Iraqi parliament speaker urges unifying visions to eradicate corruption
Iraqi police cadets hold the Iraqi flag as they stand in formation during their graduation from the academy in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, April 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Speaker of the House of Representatives Mohamed al-Halbousi on Saturday stressed the importance of eradicating the scourge of corruption through unifying visions among the bodies concerned in Iraq.
“Iraq has suffered from the scourge of terrorism and corruption… but the Iraqi people stepped up their efforts to eliminate terrorist groups,” Halbousi told a parliamentary session.
“We must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with each other to confront the scourge of corruption by unifying visions among the bodies concerned,” he added, stressing that “the legislature will work hard to draft anti-corruption laws.”
He pointed out that the House of Representatives is waiting for the government’s anti-corruption bills to work on and approve them with a view to putting an end to corruption in the country once and for all.
A corruption index released by Transparency International in January ranked Iraq 168th, a position shared with Venezuela, among 180 countries covered by the report. It is the Arab World’s 6th most corrupt country, according to the report.
Denmark was the world’s least corrupt, according the report which ranked Somalia at the bottom of the chart.