Iraqi prime minister orders rewards for whistleblowers on corruption

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi on Saturday instructed the Federal Integrity Commission to implement the law granting rewards to individuals who report cases of corruption. He also called for monthly and quarterly reports on anti-corruption efforts and achievements, as well as the adoption of a three-tier system to monitor projects based on their size and cost.

The prime minister's directives included strengthening oversight of border crossings, exposing corrupt individuals, and expanding the Integrity Commission's role beyond monitoring to include preventive measures. He also emphasized the need to monitor provincial projects in the same way as ministerial projects.

Al-Zaidi outlined a mechanism for project monitoring at three levels: starting with high-cost projects, followed by medium-sized projects, and then smaller ones. This approach aims to make oversight efforts more effective, according to a statement from the prime minister's media office.

The prime minister stressed that combating corruption requires efforts that go beyond oversight to include prevention, emphasizing the need to eradicate the corruption system entirely and to monitor provincial projects as rigorously as those of ministries.

These directives were issued during Al-Zaidi's visit to the headquarters of the Federal Integrity Commission, where he met with its president and senior staff, and reviewed the commission's operations and anti-corruption initiatives to protect public funds.

For his part, the president of the Integrity Commission announced the formation of field teams to audit contracts in state institutions, noting that these teams have completed audits for eight ministries, with work ongoing to review contracts in other institutions.

The commission president also highlighted the completion of the National Integrity and Anti-Corruption Strategy, which extends to 2030, affirming the commission's readiness to continue combating corruption and safeguarding public funds.