KABUL (SW) – Documents obtained by Payk Investigative Journalism indicate violating the law, the government has sealed properties of the National Union of Afghanistan Workers and Employees despite having proper possession documents.
Maroof Qaderi, president of NUAWE, told Payk that this move is in clear violation of the Article 64 of the Constitution, Article 13 of the Societies' Law and Article 34 of the Penal Code. He said the Ministry of Finance, the Presidency, Ministry of Justice and Supreme Court have simply violated these laws in the wake of a presidential decree. “It is the order of the President”, is the response, he said.
This has also been described as illegal by the Association of Lawyers who believes the legal documents hold more weight than a verbal presidential order.
- History of NUAWE
The National Union of Afghanistan Workers and Employees has been operating for decades for the rights of workers and employees in the public and private sector in line with the Article 35 of the Constitution and Article 7 of Civil Societies Law and Article 27 of the International Convention of Labor.
According to the investigative team by the Ministry of Interior and the documents seen by SW, the NUAWE owns 17 properties in Kabul, Parwan, Kapisa, Panjshir, Badakhshan, Takhar, Samangan, Baghlan, Jawzjan, Maidan Wardak, Helmand, Farah, Nimroz and other provinces which have been bought with contribution form members.
These properties have market value of some AFN 100 million, but have now been sealed by the government.
President of NUAWE has blamed the government for encroaching upon its property. “The confiscation of our properties has important link to my success as head of the NUAWE and failure of my opponent”.
- How did NUAWE became a subject at cabinet meeting
The founding principles of NUAWE, also published on its website, suggest the president of this union can only be elected through a majority vote. Qaderi claimed when his opponent Abdul Satar Pardeli failed to win the required votes, he conspired with the government against him. He added when Pardeli failed in grabbing the top seat at NUAWE, he conspired to dissolve it all together.
Without naming anyone, Qaderi charged Pardeli has ties with a number of presidential advisers who helped influence the presidential decree aimed at confiscating the NUAWE properties.
Pardeli also claims tabling this issue at the cabinet meeting. He said: “If I become president of NUAWE, I would take back its properties from the government”.
- The presidential decree
A presidential decree no. 57 issued on 30-11-1396 noted that all properties of the cooperatives, youth councils and workers’ union are now government property and should be handed over to the Ministry of Finance.
A month after this decree, the presidency directed a team by the MoI to investigate the matter and afterwards seal all of these properties.
The findings of this report, a copy published here and original sent to the presidency, suggest all NUAWE properties have proper legal documents, but rest of the properties owned by other associations have been termed as public property.
The Ministry of Justice has the duty to issue licenses for associations, unions and societies and renew them for three years, but it only issued a six-month license to NUAWE owing to the pending issue of the properties.
The documents obtained suggest the Ministry of Labor sought a renewal of license for NUAWE, and President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani also approved this recommendation, but the MoJ has only renewed the license for six months.
Abdul Qadir Ghayasi, director at the MoJ, told Payk: “The honorable president has verbal instruction that unless the property issue is resolved, permanent license should not be issued to NUAWE”.
Shamroz Khan Masjidi, spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, said the NUAWE properties have been sealed on the court orders. Amanullah Eman, spokesman for the Supreme Court told Payk: “The court decision is based on documents and findings, but if they are not satisfied they can file appeal”, he said.
This is despite the views of Abdul Waheed Farzaey, member of Afghanistan Lawyers Association, who claims no verbal directives can be supreme over proper legal documents. “The Constitution holds private property secured from any encroachment, when a person or organization holds proper legal documents of ownership, no one or institution can encroach that”.
ENDS
