Labour Ministry ‘coordinating closely’ with anti-graft agency, says Ghezawi

AMMAN — Labour Minister Ali Ghezawi on Sunday visited the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC) and met with its President Mohammad Allaf the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Ghezawi and Allaf discussed coordination between the ministry and JIACC and joint programmes to combat corruption in all forms, and curb violations by public sector employees.

Ghezawi stressed the importance of the meeting, saying “it proves the government’s keenness on cooperating with the commission to deter corrupt employees, who abuse their office and commit human trafficking by selling work permits”. 

The minister commended JIACC’s efforts in following up on suspected corruption cases and conducting field visits to government agencies, including labour departments, in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Law.

For his part, Allaf said the meeting came to follow up on previously agreed on measures to organise the labour market and apply the new regulations that are related to issuing and renewing work permits.

He stressed the importance of addressing joblessness and poverty, which are factors that could undermine society’s values and could push people to be involved in corruption.

JIACC’s field visits to the Labour Ministry’s departments and other government agencies will continue, he noted.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Hani Mulki met with Allaf and urged JIACC to swiftly process graft files the government had referred to, pledging any required support to accelerate the commission’s work on these files.

Mulki urged the watchdog to provide the Cabinet with a timeframe for the mission at hand, so that suspects could be referred to court.

If convicted, the suspects’ photos and names will be published, he said.

The government has recently referred 30 cases of suspected corruption to JIACC, including cases related to counterfeiting work permits issued by several labour directorates.