Kharabsheh said the violations were categorised "according to scope", as some might require a decision by the Cabinet to retrieve illegally spent money. Meanwhile, others could involve suspected corruption and have therefore to be referred to the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission for investigation and then sent to the Prime Ministry for further action.