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IDLG and IARCSC Gather to Discuss Good Governance

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The Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) and Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) organised a meeting on Sunday in Kabul city to discuss ways to ensure good governance in Afghanistan.

Good governance issues, and particularly those associated with corruption, have been one of the more central issues in Afghan public discourse since the establishment of the Kabul government in 2004. Whether it was judges and police taking bribes, parliamentarians employing criminals to snatch land, provincial officials embezzling development aid or a Governor resigning his post out of frustration with rampant corruption, there have been no shortage of headline-grabbing stories related to abuses of power in the last year alone.

Dr. Ahmad Mushahed, Director of the IARCSC, argued to those gathered in Kabul on Sunday that security is the biggest challenge hindering the practice of good governance, particularly on the provincial level. He said that without the issue of security being addressed first, expectations for good governance and stability could not be met.

"Our primary challenge is fighting security threats," said Dr. Mushahed. "Unless, there is peace and stability in the country, any talks regarding good governance would yield no positive outcome."

However, the relationship between recent examples of high-profile corruption and security issues is not very clear. In Balkh province, a report released by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unity (AREU) indicated the Provincial Governor, Atta Mohammad Noor, was giving away major construction contracts funded by development aid almost exclusively to companies belonging to friends, family and even himself. In the case of the legal system, Transparency International released a report earlier this year that showed 65% of the everyday Afghans surveyed reported giving a bribe to a judiciary official in the last year.

Abdul Matin Beig, Deputy Director of the IDLG said on Sunday that one of the most pressing issues was the corruption and favouritism frequently determining government appointments.

"Political connections are often used when hiring candidates for governmental posts," said Mr. Beig.

Earlier in the year, this issue was evidenced in the controversy surrounding the appointments of Commissioners to the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). Many claimed President Hamid Karzai had made the appointments based on under-the-table agreements and alliances instead of the merit and suitability of candidates.

At the meeting on Sunday, officials from both the IDLG and the IARCSC acknowledged rampant corruption in the Afghan government and said that in order combat the now deeply ingrained culture, every governmental office from the capital to the provinces would need cooperate and honestly work toward its eradication.


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