The Afghan government has been dogged by corruption for years and this is the third formal launch of a unit promising to rein in rampant graft and bribery. But Afghan government officials told reporters this attempt has a better chance because of a real desire to succeed and strong international backing. It has also been accompanied this time by international threats. Both American and British officials have said they will consider the Afghan government’s commitment to reform in deciding how many more troops to send to fight the resurgent Taliban. And on Sunday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US will not provide any civilian aid to Afghanistan without a way to hold ministries accountable for how funds are used.
On Monday, the British and US ambassadors to Afghanistan praised the latest corruption effort, standing alongside Afghan ministers to show their support. A host of Afghan officials who attended the press conference said this time they are committed to wiping out fraud because they have seen what graft and cronyism has done to their country.
“Corruption is the cancer that is destroying the lives of the people,” said Justice Minister Mohammad Sarwar Danish. He said it is affecting the nation’s economy, politics and security. However, the rhetoric was reminiscent of previous efforts, and the new unit came only after President Hamid Karzai bristled at earlier attempts by the United Nations to set forth a series of goals to banish corruption.
American and British officials have been particularly vocal in recent weeks in calling for Karzai to institute reforms following the messy election that took two and half months to resolve and undermined the legitimacy of a government the West is supporting with billions of dollars and tens of thousands of troops. A March report by the US Agency for International Development found that corruption had reached “an unprecedented scope in the country’s history.”
