2 anti-corruption organs merged into ACC

KABUL (Pajhwok): An agreement on merging the Assets Registration Department and the Special Anti-Corruption Secretariat into the Anti-Corruption Commission was signed on Monday.

A statement from the Presidential Palace’s Administrative Office quoted AOP director Fazl Mahmod Fazly as saying at the agreement signing ceremony that various anti-corruption organs such as Assets Registration Department, Special Anti-Corruption Secretariat and Office of Ombudsperson were active in the fight against corruption.

He said the Assets Registration Department and the Special Anti-Corruption Secretariat were merged into the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in order to organize anti-graft efforts under a single unit.

The Assets Registration Department has developed enough capacities and the commission could benefit from them, he said.

The Special Anti-Corruption Secretariat has created effective mechanisms for fighting corruption and they too should be taken advantage of, Fazly said.

Abdul Qayum Nezami, chief of ACC, welcomed the decision of shifting the two organs to the commission and said fighting corruption was a complicated job and one of the missions of the commission was to merge parallel organizations.

He said the capacity built by the merged organs would be taken advantage of and would be further improved.

Mds/ma