Following the news broadcasts of reports of two travel bans on employees of the Ministry of Finance by the Presidential Palace, Gul Maqsood Sabit, former deputy finance minister, said that the recent actions taken by the Palace against the employees of the ministry to prevent corruption are “not effective.”
Sabit said that the main actors of corruption should be sought and punished.
On the other hand, a number of lawyers say that low-ranking employees should not be the victims of the misconduct of high-ranking officials.
“If a decision was taken to prevent corruption, it will not be effective, but it will create more legal problems for other employees,” said Sabit.
A number of people’s representatives have also accused the former leadership of the Ministry of Finance of embezzlement of funds and said the Presidential Palace did not take action against the real culprits.
“No action was taken when the minister was introduced to the Attorney General’s Office, but now many other employees face restrictions. What does this mean?” said Karim Atal, a parliament member.
First, 68 high-ranking employees of the Ministry of Finance were banned by the President’s order, but later, the Presidential Palace in a separate notification said that all employees of the Ministry of Finance from the fifth grade can travel only by getting official permission from the Presidential Palace.
“The spread of suspicion and criminal charges of high-ranking officials to low-ranking employees is a sign of injustice and lack of rule of law,” said Wahid Farzaye, a lawyer.
There have already been widespread corruption reports in the Finance Ministry.
A number of lawmakers in parliament say corruption cases at customs and the Ministry of Finance have not been addressed in recent years.
On Thursday, lawmakers in Afghanistan’s parliament, and the head of Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA), criticized the move by Ghani to announce the list of banned employees, saying Ghani’s move was “political.”
