Govt report affirms widespread corruption & wastage of money

‘CSC will not tolerate employees who extended Eid holidays’

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 14: The government report, a copy of which has been obtained by the Al-Qabas daily, implicitly acknowledges there is widespread corruption in government establishments and that the Kuwait Audit Bureau (KAB) is making remarkable efforts to protect public funds and keep in check money wastage, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The report issued by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers is addressed to the Ministry of Finance on the need to address the observations made by the KAB after examining the accounts of the institutions which fall under its control and give priority to the recommendations needed to raise the level of financial performance of various government agencies, especially where waste is seen.

The report includes the briefing on reports by the Council of Ministers in terms of financial irregularities, high-risk issues of public funds, and inadequate or weak oversight, while also referring to the recommendations to establish the principles of governance in all government actions and procedures.

The report also touches on the need to develop and improve the administrative and technical capabilities of government agencies during the planning stages and implementation of projects, and work to reduce the documentary cycle within the entity and the effective follow-up procedures of the documentary cycle outside.

Meanwhile, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) will not tolerate employees who extended their Eid Al-Adha holidays which ended Tuesday, asserting that the law regulating work in governmental bodies will be applied on these employees, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources.

Sources pointed out the Labor Law clearly stipulates the nonworking holidays for employees in governmental bodies and the penalties for those who will not comply with the official working hours.

Sources said absenteeism is still rampant, especially during days sandwiched between nonworking holidays and the weekend. Sources added the directive of CSC clearly states that the excellent performance bonus will be paid only to employees who reported for work at least 180 days within the evaluation year.

Sources went on to say that an employee who goes on sick or emergency leave for more than 69 days will not be eligible for the bonus even if he obtained ‘excellent’ rating in the annual performance evaluation.