ALKHOBAR: Khaled bin Abdulmohsen Al-Muhaisen, president of Nazaha, the anti-corruption organization, said at a forum held here that social media helped the group receive more than 5,000 reports from citizens of potential incidents of corruption.
The forum was held to coincide with International Anti-Corruption Day on Friday.
He said an electronic application on smart handheld devices allowed Nazaha to receive reports and the interactive account on the social network Twitter to receive inquiries, suggestions and feedback.
“As a result of this partnership and cooperation with citizens and residents, the body received more than 5,000 reports and all were addressed according to jurisdiction and the regulatory procedures,” Al-Muhaisen said.
Al-Muhaisen said Nazaha will launch a service — “Qayem” or “Evaluate” — via the electronic application “Nazaha” to evaluate the performance of the reporting service functions of the organization. The application is aimed at measuring the level of integrity, transparency and the satisfaction of users of the app.
He also said a webpage will be launched dedicated to 43 Nazaha clubs at educational institutions to evaluate the integrity and corruption in the Kingdom through studies and research, collection of reports, statistics and information from the regulators.
He said that Nazaha had introduced a program to follow up on the major development projects in the Kingdom to ensure their implementation.
“In that sense, Nazaha monitored 161 development projects at an estimated value of more than SR223 billion ($59.4 billion),” he said.
He also said Nazah sought to raise the level of cooperation and partnership at the international level through signing memorandums of understanding with several anticorruption agencies, including with the Egyptian Administrative Control Authority.
“This week, the body will sign a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission,” he said. “Nazaha also will sign a memorandum of understanding with the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), in addition to creating projects in cooperation with other competent bodies for the exchange of experience and capacity building in the anti-corruption issues.”
Saudi social media help Nazaha fight corruption
Saudi social media help Nazaha fight corruption
Saudi Arabia launches initiative to reroute Gulf cargo to Red Sea ports
- The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region
- Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched an initiative to redirect shipping from ports in the Arabian Gulf to its Red Sea ports amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war.
Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser, who also chairs the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), launched the Logistics Corridors Initiative alongside Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority Governor Suhail Abanmi, Mawani President Suliman Al-Mazroua, and other officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The initiative will establish dedicated operational corridors to receive containers and cargo redirected from ports in the Kingdom's Eastern Region and other Gulf Cooperation Council states to Jeddah Islamic Port and other Red Sea coast ports.
Al-Jasser said the Kingdom was committed to ensuring supply-chain stability and the smooth flow of goods through global trade routes. Jeddah Islamic Port and other west coast ports, he added, were already playing a key role in accommodating shipments redirected from the east, while also linking Gulf cargo to regional and international markets.
The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region. Iran has long threatened to close the strait — the world's most critical oil and gas chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass — in the event of a war.
Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway, sending freight rates soaring and forcing shipping companies to seek alternative routes.
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports offer a viable bypass, connecting Gulf cargo to global markets without passing through the strait.
