Signing of ‘Poverty and Conflict of Interest’ Document Memorandum on Revolution Anniversary

Officials at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare say they hope that by signing the memorandum on the ‘Poverty and Conflict of Interest’ document, they can combat rent-seeking and the spread of poverty. The government has also said that through the law on managing conflicts of interest, it wants to prevent officials from committing violations.

Ahmad Midari, the welfare deputy at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, said today, Tuesday, 15 Bahman (February 4), at the ceremony to sign the memorandum on drafting the ‘Poverty and Conflict of Interest’ document, that in order to eradicate corruption in the country and reduce inflation, measures must be taken to manage conflicts of interest so that officials cannot exploit their job positions.

This memorandum, signed on the fourth day of the government celebrations marking the 57th anniversary of the revolution among Jihad-e Daneshgahi (university research centers), the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, and the Majlis Research Center, is a program to reduce poverty and inflation. It is still unclear what the implementation guarantee and operational mechanism of this program are.

Without referring to the details of this program, Midari said that conflicts of interest can exist in the “private sector, public institutions and political factions,” which increases government costs and reduces the efficiency of executive agencies.

Currently, around 78 million people in Iran receive cash subsidies, and among them 60 million people receive livelihood assistance. Government officials announced before the 57th revolution anniversary that next year uniform subsidies will be allocated to 78 million people.

According to the welfare deputy at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, “simultaneous employment” in both the public and private sectors is one of the cases of conflict of interest, one example of which is the employment of doctors in both the public and private sectors.

This type of simultaneous employment is considered a crime in some countries, but in Iran there is no legal prohibition for this, and the Ministry of Cooperatives intends to prevent simultaneous employment alongside the government bill that is currently under consideration.

What is Managing Conflicts of Interest?

The bill on “the method of managing conflicts of interest” was sent to parliament on December 25 of this year to be reviewed and approved. According to this bill, officials, managers, agents and all public sector employees should not use their positions for personal gain when performing their duties and authorities in the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

Doing Business with “Lights Off”

The result of conflict of interest is the preference of personal interests over public interests by officials in any position and rank. The Majlis Research Center has identified this conflict of interest as one of the foundations of rent-seeking and said that the passage of the government bill in parliament could prevent profiteering and rent-seeking by some managers holding multiple positions.

IRNA, the government news agency, welcomed this center’s analytical report and wrote that if the bill on managing conflicts of interest is passed into law, the phenomenon of “nepotism” will be prevented and “associates of officials and political leaders” will no longer be able to engage in “illegal business activities with the lights off.”

Some members of Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet have been targeted by harsh attacks from conservative media outlets. In one such case, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the former industry, mining and trade minister of the twelfth government, was questioned about how it was possible for an industry, mining and trade minister to “simultaneously be the CEO or chairman of the board of multiple industrial and mining companies under his own supervision and ownership.”

If the bill on managing conflicts of interest is passed into law, all those covered by this law must register information about themselves, including their incomes, receipts, job benefits, and a list of all their assets. However, the problem is that according to the Majlis Research Center, the government bill does not provide clear explanations about “political relationships and motivations” of officials and authorities and the “supervising institutions” for managing conflicts of interest.

Source: DW