Muscat: Oman’s elected Shura council voted on Monday to make the body’s financial records public, in a move that is intended to encourage other government bodies to do the same.
The move comes amid a public demand to confront corruption and to hold government bodies accountable over their spending.
“The move gives a much needed comfort to the Omani people and protects public money,” Khalid Al Mawali, the chairman of the Shura Council told Gulf News.
“I hope other officials in government bodies follow suit,” Mohammad Al Busaidi, a Shura council member from the Bausher province said.
Reacting to the move, Omanis launched a hashtag last week in Arabic, which translated to “financial disclosure for all officials”.
They applauded Shura member and head of the legal committee, Mohammad Al Zadjali, for spearheading the move.
Under Article 12 of the Basic Statute of the State, the chairman of the State’s Audit control has the right to request financial records from any official. The chairman rarely exercised his right.
The Shura Council says it will ask the cabinet to amend the law to make its financial disclosure mandatory.
Oman’s Shura council, replaced the Consultative State Council that acted from 1981 to 1991.
It has some legislative powers, although the government has the final say on all matters.
The country has been taking steady steps in combating corruption. In November, a special court was established in Muscat to investigate bribery claims, worker abuse and public spending abuse.
The Public Funds Court, the first of its kind in Oman, aims to combat financial and administrative corruption that has been a chief complaint in the country.
Over 20 high-ranking officials have been arrested and jailed in the past five years, mostly from the oil and gas sector.
