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Friday, January 22, 2010

Tackling Corruption in Afghanistan by Dr. Jack Kem

This past week, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published a scathing report entitled “Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as Reported by Victims.” The United Nations News Centre posted a press release on the report entitled “Corruption, not insecurity, biggest concern for Afghans – UN report” on January 19, 2009:

While violence and poverty are widely thought to be the major challenges confronting Afghanistan, nearly 60 per cent of the population said corruption is their biggest concern, according to a new United Nations report, which states that Afghans paid $2.5 billion in bribes over the past 12 months.

“The Afghans say that it is impossible to obtain a public service without paying a bribe,” says Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which published the report, “Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as Reported by Victims.”

A 2009 USAID Report entitled “Assessment of Corruption in Afghanistan” defines corruption as “the abuse of public position for private gain” and describes corruption as “a significant and growing problem across Afghanistan that undermines security, state and democracy building, and development.” The problem is indeed growing; according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Afghanistan has steadily worsened their international ranking in terms of corruption – from a ranking of 117th out of 159 countries covered in 2005, to 172nd of 180 countries in 2007, to 176th out of 180 countries in 2008, and finally to 179th out of 180 countries in 2009 (just above Somalia).

Corruption is sure to be one of the major topic areas to be discussed at the London Conference on Afghanistan on January 28, 2009. According to a recent Voice of America (VOA) story posted on January 19, 2009 entitled “UN Says Corruption Biggest Problem for Afghanistan,” UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa stated that the scale of corruption was equivalent to nearly a quarter of the country's economic output: "The dimension of the payments, which ends in the pockets of the corrupt officials is so big, it is a quarter of the GDP - $2.5 billion estimated." The VOA story continues:

President Karzai has repeatedly said his government is making efforts to tackle corruption, but critics say not nearly enough is being done.

Costa warns that if corruption is not tackled the Afghan people could well lose faith in the international community's efforts, with dire consequences. "I am afraid that at one point the Afghan people or many in the population will run out of options and as a consequence the insurgency will acquire a legitimacy which definitely it does not have at the moment," said Costa. He says that will only help the Taliban and their allies.

The report was released before the international conference on Afghanistan in London, where President Karzai is expected to face more calls by world leaders to tackle corruption.

The issue of attacking corruption and developing institutions that reinforce transparency is an important issue in showing “demonstrable progress” in Afghanistan. As President Obama stated in his speech at West Point on December 1, 2009:

We will support Afghan Ministries, Governors, and local leaders that combat corruption and deliver for the people. We expect those who are ineffective or corrupt to be held accountable.

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