US tells Kabul to ‘prioritize a meaningful’ fight against corruption

US Chargé d’Affaires Ross Wilson said Wednesday that Washington expects the Afghan government to strengthen its commitment to fight corruption and to address the issue of impunity against powerful people in this regard.

Marking International Anti-Corruption Day, Wilson said in a series of tweets: “I want to emphasize that the US expects that the Afghan government will strengthen its commitment to transparency and accountability by prioritizing a meaningful, demonstrable fight against corruption.”

Wilson also said that government must address the impunity of powerful Afghans.

“The Afghan government must send the signal to powerful actors that their crimes will be punished,” Wilson tweeted.

He also said that progress on corruption means demonstrable results which will command widespread public support, strengthen Afghanistan, and ensure continued strong backing by the international donor community.

Afghanistan is listed among the top ten most corrupt countries in the world and continues to battle the scourge.

Just last week, Etilaatroz newspaper looked into government’s spending of funds in it’s emergency fund named Code 91 – a fund that only President Ashraf Ghani can access.

Etilaatroz stated that over AFN2 billion ($25.9 million) of Code 91 had been used for personal expenses for more than a dozen government officials in the year 1398 (April 2019 to March 2020).

Last month the EU Delegation to Afghanistan held its sixth annual Anti-Corruption Conference in Kabul and EU Ambassador Andreas Von Brandt emphasized the importance of strengthening anti-corruption efforts as a measure to build trust between the Afghan people and their government as well as with the international donor community.
Despite measures to fight corruption, and Ghani’s establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission, reports of graft are ongoing.