UNIPATH STAFF
Setting its sights on achieving Oman’s Vision 2040 and meeting its people’s demands, the government of the Sultanate of Oman adopted a comprehensive plan to improve good governance, legislation and laws, review audit procedures, and increase professional accountability and transparency.
To this end, the Omani Cabinet approved in December 2021 a proposal to amend the Law on Protection of Public Funds and Avoiding Conflict of Interests to increase transparency, protect public funds and combat corruption.
When the law was first approved in 2011, Oman dismissed some senior government employees on charges related to financial corruption, mismanagement or abuse of power.
The most detrimental aspect of corruption in the public sector is its positive correlation with terrorism. International studies have shown that high levels of corruption increase the number of terrorist attacks originating in a country. This phenomenon has emerged in key battlegrounds against extremism around the globe.
Oman, however, is experiencing remarkable progress in anti-corruption efforts. It managed to achieve its biggest improvement on the global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI): Since 2012, Oman has advanced seven positions on the CPI to rank 49th of 180 countries and territories.
Published annually by the nongovernmental organization Transparency International since 1995, CPI ranks countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and businesspeople.
Sources: alarayb.co.uk, Oman News Agency, Transparency International