Afghan president promises to tackle corruption if west holds firm on aid

Afghanistan’s new president on Thursday promised to double down on corruption if the west holds firm with aid funds and military backing for his embattled country.

Ashraf Ghani – inaugurated in September after a lengthy and contentious election process – is responsible for a country with an aggressive insurgency, an ill-trained army, record levels of civilian casualties and almost no money to tackle the problems. Puny tax revenues and declining flows of aid have left coffers almost empty and the government struggling to pay salaries.

The London Conference on Afghanistan, Ghani’s first formal meeting as a national leader with the countries that largely bankroll his government, was less about money than political will.

“You, our partners, do not need to remind us that corruption is a problem or institution building, we own them and will deliver,” he told the conference, highlighting his decision to reopen files on the $925 million Kabul Bank scandal, on his second day in office.

Ghani, a former academic who wrote a book called Fixing Failed States that could have been planned as a handbook for his new job, has been vocal about plans to crack down on corruption, after years of Kabul apparently turning a blind eye to rampant theft.

Afghanistan has been promised billions of dollars’ worth of aid at previous gatherings, but western nations worried about graft and accelerating violence have warned that Kabul must do more to show it is being well spent.

The UK prime minister, David Cameron, commended the move. “I strongly welcome the steps Ghani has set up here in London, including to reopen the Kabul Bank and reform a number of key institutions,” he said. “[It is] absolutely vital to see these reforms through”

US Secretary of State John Kerry also welcomed the first steps on corruption and pledged Ghani Washington’s backing.

“We have a government in Kabul which merits our confidence and our support,” Kerry told the conference. “They have begun backing up these words with action already... on money laundering, corruption, improve the country’s fiscal situation,” Kerry told the conference.

Underlining the challenges his government faces, however, Ghani turned up at the conference without a cabinet.

He came to office in a power-sharing deal with the election runner up Abdullah Abdullah, now chief executive of the government, and more than two months after brokering the agreement the two have been unable to settle control of key ministries.

Ghani promised the jobs would be decided within “two to four weeks”, making it hard for the government to push ahead with their ambitious reform agenda.  More at Guardian