Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister Omar Razzaz chaired part of a meeting of the team tasked with addressing public sector financial and administrative violations listed in Audit Bureau reports, a day after meeting senior bureau staff members.

During the meeting, which was attended by Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sami Dawood and Audit Bureau chief Assem Haddad, Razzaz reaffirmed that his government is acting upon the royal directives to protect public money and prevent the misuse of funds, noting the importance of connecting with the public to clarify spending avenues and disclose the Finance Ministry's and Audit Bureau's monthly figures.

He also stressed the importance of raising "institutional and oversight culture" in all the ministries and public entities, enhancing the efforts of internal control units and their proactive role to prevent abuses and early unveil any wrongdoing in order to promptly address the violations.

The premier praised the key role of the task force, which comprises representatives from the Prime Ministry, the Audit Bureau and the Finance Ministry, which verifies the observations and refer violators to the competent authorities, whether the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission or the judiciary.

He pointed to the monthly review approach adopted by the Audit Bureau to address first-hand violations in any of the ministries, public institutions, independent entities or companies in which the government has a stake of more than 50 per cent.

Razzaz said that the Audit Bureau is now more independent than anytime in the past, and that the amendments to the auditing law and the civil service bylaw, or any future amendments to legislations would give it more independence, strength and the expertise needed to deal with all outstanding matters related to public money.

State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sami Dawoud, who heads the task force, said that the Audit Bureau's new approach in addressing its reports had led to a significant in cases of abuse, noting that the monthly violations currently averaged 8 to 10, compared with the hundreds of irregularities in a single annual report in the past.

He said that the monitored violations are promptly corrected, and some cases are referred to the anti-graft commission and the judicial authority to retrieve the money involved, in addition to promptly and fully rectify administrative and technical violations.