KABUL (SW): The widespread culture of bribery in public sector services has irked citizens as the issue remains unresolved despite repeated complaints.
In conversation with Salam Watandar, a number of Kabul residents said there are commission-agents in literally all public sector service departments who ask for bribe in return for a service that is either provided free by the government or has a minimum fee.
Javed, a citizen who wanted to renew the documents for his car, said he had to pay thousands of afghanis as bride to get his work done. Firdaws, another individual who was let down by the traffic directorate officials in Kabul, was ultimately compelled to get his car’s documents processed against a bribe.
The commission-agents, however, argue that they share some percentage of what they take from the people with the officials.
This form of corruption has also marred the directorate of passport. One such commission-agent told Salam Watandar he can get passport for his ‘clients’ in a day against a fee of $ 350.
Meanwhile, Sayed Hussain Fakhri, director for the high authority against administrative corruption, believes the commission-agent sometimes come handy, particularly for the business community who want their documents to be processed faster. He, however, acknowledged this practice has promoted corruption in a number of institutions.
Abdul Wadood Kherkhwa, deputy director for traffic in Kabul, suggested people should stop consulting commission-agents for their genuine and legitimate work.
A commission-agent Nangyalai Momand, while defending his activities, said the alliance of commission-agents is certified by the Ministry of Finance, and they perform their duties within the rules.
ENDS
