Countries at the Crossroads 2004

Country Report - Jordan

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Anticorruption and Transparency – 2.92

From the beginning of his reign, King Abdullah has emphasized that eradicating corruption, including wasta, is a top priority. In his first months as king, he famously visited government ministries in various disguises, investigating firsthand the extent to which bribes are demanded for public services. In 2000, he told a group of Jordanian editors: "I stand against cronyism. Everyone who works on consolidating it or ignoring its existence is my personal enemy."[29] Through a high-level ministerial committee on corruption formed in 2000 and an ad hoc committee on corruption and favoritism formed in 2002 in connection with the Jordan First campaign, Jordan has taken some direct steps to fight corruption. In addition, Jordan has enacted measures to liberalize the economy, which presumably will reduce the long-term opportunities for patronage. However, there remain gaps in the legislation and institutions available to reduce corruption, and the state's treatment of corruption cases is not consistent.

Jordanian law prohibits public officials from taking bribes, but there are no requirements that they report on the receipt of gifts or hospitality, nor are there restrictions on post-public sector employment.[30] In 2000, there were efforts to draft a code of honor against nepotism and cronyism in public employment, but the code was never completed. Since 2000, certain government officials have attempted at least five times to enact legislation requiring public officials, including parliamentarians, to disclose their assets, but no such legislation has yet been passed. Although the conduct of Jordan's final secondary school exam (Tawjihi) is generally viewed as fair, the use of wasta to obtain places in universities, scholarships, and good grades is believed to be widespread.[31]

Several governmental institutions have the authority to monitor and investigate corruption. The audit bureau of the constitution monitors the expenditures of most government institutions and submits a report to parliament every six months; until recently, the reports were only submitted annually. Although the head of the audit bureau has immunity under the constitution, the bureau is subject to pressures from the executive branch. The ministry of administrative development is charged with uncovering instances of corruption in governmental institutions, as well as ensuring that the civil service and government procurement laws are properly implemented. In September 2002, the ministry of administrative development announced plans to open public complaints offices for the "misuse of authority, inefficiency or corruption in official departments."[32] However, Jordan does not have whistle-blower protection laws that shield complainants, who are required to provide their names and addresses in order to file complaints. The anticorruption unit of the GID investigates smuggling, tax evasion, counterfeiting, money-laundering, commercial fraud, manipulation of standards and specifications, telecommunications piracy, and violations of intellectual property law. The anticorruption unit asserts that it is expending significant effort on the latter two problems, which it views as major obstacles to attracting foreign investment.

The enforcement of Jordan's anticorruption laws has improved under King Abdullah. In February 2002, at the king's direction, the prosecutor general began a groundbreaking corruption investigation and prosecution of several senior officials, including the former head of the GID, Samih Batikhi. In July 2003, Batikhi was found guilty of fraud and embezzlement by Jordan's state security court, sentenced to eight years in prison, and ordered to pay back $24 million. Jordan's current GID chief then reduced Batikhi's prison term to four years. The prosecution and conviction of a figure as prominent as Batikhi was touted by the Jordanian government as a groundbreaking step against corruption. However, other Jordanians asserted that the conviction was politically motivated and based on flawed legal grounds and faulty evidence. The trial itself was not public.

Civil society groups complain that the king and government have not involved them in any anticorruption efforts, and in at least two relatively recent instances, the government has actively thwarted media efforts to expose corruption. In March 2002, the government allegedly threatened to ban a newspaper if it printed certain articles regarding the Batikhi case.[33] Then, in May 2002, former parliamentarian Toujan Faisal was sentenced to 18 months in prison for posting a letter in an Internet publication that accused the prime minister of corruption. The king pardoned Faisal in June 2002.

Government transparency is limited in Jordan. Citizens do not have the legal right to government information, nor are there established procedures through which they can petition the government for it. Most Jordanian ministries have Web sites, and the government expects to complete an e-government project in the next several years that will enable citizens to conduct official transactions by computer and presumably reduce the ability of ministry employees to extract bribes for basic services. The parliament is required to review the budget, but expenditures of the royal court and the armed forces are not subject to legislative approval.

Recommendations

King Abdullah and the Jordanian government should continue to highlight publicly the need to fight all forms of corruption, including wasta. The government should continue to investigate and prosecute officials who have engaged in corruption, but it should do so in civil courts and in a transparent manner. The state should take additional steps to reduce corruption, such as enacting mandatory financial disclosure laws for public officials and reforming the civil service, including enacting a civil servants' ethics code. Jordan should increase transparency of state institutions and actions. Positive measures would include opening the budgets of the royal court and armed forces to legislative scrutiny and enacting freedom of information legislation. Jordan should continue to implement the e-government project and take steps to ensure that most citizens can access electronic government services. The Jordanian government should permit greater civil society involvement in efforts to eradicate corruption and to encourage uninhibited media reporting on corruption stories.

Previous | Civil Liberties | Rule of Law | Anticorruption and Transparency | Accountability and Public Voice | Author | Notes | Introduction | Next