Ghani Calls for National Jihad to Eliminate Corruption

Afghanistan needs an overall national Jihad to eliminate corruption and religious scholars should mobilize people for a faithful Jihad against corruption, President Ashraf Ghani said.

“This is not representing the rule of law, it reveals a moral blast and in order to combat against this phenomenon, we requires to announce a global and national jihad to eradicate corruption, I sincerely thank the respected Ulema that have cared about the issue of corruption and I ask them to mobilize our people for Jihad against corruption,” Ghani said on Tuesday while delivering his speech at the National Anti-Corruption Conference of Religious Scholars.

He vows that his government stands with the people with full force in Jihad against corruption and called it one of the main tasks of his government.

“Our people is not corrupt, religious scholars are not corrupt, there are a number of limited officials and traffickers who have put our people reputation at risk. People must not accept corruption, now the main problem is that people think corruption is something natural,” Ghani added.

President Ghani says we have undertaken some fundamental measures to eliminate corruption and we are fully committed.

“Corruption is in the governmental recruitments, it is in two main governmental sectors of judiciary and executive, we have undertaken some measure to eliminate corruption, but corruption history with the depth of forty years must be understood, our first action is to have clean high-ranking officials in the cabinet and other independent institutions in the judiciary,” Ghani stated.

The President called Kabul Bank corruption case as one of his best efforts in the fight against corruptions saying,” all cases of frauds have been reviewed, we are returning embezzled monies, and the world bankruptcy crisis has not experienced such speedy actions, Allah willing it has proven our solid commitment to eliminate corruption,” he emphasized.

Ghani states that the main cause of corruption is related to the contracts which don’t comply with the law and therefore he has created the National Procurement Committee which has saved about 9 billion Afs by reviewing the contracts.

Reported by: Hameed Sediqi