KABUL (Pajhwok): UNDP Afghanistan, in partnership with the Movement for Protection Organisation (MPO), recently established an anti-corruption youth alliance in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, Behsud and Kama districts.
Via this alliance, UNDP has provided anti-corruption training to members of the community and also distributed brochures to them through its Anti-Corruption, Transparency, Integrity and Openness (ACTION) project -with financial support from the Royal Danish Embassy in Kabul.
Behsud district:
Mir Alam Shinwari, the National Programme Manager of the Movement for Protection Organisation (MPO), told to Pajhwok Afghan News Youth Alliance members in Behsud investigated a case with the local community over the District Development Shura that received funds for rehabilitation and construction activities from the MRRD programme.
Based on the investigation, it has been clarified that Shura members are not spending the given amount. Instead they use it to meet their personal needs, (The chairman of the development council has stolen 20 bags of cement from a street construction project in Daman area.)
The Youth Alliance held a meeting with them and asked some members of the community to participate in it.
The participants discussed the issue raised by alliance members. The Malik and Shura members promised giving a clearance of all expenses to the community members in the future.
The Youth Alliance recommended to the members of society to reconsider the composition of the council and to appoint an honest, sincere and competent person as its president.
For these 20 bags of cement, the imam of the village mosque and other elders were asked to meet the chairman of the council and ask him because it is the right of the whole village.
The Youth Alliance found the community complaining against the malik and the authority over the sale of drugs to youth. The alliance also shared the issue with the village malik and the authority to prevent such cases as had bad effects on youth.
After some time, the community people and the malik met the District Authority Staff (police and the district chief) to sort out the issue. The Authority Staff promised they would take action over such illegalities.
During an August meeting with the local community, the Youth Alliance noted the community people were happy with the action of the District Authority. The community members acknowledged an end to the sale of drugs a few days.
They told the alliance members: “We haven’t seen anyone smoke drugs here. We know our youth and children are safe from this disaster”.
Kama:
At the Kama district health clinic, ordinary and poor people were not treated well and denied free medicine. The case was referred to the Youth Alliance by the community to find a solution to the problem.
For the provision of free medicine by the government clinic to community people, illegal money is demanded.
The Youth Alliance in Kama district investigated the local people if they received free medicine from the district health clinic.
Based on the investigation, it seems the medicines are given to only those who pay part of the cost. People were told most of the medicines had expired and were therefore discarded.
In this case, alliance members conducted a meeting with the district clinic head on ways of preventing corruption cases, which deny the people their rights under Article 52 of the constitution.
Article 52 sys: “The state shall provide free preventative healthcare and treatment of diseases as well as medical facilities to all citizens in accordance with the provisions of the law.”
Clinic officials and doctors assured the Youth Council that such activities would not be carried out in the future and free medicines would be distributed to the people.
For further case registration, the Youth Alliance installed complaint boxes in the district clinic, which will be regularly maintained.
When some community people saw a butcher selling meat illegally to the poor people, they immediately reported the matter to the Youth Alliance. It found the unlawful meat with the butcher and called the Kama Municipality, which locked the butcher’s shop in the presence of the alliance,
The meet to throughout in the river for seeking future lesson learned, but after one day the shop was reopened by Butcher.
The investigation by the Youth Alliance into the reopening of the shop shows the municipality was also involved in such a case and in receiving bribes from shopkeepers to let them sell what they want — legally or illegally.
The case is still under investigation by the Youth Alliance in Kama.
Jalalabad:
During their campaign, Youth Alliance members in Jalalabad found some people selling vegetables to wheelbarrow pushers, who complained against municipality staff.
The staffers were accused of illegally seeking money from the cart pushers in return for allowing them to do their business on the side of the road for eking out a living for their families…
The Youth Alliance held a meeting with the Municipality of Jalalabad. But the municipal authorities denied the, allegations. As a result, the alliance is pushing ahead with its investigation.
On December 9, Anti-Corruption Day is going to be marked internationally. Fighting corruption is a global concern. While corruption impacts every country, evidence shows that it hurts poor people disproportionately.
Corruption hinders efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violation of human rights, distorts markets, erodes quality of life and allows organised crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish. It contributes to instability, poverty and is a dominant factor driving fragile countries towards state failure.
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