Ministry of Health to require employees to declare assets

The Ministry of Health is considering imposing an asset declaration as well as an absence of interest conflict testimony on its employees as a measure in fighting corruption.
Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih made the announcement at a one-day forum on promoting integrity and combating corruption in the health care sector. The forum was organized by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) in collaboration with the Council of Health Service which is chaired by the minister.
“Integrity should be the foundation of the health sector; otherwise people’s health and lives will be jeopardized in the very place entrusted with protecting them,” he said, stressing his ministry’s determination to eliminate corruption and misbehavior.
“We are living in an era of firmness and decisiveness of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman who never hesitates to strike corruption with an iron fist. We will not give a room to those among us who do not adhere to the highest standards of integrity and honesty,” he added.
The minister emphasized that the ministry would stand strong in the face of behavior or practices that affect honesty and dignity. “We will not let anyone undermine the great efforts made by thousands of sincere ministry workers or distort their good deeds,” he said.
Al-Falih stated that his ministry had devised a strategy to prevent and fight corruption. The strategy includes awareness and education, taking measures to demonstrate commitment such as demanding employees to present declarations of assets and absence of conflict of interest, organizing work in ways to guarantee transparency and eliminate corruption, devising alert systems that permit the reporting of corruption, keeping reporters’ identity hidden from the public while giving them rewards, and intensifying operations of surveillance and investigation in cooperation with the related government authority if necessary for verification.