In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh took at least one step in the right direction when he criticised corruption in all Yemeni state bodies and corporations. He even said some ministries formed 'the core of corruption', and called for implementation of a reform programme to fight it. In the Gulf region, corruption cases uncovered so far generally range from commissions on deals and projects to insider trading. Although the region is unfamiliar with the kinds of bribery prevailing in many other Arab countries, it has witnessed some embezzlement cases, most spectacularly involving the Kuwait Investment Office and the Kuwait Oil Tankers Company. The signs for the future auger well.
Observers say that corruption levels across the Arab region are set to decline gradually.
This, they say, will be due to rising awareness of the problem and its consequences on the one hand, and increasing interest in achieving higher efficiency levels in public institutions on the other. More attention is likely to be focused on the distortions resulting from corruption, particularly in the countries opting for market economies. Rising development burdens and the need for spending rationalisation are also playing a crucial roll in stemming corruption through contracts being exaggerated in order to build in kickbacks. This has regularly appeared in all Gulf countries since the advent of oil revenue surpluses, but it has retreated substantially with the establishment of stronger control and accountancy bodies. Nevertheless, international watchdogs say that the further promotion of higher transparency levels in the centres of decision making and the dissemination of data is still vital to fight corruption.