Okaz newspaper

IT is not the first time that a bribe of a million riyals has been exposed. Many similar bribe cases were uncovered in the past. These bribes were given to win tenders, approve purchases or sign deals.

The only difference with the million-riyal bribe, which was recently revealed by the Attorney General, was that it was given to facilitate the payment of financial dues.

The question that arises here is: Why does any company will resort to bribing as a means to retrieve its financial rights?

Regretfully the answer to this question is part of the question itself. Many of the complications in the procedures and paperwork are deliberately created so as to obtain bribes. They are made to enable the public employees get some extra dough.

These employees have been put in their places to serve the people and ensure their rights. Instead of doing this, the employees are putting hurdles before the people in enjoying their God-given rights. They are complicating the simple and straightforward procedures in order to obtain bribes.

Through his announcement of the incident, the Attorney General was not just revealing a bribery case but was rather sending a message that nobody was above the law and that anyone who accepts or gives bribes will be caught and punished.

If the employee who accepts the bribe is breaching the code of trust, the one who gives it is equally incriminated even if he does this to obtain his rights.

Giving bribes or accepting them is an unforgivable crime. It will contaminate the work environment and pollute the atmosphere of integrity and honesty. It will poison the ethics and kill the conscience.

The objective of the National Transformation Program and the Kingdom's Vision 2030 is to achieve transparency and create a professional work attitude in which no body will need to accept or give out bribes. No public employee will then be able to hinder the interests of the people or obstruct their rights.