KABUL (SW): Well-placed source at the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) told Salam Watandar’s investigative reporter that based on the government’s commitments with the donor countries at the SAM Conference, an action plan for countering corruption has to be enforced across the country.
Once the plan was enforced at the MoCI, the departments at this Ministry, which are somehow involved in corruption, started hindering it immediately. The corrupt mafia at the MoCI pilled pressure on Abdul Bari Rahman, Deputy for Private Sector Development at the Ministry, who played a crucial role in preparing the plan, forcing him to resign from his position. The source said that the plan was prepared taking into consideration the loose ends and preventing corruption in the future but the corrupt mafia is not allowing the plan to succeed.
The source added that once the plan was sent to the offices at the Ministry, a number of individuals there sent a formal letter to the secretariat of the Ministry, in a bid to hide the issue of corruption.
According to the plan, the MoCI and all its relevant departments have been classified in three groups marked in red, yellow and green colors. Customs, government companies, fuel and procurement companies are marked among the offices with the higher possibilities for corruption.
Offices that issue business permits fall in the second most corrupt category, which are marked with yellow color.
The letters jointly sent from commerce affairs office, transit and trade facilitation department and human resource department to the secretariat of the MoCI not only ignored the issue of corruption but also asked to reject the counter-corruption plan.
Muzmel Shinwari, Deputy Minister for Trade at the MoCI has said in his letter that “It is emphasized and directed not to prepare such flawed document, which is devoid of truth and that the plan for countering corruption should have the comments of the related departments, which reflect the true situation of the Ministry and then should be implemented.”
The plan for countering corruption at the Ministry, which was supposed to be finalized at the end of 2015 in line with the pledges Afghanistan made to donor countries, has been put at the mercy of the President and the Council of Ministers to take a decision about the fate of it. Corruption mafia, which has metastasized in the government’s offices and is very active, is likely to influence the Arg (Presidential Palace) and Council of Ministers.
The Afghan government pledged with donor countries at the SAM Conference that corruption at the Ministry of Trade and Industries, Finance, Transport and Civil Aviation and Telecommunication and Technology would be assessed by the end of 2015 and the government would prepare a plan for countering this menace, which would be implemented by mid- 2016.
ENDS
