Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on "Poverty and Conflict of Interests" on the Anniversary of the 1978 Revolution

Officials from the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare say they hope that the signing of the “Poverty and Conflict of Interests Document” will combat rent-seeking and the spread of poverty. The government also said that it wants to prevent officials from violating the Conflict of Interest Management Law.

Ahmad Midari, Deputy Minister of Welfare of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, said today, Tuesday, February 4, at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding for the development of the "Poverty and Conflict of Interest Document", that in order to eradicate corruption in the country and reduce inflation, a way must be thought out to manage conflict of interest so that there is no possibility of abuse of job opportunities.

The memorandum, signed on the fourth day of the government celebrations for the anniversary of the 1979 revolution between the Academic Jihad, the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare, and the Parliamentary Research Center, is a program to reduce poverty and inflation. It is not yet clear what the implementation guarantee of this program and its operational mechanism are.

Without going into details about the program, Midari said that conflicts of interest could exist in the "private sector, public institutions, and political factions," which would increase government costs and make executive agencies inefficient.

Currently, about 78 million people in Iran receive cash subsidies, of which 60 million receive subsistence assistance. Government officials announced ahead of the 1979 revolution anniversary that 78 million people will receive the same subsidy next year.

According to the Deputy Minister 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 on this practice, and the Ministry of Cooperatives intends to prevent simultaneous employment in addition to the government bill that is currently under consideration.

What is conflict of interest management?

The bill “How to Manage Conflict of Interest” was sent to the parliament by the government on December 25 of this year for review and approval. According to this bill, officials, officials, agents, and all public sector employees must not exploit their position for personal gain in the exercise of their legislative, executive, and judicial duties and powers.

Business with “lights off”

The result of conflict of interest is the preference of personal interests over public interests by officials in every position and position. The Center for Parliamentary Research has declared this conflict of interest one of the foundations of rent-seeking and stated that the approval of a government bill in the parliament can be an obstacle to the profiteering and rent-seeking of some managers with two or more jobs.

IRNA, the government news agency, welcomed the center's analytical report and wrote that if the bill on how to manage conflicts of interest becomes law, the phenomenon of "nepotism" will be prevented and "relatives of officials and political officials" will no longer be able to "engage in illicit businesses with the lights off."

Some members of Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet have been the target of harsh attacks by conservative media outlets. In one such case, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the then Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade in the 12th government, was asked how it was possible for the Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade to be “simultaneously the CEO or Chairman of the Board of Directors of numerous industrial and mining companies under his supervision and ownership.”

If the Conflict of Interest Management Bill is passed, all those covered by the law will have to register information about themselves, including income, receipts, and job benefits, as well as a list of all their assets. The problem, however, is that, according to the Parliamentary Research Center, the government bill does not provide a clear explanation of the “political connections and motivations” of officials and “oversight bodies” on conflict of interest management.

Source: DW