Provincial officials: Fighting corruption is our priority

KABUL (Pajhwok): Celebrating the “Fight against Corruption Week” in some provinces, local officials on Tuesday said tackling the menace was part of their priorities.

With support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), events under the theme of Fight against Corruption were organized in Helmand, Paktia, Herat and Parwan provinces.

Local officials during these events said that they were serious in preventing corruption and asked the masses to cooperate with the government in this fight.

 Helmand:

The Organization for Management, Environment, Education and Development (OMEED) organized a gathering today (Tuesday) in Lashkargah, the provincial capital, to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day.

Besides government and state officials, tribal elders, civil society activists, women and youth participated in the gathering.

Assistant Governor Baryali Nazari said the provincial government was committed to implementing the law to prevent administrative corruption and it allowed no one to pave the way for corruption and wrong doing.

He said people’s role in the anti-graft fight was vital besides government’s commitment to this cause and asked civil society groups, tribal elders and women to support the government’s fight against corruption.

He said the provincial government was committed to implementing the law on individuals accused of corruption.

Mohammad Dawod Mudaqiq, provincial head of Hajj and Religious Affairs Department, said according to the teachings of Islam, corruption was a wrong deed and demanded individuals involved in corruption to be dealt with in accordance with the law.

He said people could play more effective role in eliminating corruption than a department concerned, asking the people to help the government rein in the menace of administrative corruption.

Wajeha Muqada, Women Affairs Department Head, said corruption was a huge crime and could not be eliminated until the law was equally implemented.

Amanullah Hasrat, head of the Civil Societies Union Centre and some influential personalities including Haji Ahmad Jan, WakeelHanif, Abdul Ahmad Masoumi and others expressed their views about corruption and its negative impact.

Tribal elder Abdul Ahmad Masoumi said corruption was the mother of all problems being faced by the Afghans.

He stressed a halt to the on-going violence and said corruption could be eradicated if the society was freed from the imposed war.

 Paktika:

A similar gathering in Paktika province was attended by religious scholars, local influential personalities and civil society activists.

Maulvi Qazi Zabtullah Malang, the provincial Hajj and Religious Affairs Department head, said appointment of relatives and undeserving persons in government institutions and getting government positions by using money raised the level of corruption.

He said if corruption was prevented in government institutions, people would cooperate with the government in different areas.

Religious scholar Maulvi Enayatullah said corruption was underway at a high level and had negative impact on all affairs of the government.

He added corruption helped widen gap between government and people, using government authority for personal business and not implementing the law was something that crippled good governance.

Civil society activist Ali Mohammad Nazari termed corruption a worst phenomenon and demanded the government give serious attention to the problem.

Paktika Justice Department Head Mohammad Gul Alam said the government was committed to fighting corruption and a lot of work had been done in this regard.

 Parwan:

The International Anti-Corruption Day was celebrated in Parwan province as well.

A statement from the Governor’s House said that a gathering marking this day was organized with support of UNDP and Afghanistan Paramount Welfare and Development Organization (APWDO).

Governor Lt.Gen. Fazal Din Ayyar while addressing the gathering termed the scheme as effective in terms of preventing corruption in the state run and private sector institutions.

He asked everyone to fight corruption with the government in order to ensure the development and progress of society.

Afghanistan Development Institute Head Dr. Tariq Saeez said the anti-corruption drive was kicked off at the request of the Afghan government to encourage the masses.

At the end of the gathering, some officials who worked against corruption were admired.

Herat:

The International Anti-Corruption Day was also celebrated in Herat province, where local officials, civil society activists and APWDO officials came together.

MonsaHassanzada, assistant head of economic and social affairs, said the provincial government was committed to fighting corruption and paying special attention to this area.

She said a special committee has been constituted to fight corruption. The committee has so far inspected 25 state institutions, in which the activities of five institutions were found inaccurate and were referred to other concerned authorities for more investigations.

Hassanzada acknowledged that corruption existed in some provincial government departments but said efforts were underway to overcome the problem.

Ahmad WaliSamandar, head of the internal and foreign crimes section at Herat Attorney General Office, said fight against corruption was their top priority, adding that individuals proven guilty of corruption would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

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.

Visits: 65