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The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity AMAN organized a workshop
in its premises in Al-Bireh in cooperation with
the Palestine Trade Center PALTRADE on September
5, 2006. The workshop discussed the private
sector anti-corruption draft code of conduct
that was prepared jointly by AMAN and PALTRADE.
Dr. Azmi
Shuaibi, General Coordinator, AMAN Coalition
opened the session with a briefing on AMAN’s
activities towards producing the draft code
which came as part of AMAN’s program of
promoting integrity, transparency, and
accountability in the Palestinian private
sector. He mentioned that the production of the
draft code responds to a social need and came as
a result of extensive discussions with the
private sector. Dr. Shuaibi noted that the
evolution of the private companies into public
institutions is a positive phenomenon that
should be utilized towards strengthening
integrity, transparency, and accountability in
these institutions in their evolution phase.
The Acting
Director General of Private Companies
Supervision at the Ministry of National Economy
spoke of the obstacles that face the Ministry in
supervising and following up the work of private
companies in the absence of updated legislations
as the present law goes back to 1964. He
declared that the Ministry had successfully
drafted a law that regulates the function of
Palestinian companies. The Ministry will be
organizing a number of workshops to get feedback
on the draft law from law experts and financial
auditors prior to its submission to the PLC. Dr.
Hassan Abu Libdeh, previous Minister of Labor
and Social Affairs and the Executive Director
for the Palestinian Stock Exchange stressed the
importance of this code yet shared his concern
regarding the lack of the proper environment for
implementing it in the current situation. He
also stressed the importance of adopting an
incentive plan for companies to abide by the
code.
Dr. Ahmad
Majdalani, previous State Minister and President
of Board of Directors- Palestinian Economist
Association stressed the importance of
developing the code of conduct into a convention
to be signed by stakeholders in a national
conference.
Participants
agreed that the draft anti-corruption code of
conduct prepared by AMAN should become official.
It shall act as one of the basic indicators of
governance. Further discussions should take
place with the boards of directors of the
different companies so as to apply the code in
their daily work and to arrive at certain
mechanisms that would guarantee its
implementation inside these institutions. The
application of the code of conduct inside the
private institutions would guarantee a safe
environment for employers. Participants
mentioned that the number of those harmed by
corruption inside the private sector outnumbers
those that benefit from it.
On its part,
AMAN will be organizing a conference towards the
end of this year to officially launch the
private sector anti-corruption code of conduct
as well as the name of the companies that
committed to it.
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