Transparency International opens office in Afghanistan

Transparency Afghanistan has officially become the national contact of Transparency International in Afghanistan.

Alejandro Salas, head of the global movement, spoke at the launch event in Kabul on Tuesday via a video link, and said: “Transparency International recognizes Transparency Afghanistan as a contact office in Afghanistan and Transparency Afghanistan will become Transparency International’s national chapter subject to the fulfillment of Transparency International guidelines and procedures.”

“Amidst a very challenging landscape we have found many champions of anti-corruption among both in government and civil society in Afghanistan,” he said.

Transparency International is a coalition of chapters in more than 100 countries across the globe with an international secretariat in Berlin. Transparency International has been leading the fight against corruption for the last 27 years.

Joy Saunders, the Chairperson of Board of Directors of Transparency Afghanistan, stated: “It is a very big day for us as we become the national contact of Transparency International in Afghanistan. It is an international NGO that is well-respected around the world and has a huge amount of resources that we can use to build up our fight against corruption.”

According to Sayed Ikram Afzali from Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA), the move was facilitated by the IWA and the organization will continue to support it until it is fully established.

Suliman Assadullah, Interim Executive Director of Transparency Afghanistan, stated the organization proposes to focus on the transparency in procurements, advocate for transparency for business integrity, accountability of Afghan anti-corruption institutions, Afghan government anti-corruption commitments and access to information.

He also said: “We will hold broad consultation with stakeholders on the strategic priorities of the organization in Afghanistan for the next three to five years.”

Sayed Akram Afzali, head of Integrity Watch Afghanistan, meanwhile pointed a finger at the private sector and said it was riddled with corruption.

“The private sector is very corrupt because it is controlled by powerful men, and the powerful men are members of parliament,” he said.

However, business owners have rejected the accusations. Amin Babak, head of public relations for the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry said there was no truth in these remarks and if companies were corrupt then they should be investigated.

Afghanistan is listed as one of the 10 most corrupt countries in the world. In January, Transparency International released its annual survey and ranked Afghanistan as the seventh most corrupt nation out of 180 countries.