While the National Unity Government reports significant progress in the fight against corruption, the international community, particularly Washington, disagrees with Kabul. Speaking at the Annual Anti-Corruption Conference at the Presidential Palace, US Ambassador to Afghanistan John Rodney Bass said corruption was still prevalent in Afghan government institutions, damaging the country’s image in the world. It is right that peace with the Taliban can have good results, but international donors may not provide aid to Afghanistan after peace, Bass added, stating that the donors refuse to provide funds to the country due to corruption and that the money is going into the pockets of certain individuals.
Corruption is no less threat to the future of Afghanistan than war. This vicious phenomenon deprived Afghan people of all opportunities for development and prosperity over the last two decades. A large share of foreign aid was wasted due to corruption, and the funds could not achieve the objectives for what they were allocated such as improving the lives of Afghan people. The aid money was embezzled by a few corrupt people, and therefore had no benefit for the poor.
If the problem of corruption persists, it will be very hard if not impossible for Afghanistan to accomplish ecnonomic self-reliance, as neither international aid nor demostic resources can help take the country to ecnonomic prosperity. Thus, there is a need for systematic fight against graft, one that can truly purge Afghanistan’s governanance system of the phenememon; empty slogans and symbolic acts cannot uproot it.
Like the previous administations, the National Unity Government was also unsuccessful in combatting corruption. Despite the government leadership’s promise of clampdown on corruption at its inception, Afghans see no tangible decline in the level of corruption even after the end of the government’s five-year term. There continues to be widespread graft in government institutions, and often justice is not served. Corruption not only leads to misuse and waste of public resources but also cutdown of foreign aid of which Afghanistan is in dire need.
