A Saga of Arab Corruption and Politics:
"If the master of the house plays the tambourine, it is no wonder that the members of the household will take up belly dancing."

"Itha kana rub al-beite biddafi dhariban, fa ina sheemati ahlul beite heeya al raqsu."

That is one famous and beautiful Arabic saying that is not used often enough these days. It succinctly explains how the culture of corruption has seeped from the top, from the ruling classes, down to the lowest bureaucrats. These days, the Arab region is as awash as ever in scandals- perhaps more than ever because oil prices and revenues are up and hence the stakes are higher. For those non-oil states, foreign aid is also at higher levels than ever, so there is more temptation: note the experience of PLO-Fatah over the past decade.

Corruption, always ubiquitous in the Middle East even when not headlined in public, has been making headlines again in the Arab World-at least in the offfshore media and in the few places where the press are allowed some freedom, and in private conversations.

Some Arab and foreign media are reporting, or alleging, that the new Fatah-appointed Palestinian prime minister Fayyad, himself a former World Bank bureaucrat, has confiscated millions from bank accounts of Fatah security chief Mohammad Dahlan, who is currently in Cairo for knee surgery (how many ordinary Palestinians from Gaza are flown to Cairo for medical treatment?). Dahlan was head of the superior Fatah security forces when they were easily defeated in Gaza by the smaller fundamentalist forces of Hamas.

The Independent reports Sunday that some British Labor Party politicians want further investigations into the famous BAE-Saudi bribery scandal- the GBP 1 billion (about US$ 2 billion) that was allegedly paid to Prince Bandar Bin Sultan since the 1980s. This comes as finalization of a deal seems to be near for the sale of more warplanes to Saudi Arabia. Saudi media, and most Gulf and Arab media have studiously ignored these reports.

The prize for the most complex, most convoluted web of corruption easily goes to Kuwait, which is the ountry with the most press freedom on either side of the Persian Gulf. The saga there reads like a multi-layered plot worthy of Alexandre Dumas (complete with dishdasha-clad Rocheforts, some elusive Miladys, but alas, no D'Artagnan). It is not clear as yet how much of the saga is the truth and how much fiction, but what is certain is that there is a lot of truth in it. It can only happen in Kuwait with its robust free media, weakened government, and feuding tribal politicians allied with Islamist fundamentalists, and its potentates grasping for power slipping out of their hands. So, fasten your seat belts, and here goes:

In Kuwait, the Minister of Oil Shaikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah was forced to resign last week. There have been allegations that he has tried to cover up corruption by current and past high officials in the Ministry of Oil and its satellite corporations, all arms of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). As an example, the best he could say when he took over about one KPC CEO, a Mr. H. Hussein, who apparently resigned under pressure, was that "there are no suspicions about him". That was a good one as far as endorsements go- I think it will become a classic some day.
Still, there are no suspicions against the minister himself personally- it is a culture of corruption that he inherited and tried to serve.

The minister who preceded him, Shaikh Ahmad Fahad al-Sabah was also forced to resign from the previous cabinet for the same reasons. But he was kicked up- to Head of National Security, sort of like Condi Rice used to be, or Henry Kissinger (wow! n'est-ce pas?).

But this saga gets mor complex and hence more interesting: Shaikh Ali al-Khalifa al Sabah, Minister of Oil (and for a while of Finance) during the 1980s until 1991, has been ordered apprehended this week because he refused to attend a court-ordered hearing. He claims he is waiting for surgery in the united States scheduled for mid-September- a cute idea but not original. Shaikh Ali owns the conservative daily newspaper al-Watan. He has been accused for years of involvement in scandals in the Ministries of Oil and Finance, in the Kuwait Oil Tankers Company and in Kuwait's foreign investments (KIO) during the period. Some of his alleged co-conspirators, a F. M. al-Sabah, a K. al-Sabah, a F. Jaafar, and an A. F. al-Bader are wanted but refuse to return to the country, reportedly spending their hard-earned money between the Caribbean, Canada, and other desolate places.
Two other royal finance ministers during the 1990s were dumped quickly after clear cases of suspicious financial dealings and gross incompetence.
So what is this obsession with holding the Oil Ministry under 'reliable' people? Is it to cover up past misdeeds? Or do these guys like going to Vienna.....

Now Shaikh Talal M. al-Sabah, the chairman of the state-owned and continually loss-incurring Kuwait Airways is coming under suspicion and questioning for gross financial improprieties in the company. In fairness to the man, corruption in heavily state-subsidized KAC, like in state-owned oil corporations, has been part of the corporate culture long before his arrival. The company has long been a playground and cash cow for unemployed, and otherwise unemployable, sons of influential potentates. I would have thought the KAC scandals would have been investigated long ago, perhaps since the late 1970s when US reports (The Wall Street Journal) published documents about bribery payments by American aircraft producers to the CEO and high KAC officials (all potentates, but not royals at that time). So, corruption has been 'the corporate culture' of the KAC for decades. The current chairman claims that 'all supervisory authorities' agree that the company 'never had any improprieties'- he should be fired for this silly statement alone.

Waiting in the wings, belatedly trying hard to play a statesman, is the Speaker of the legislature Jassim al-Kharafi, a former Minister of Finance during 1985-1990. There are no suspicions of personal corruption about him. But he had the habit of appointing incompetents to high positions in the government and in state-owned corporations, provided they were his cronies or residents of his own district. Apparently he firmly believed in a kind of system of confederation...no, not necessarily a confederation of dunces.

On the other hand, there are some who claim that tribal legislators, clamoring for advantages for their own various tribes, are using scandal-mongering to pressure ministers into hiring thousands of their otherwise unemployable tribesmen. This is only partly true, because where there is smoke, there might be fire. Vive la tribu.

At least the media in Kuwait, unlike the rest of the Persian Gulf states, are allowed to cover these scandals, for now, and some of them do.

Cheers
Mohammed