Anti-corruption fight a top priority, Danish tells DI team

KABUL (Pajhwok): Second Vice-President Sarwar Danish briefed representatives of the Democracy International (DI) on the government’s efforts at fighting corruption, legal reforms and monitoring activities of public sector departments, a statement from his office said yesterday.

The DI’s political economy assessment team updated Danish on USAID’s cooperation with the Afghan government in its anti-corruption campaign, the statement said.

Danish welcomed the DI assessment team’s efforts, saying the unity government had a strong intension to fight corruption as one of its top priorities.

He said the anti-corruption process had been slow during the past one decade amid many weaknesses, but the current government was paying more attention to the effort. Danish added the slow anti-corruption process had bad impact on results of the struggle.

“Comparing to the past, positive changes can be seen in government departments as a result of reforms and the strict anti-corruption struggle,” he said.

“Multidimensional anti-corruption plans that identify methods and procedures to overcome the menace are a priority. Past experience shows widespread anti-corruption efforts are needed including reform in laws, prevention of corruption, punishment of perpetrators and monitoring activities of departments as main tasks,” he said.

Follow up of the Kabul Bank scandal, judicial reforms and reforms in the attorney’s offices, procurement and contract procedures were some of the achievements of the new government had made as part of its anti-corruption fight, Danish said in the statement.

Reforms in the judiciary, security organs, customs offices, financial enterprises were some of the other measures the government had taken on a priority basis, he said.

The DI political economy assessment team said with USAID help, they wanted to get opinions of the unity government leaders regarding anti-corruption effort and utilising the ideas for an effective assistance of the organsiation towards the anti-corruption fight, the statement added.

The DI team included Mark Kryzer, Greg Gisvold, Claire Robertson, Jeevan Campos, Grant McLeod and Zekria Barakzai.

myn/ma