Afghan president: I have no issue with Cameron corruption remark

Ashraf Ghani says British PM was describing ‘legacy of the past’ when he called Afghanistan ‘fantastically corrupt’
Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, has said he has no issue with David Cameron  calling his country fantastically corrupt  ahead of Thursday’s Commonwealth anti-corruption conference in London.

Ghani said: “He was describing the legacy of the past. Many actors, many factors combined to produce one of the most corrupt countries on earth. But that is not the desire of our people and I have been elected on a mandate to make transparency, accountability and the rule of law the imperative.

“The first part of addressing the problem begins with acknowledgement and we are partners in an effort to overcome this cancer. What distinguishes my government is our clarity about what we’ve inherited, our determination to address it, our willingness to form the right partnerships.”

He said the west had a duty to help as “the most significant driver of corruption is the narcotic cartel”, driving both terrorism, extremism and corruption.

“England was the first to invent grand corruption in the 18th century. It took decades to overcome it. We don’t ask for decades but this is a process of change,” he said. 

Ghani and Cameron are to appear together at a panel discussion at the anti-corruption summit on Thursday. - Read More at the Guardian
Afghan president: I have no issue with Cameron corruption remark

Afghan President: No Hard Feelings Over Cameron Corruption Comments - Newsweek