No one above law, says top Qatar official

Oh yeah sure, we all believe this .

I'd like to see my former boss go to jail for corruption. Fact is, he's merely transferred, and to add insult to injury, promoted. Yes, genesis every govt. institution have Internal Auditors, but are inutile. The corporation where I work is so rife with corruption, and if you want to play the hero better have your bags ready to fly. So much money wasted where it could have been put to good use.

Isn't that good practice to hire an outside auditing firm for transparency and fairness? By the way, those 4 who got prosecuted may have stolen an obscene amount, which I think should not be a standard for doing jail time. Corruption comes in many forms and doesn't have to be a huge amount. Problem is, Qatar has oodles of money flowing and as my qatari boss says, it's in our 'culture'. I don't understand what that means...

Oh, one little thing: nobody is above the law? Been seeing a lot of spitters and it hasn't stopped and never heard anyone got penalized or went to jail for it. Haven't they decreed the penalty for violating that law? Pardon the pun, isn't that spitting on your laws?

Genesis,

I wished for the good of Qatar, more of you would be like you!

I sincerely hope that you are right and that change will be noticeable before it’s too late!

But we are learning

Why do you think they opened all those universities at EC and encourge critcal thinking among locals?

They know that once those who graduated from those universities will demand change

Why all those institutes are established? Why sign all those International agreements?

The Emir yesterday have given full support and power to the public attorney office & Audit bureau on tracking down corruption cases

We are a “new” country in the world stage. 15 years ago , there wasn’t even a system. Just a copycat from other bureaucratic Arab systems

No too sure if the above are isolated cases but the way how things are going on the ground dosen't speaks for itself. One glaring examples are the locals acting above the laws without any hindrances from the behaviour on the road to and social attitudes. Indeed its a good start if indeed be.

Hopeless system that will eventually shoot themselves in the foot!

firstly.... I will state, media is not my choice of career... I came here for an admin position, but circumstances within the organisation saw me placed on a desk doing the job I do now. I am not a reporter, I'm in production, but I speak with first hand experience.

I got here at the start of the paper, everyone was gungho about being in a new country with new possibilities. The atmosphere was electric - our paper was made up of a few college grads, and quite a number of experienced hands.

Then come the blows - you cannot print anything vaguely opposite to government stances, you can only print press releases, and you are not allowed to change them, bad english or not... Trying to get interviews with people is like trying to reach the US president - impossible - phone call after phone call, lists of questions, approval of questions, wanting to see the story before it goes to print and then frequently changing or retracting statements - trust me when I tell you, its soul destroying to watch jounalists running around putting out fires because something that shouldn't have been printed was and now the poor guy/girl is getting stick from everyone because "he/she should have known better". Trying not to offend your sponsor, because you have printed a piece about a rival company's product in his newspaper(ie, he owns other businesses).

It's not easy being a reporter here, believe me - yes, sometimes we get sub-standard reporters who maybe couldn't cut it in their country, but for the most, they are eager to do the job - if only there was a job to do.

Message from the QL Animal Section Editor:

Your post has been deemed ignorant.

You have been tracked.

Ready... Aim....

Congratulations... you have been Eliminated!

visit www.qaws.org

@ Nic,thank you!...

PM,

Sorry to step in, but I think what Gardarene is trying to say is that the professional standards here in Qatar are quite low and no professional class here represents the quality of that professional class back in their home countries.

People in general come to Qatar, after a bit more money than what they can get back home.

Nevertheless, as we all know Qatar continues to pay in the great majority of the cases, low salaries and very few jobs offering attractive pays.

In the first case, you tend to get substandard professionals who as you said won't find any better pay else where.

In the second case, you get good professionals, who come here with enthusiasm and a great will to drive progress.

The problem here is that the local professional standards are so low that the only ones who tend to stay are the ones with poor professional skills. The good professionals either give up fighting a dormant system with heavy protectionism not based on competences and leave or accommodate to that heavy dormant system for a while, until its time to move on, before their CV gets tainted with “Gulf experience”.

At the end, Qatar retains the substandard professionals that you refer to.

Just remember that, due to the above explained reasons, no group of professionals working in Qatar represent their professional group back in their home countries.

@ PM..."nevertheless"???...i already made it VERY clear that most Indian media professionals HERE are @ the BOTTOM of what is a VERY LARGE pile back home but your post is EXTREMELY MISLEADING in that,reading it,one would think ALL Indian media professionals are of the same abysmally low standard one finds here & THAT is as far from the truth as one can get...i "read" both local english "papers" in a matter of minutes every morning & miss my Times of India almost every single morning...please focus on the point i'm trying to make i.e about your post being misleading & generalizing ALL Indian media professionals,as is clear,we're both in agreement of the fact that English media standards here,Indian or any other nationality are not just low,but non-existant.fair enough?

Genesis,

I am sorry to be frank with you, but the reputation of your "Big Fish Society" is extremely questioned and in doubt.

The culture, the political system, the lack of integrity and the lack of transparency can only continue to feed corruption at all levels, no matter what the papers are permitted to publish.

Law is selectively applied by people that are placed below the “Big Fish”, thus no power to enforce that law (your roads and your smoking Malls are a great testimony of this useless law enforcement).

The law itself is very vulnerable and it can change without any warning to any desired direction at any time!

In such conditions, can one even talk about justice and fighting corruption?!

I would ask him to walk out of the door and if he looked he could find someone breaking the law within seconds.

I have read the newspapers in both Qatar and Kuwait. I was a bit surprised to find these newspapers were so broadminded and critical in terms of international affairs and institutions.

are not holding up a very good standard, are they?

Try reading the local papers before YOU shoot YOUR mouth off :-P

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

An article by Qatari Writer Dr. Rabiah Al Kuwari on today's Alsharq newspaper

Many of us believe that the many questions marks in the area of corruption revolves around the Doha Securities Market. given the importance of this market and the nest of agents whom their goal is the acquisition of rewards by the "Big Fish society" as a result of all the work they are doing to achieve their personal interests.This corruption at the expense of "small investors " who have no one to guide them or help them, or through the media make them aware of how to deal with the stock market through buying and selling or speculation daily, especially in times of crisis.

The information concerned with public funds in the state must be absolutely disclosed and made available to the citizen as his rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the country in the area of freedom of access to documents, data and information

institutions and ministries to work on the disclosure of this information and must be published for public opinion and logical controls based on the public interest first, because this thing protects the government from embarrassment or defamation in the future

This will be undertaken through open meetings with the public to define the work of the state and its achievements in various fields a.. This comes in line with the right of free access for the people and their participation in decision-making .. Which is the right way of transparency and accountability.

The appointment of some ministers in certain ministries and then stripped of office after several months or a year or more just means that there is an error and miscalculation in the box.When choosing a minister, It is the duty of decision-makers to make their choice based on : good conduct, personal documents, , chastity and honesty in his previous work, and his work within the community, and his education .. All of this will contribute to the selection of the appropriate minister in the right place .. In all countries , factors are taken against corruption from the top of the pyramid of power down to the base and must strike a balance in wealth and its fair distribution among all strata of society away from the bias .. Peoples have become aware, within all classes: upper or middle or bottom.

@ Nic,it's a fact mate & the sooner we accept that we're here for the tax-free money & almost nothing else,the sooner we'll all stop being hypocrites...

gadarene,

I suppose you are right. Working in the Middle East is a professional down grade for most of us!

Dying laughing. Giggle every time I think of your illumination of the Doha press scene. Very very clever.

Brava, Eve. :-)

Intlxpatr

Corruption its ragaing here its funny to think its not and that they are tough on it. They destroy honest, hard working people and wonder why the country is in such a decline, they suck their blood and throw them away. Businessmen have to bribe everyone to get a job, I hope the new generation will learn but given who their teachers are I doubt it will be anytime soon. At least they know who not to work for. A few people run the country and they will always stay that way, too much money and power involved.

@ PM,quite clearly,you don't have a clue about Indian media which is fine per se,what you shouldn't be doing however is shooting your mouth off based on that lack ok knowledge...the ONLY Indian media people working ANYWHERE in the mideast except for Dubai are the ones @ the very bottom of the pile back home & believe you me,it's a VERY high pile,for Indian media professionals,working in the mideast is a dead-ender so to speak,pretty much the nail in the coffin of their professional careers because NO respectable agency or newspaper (& there are loads) will hire them after "gulf experience" because they feel working in the Gulf means they've lost their edge & that doesn't work in one of THE MOST professional,competitive & cutting edge markets in the world when it comes journalism,advertising or anything media related...so you're right about the fact that the ones here don't have a lot of options elsewhere & that includes back home...make no mistake about it,coming to the mideast is a HUGE STEP DOWN for an Indian media professional & the good ones wouldn't even consider it let alone actually go through with it & why should they?...they have complete creative freedom as oppossed to this neck of the woods & they make the same if not better money & they're @ home interacting with others on their wavelength in a truly professional environment...this town has a few decades to go in terms of even dreaming of catching up/competing with the Indian market. If you are aware of the above mentioned facts,you ought to have been a bit more specific with your post,as is,one gets the impression that ALL Indians in media are poorly trained which is as far from the truth as one can get,i'm not a media person in case you're wondering,have nothing to do with it but have many friends in media & am fully aware of the fact that Indian media professionals are among the best on the planet,this is a known fact...the waste that comes here shouldn't be the benchmark by which the rest are rated which is what your post implies...

professionalism among those who work in the English Language media here. Most are poorly trained Indians (sorry but it's true) who probably feel they don't have a lot of options elsewhere and are happy to be employed in Qatar so willingly sacrifice any standards they may have to begin with.

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

Anyone can tell you that All newspapers in Qatar are self-censoring. But the worst are the English dailies. The Arabic ones has more space of freedom , and in some extent openly highlight some government entities flaws.Recently, Alraya newspaper exposed the long delayed of Ashgal road work in two of their major projects. In addtion, many local columnist recently are openly criticizing many government entities & its figures.

Which English local dailies are you referring to self-censoring themselves?

All news media do, indeed, have a perspective and an agenda on the news. (Look at Al Jazeera!) There's a big difference between a news editor trying to sell his paper and a bureaucrat rewriting his paper for him.

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"let's slip out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini" Mae West

for the English language media here and knowingly contribute to the denigration of what should be a great profession. Media everywhere can be abused and simply become a means of propaganda that can be bought and sold. The people who work in media have the choice.

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

I have a lot of hope for Qatar because of some of the younger Qataris I have met who really want the change the government states exists to actually become reality. While this single case of 4 ministers being subjected to the justice system may be true, we all know there are many more cases where this is not true. HOWEVER, I believe that is largely due to some of the "Old Guard" here in Qatar who are resisting the Emir's plans for the country. In time they will die out or lose more power, but it takes younger people applying pressure for change to become reality.

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

I miss QL old days..a topic like this would have made a healthy debate :(

truthfulvisitor: good work done with giving the NewsPapers Outline,,its truely a Crash Course on NewsPapers here.

True enough they publish what sells their papers & what brings them sponsorship.

~noms~

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"Before God we are all equally wise ' and equally foolish" - Albert Einstein

Newspapers everywhere sells propaganda & its own agenda, Why it should be different here? What I really find amusing is that English local dailies have went too far in the self-censoring thing (unlike the Arabic dailies) ;)

Speaking of corruption, I think when compared to other countries in the middle east (and that’s including Israel) Qatar now is the least corruptible. I’m speaking about the government entities level here.

As all government offices( Whether Authorities or ministries) has its own internal audit that reports to the Managing director or Minister directly & it’s been monitored by the Government audit bureau. Unfortunately , Audit bureau role is not pro-active & comes only after final stages of government running projects & previous ministries Annul Budgets allocation

I don’t want to point fingers, but most corruption discovered cases were of mid-level management who are expatriates. This is well documented by both the public prosecutor & Audit bureau

When it comes to corruption, I think the biggest challenge that the public prosecutor face is abuse of power & conflict of interest. Where in many cases Mid-level Managers recruit their own relatives & allow own private companies in government tenders.

I mean , how do they explain a manager (expat) that recruited his wife as a head of division in the Satellite TV channel they work for (can they be more obvious!!!)

We, who work here, all, know the level of integrity this countries displays and this reputation is becoming well known in the west among those who have never been here.

Qatar is starting to be known by its hunger for fame and good reputation and instead of improving things, they just hide the problems under the carpet!

Look how the article puts it: “In other Arab countries, the political will to combat corruption is missing”

What makes these guys think that they are any better from other Arab countries?!?!?!

truthfulvisitor,

I like your summary of the daily news published here in Qatar (no matter which newspaper), it’s so true! Sad, but true!

Eyewash....at least law takes its own course.

Freedom of press and names of offender/guilty should be published with their Family names, to make them black listed by financial sector accordingly.

High level corruption and collusion have already pitched in Qatar.....High time to get expose it to public!

Don't you folks know that all the newspapers in Qatar are screened by the Ministry of Interior every evening before publication for the following day? Anything that doesn't fit the required image is cut out.

Hence you always get the presence of evil (there's always an Asian gang being deported for doing something dreadful like burglary or selling liquor) page 1, bottom of the page, that covers the Evil In Our Midst; then the sycophantic article about HH who has just made some pithy pronouncement on The Necessity For Mutual Understanding And Education Across The World, page 2; some phony figures about how much more the Pearl property or other investments have increased pages 3 - 5; some baloney about how safe the country is for investment, page 6; then the gushing op-ed about how the best societies in the world are so great because they have been enforcing Islamic values, pages 6 - 8; Qatar Airways wins award for best in-flight hot towels, page 9, and a new order for 500 Airbus aircraft (thanks to the strategic profitability of the airline! ha!) . And not to forget, Gulf Escapes Economic Downturn for the fourth week in a row, page 10 ad infinitum.

The Filipina maids found dead and decayed in the desert? The photos of the police when they turn the water cannons on the labour camps outside the Industrial Area? Oh no. Those photos were seized under duress. These things are just not family -friendly, now are they?

If it doesn't fit the great narrative of Qatar, it's not really news!

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"let's slip out of these wet clothes and into a dry martini" Mae West

This is such great PR for the judiciary dept...after all, if you see in print people WILL believe it.

This is just more of the same. There was probably some negative talk about injustices going unnoticed and they felt compelled to address these negative "rumors" in the papers. Yawn. ;O

luvtodrive, that's what you call democracy :-o

This article screams hypocrisy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

surely there is signs of improventment in the judical system and giving equality rights to all nationals.. Good going Qatar

Gica - Me too ..lol

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- Listen to Many...Speak to a Few -

:P

hmm , now that's a very good thing ... there must be an atmosphere of equality ...

LIVE LOONG QATAR !!

if there is a law, there is always an exemption.

This post is fitted for "Funnies" section...At least, I found it funny...

QatarLiving is free!

Love doesn't exist until you do it

(MagicDragon)

press freedom here is a myth

pity,,they don't!!.. also, Newspapers publish it with pride..makes one another reason, people loosing trust in Media & Journalism.

iam sure,many of these top officials also know what false statement is this.

~noms~

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"Before God we are all equally wise ' and equally foolish" - Albert Einstein

noms they don't, agree?

like everyone here in Qatar know what goes from the top to bottom,,..& how important is Wasta/Influence here ,, still don't 'they' think twice before publishing such articles in Newspapers?!

~noms~

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"Before God we are all equally wise ' and equally foolish" - Albert Einstein

it's the norm here olive, laws are just good in paper, plain black and white!

It sure sounds nice, to bad it's a pile of bull crap.

""citing the example of four ministers who were grilled along with other top officials in a corruption case some four years ago and asked to quit.""

If iam not wrong, these ministers were detained actually as they were in a conspiracy that ''attempted to depose the King''.... Now,, who can forgive this?!!!

~noms~

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"Before God we are all equally wise ' and equally foolish" - Albert Einstein

i'll believe this when i see it...a one off case to use as an example amidst the loads of injustice happening every single day doth not a great judiciary make...

“Our system is based on equality and justice. The Ministers are not immune and if they commit a crime they are brought to book,” said Al Marri. No offender should go unpunished.

REALLY?!?!