Baghdad-INA
Mazhar Muhammad Salih, the Prime Minister's financial advisor, explained On Monday, the most prominent goals of the Prime Minister anti-corruption initiatives and their economic impact, stressing that Al-Zaidi anti-corruption steps strengthen the rule of law and promote economic prosperity.
Muzhir told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The essence of the policy related to anti-corruption steps launched by the Prime Minister, Ali Al-Zaidi, is to start confronting large and organized corruption by creating an effective legal lever and strengthening the power of law enforcement in a way that ensures direct interaction between regulatory and judicial institutions.”
He added that "the interaction between the regulatory and legal authorities has begun to take more advanced paths in shaping a dynamic environment aimed at dismantling the structures that foster large and organized corruption, and reducing the networks of interests that protect its continuation."
He added, "This approach differs from traditional methods of combating corruption, which often focus on minor financial and administrative violations, as it aims to address the structural causes that allow corruption to be reproduced and sustained."
From an economic perspective, the advisor explained that "the success of the Prime Minister's anti-corruption efforts will positively impact the efficiency of public resource management, rationalize government spending, reduce waste and financial leakage, and enhance the confidence of local and foreign investors in the business environment."
He added: “The Prime Minister’s approach to combating corruption also contributes to raising the efficiency of resource allocation, improving the quality of public services, and increasing the state’s ability to mobilize non-oil revenues, which supports efforts towards economic diversification and financial sustainability.”
In the medium and long term, he pointed out that "combating organized corruption is one of the essential conditions for the success of economic reform programs, because it leads to a reduction in the costs of economic transactions, an improvement in the investment environment, an enhancement of competitiveness, and an increase in real economic growth rates, which positively impacts job opportunities, socio-economic levels, business prosperity, and sustainable development."
