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Two focus group meetings were held in the West Bank (WB) and Gaza to
discuss the National Integrity System Study conducted by AMAN.
Attendees, in their capacity as stakeholders, included university
professors as well as representatives from the various sectors of the
Palestinian society. In addition, Dr. Azmi Shuaibi, AMAN Commissioner
for Combating Corruption and the three researchers carrying out the
study, Dr. Ahmad Abu-Dayyeh, Dr. Mohammed Abu-Zayed and Dr. Abdelrahman
At-Tamimi, also attended the meeting in the WB.
Jamileh Abed welcomed the WB group and explained the purpose of the
meeting which is to enrich the study by benefiting from the feedback and
recommendations provided by the stakeholders present. She also pointed
out that there are three other identical studies, in methodology and aim
that are being conducted on the regional level in Morocco, Lebanon and
Egypt as part of the MABDA project which is being implemented in
coordination with Transparency International.
Dr. Shuaibi, during the WB meeting, gave a briefing on NIS and the
Palestinian need for such a study which can be summarized as follows:
He explained that in general, the National Integrity System (NIS)
describes the interrelated and interdependent functions of key
institutions and sectors within a society that contribute to integrity,
transparency, and accountability. He added that the aim of the study is
to assess Palestinian institutions in that regard and not to evaluate
their performance.
He pointed out that it is AMAN’s policy to involve as many stakeholders
as possible in any given activity that relates to national issues
one of which is this study which aims at
defining priority areas for anti-corruption reform.
Dr. Abu-Dayyeh presented a summery of the study and assured the
attendees that this is the first draft and that he and his colleagues,
the research team, are here to learn and listen to those interested in
enhancing the study. He also illustrated the difficulties encountered
especially those related to gathering information.
Similarly, Nadia El-Bayoumi, AMAN’s office manager in Gaza presented the
study with the same understanding to stakeholders from Gaza.
The discussions proved
to be fruitful. Feedback and recommendations from both groups will be
taken into consideration and those related will be integrated in the
final copy of the study.
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