New President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has set a brisk pace for himself. He has reopened the investigation into the collapse of the Kabul Bank, and promised in the first 100 days to launch administrative reforms, tackle the economic crisis, security concerns and the dossiers of prisoners incarcerated in the country’s jails.
The presence of his new chief executive or assistants have been symbolic. So far President Ahmadzai is the face of the government.
Kabul resident Basir Ferehmand wonders whether or not the president can expect assistance in the national unity government. “My concern is that other members of the government are either not able or unwilling to help the president,” he says.
There seems to be a feeling the president’s partners are preoccupied with fulfilling ceremonial functions instead of knuckling down to the business of governing or fulfilling people’s hopes from the change in leadership in Kabul. Journalist Shah Husain Murtazawi says, “Most leaders were busy receiving felicitations, and gifts. It has created doubts about partnership in the national unity government.”
Farhad Amiri, a civil activist, observes most early decisions of the government seemed to have been taken by President Ahmadzai. “Most decisions were neither joint nor shared. It is rather the will of the new president that has seen the launch of these initiatives,” he says.
The government has merged the office of administrative affairs and council of ministers with the chief of staff’s office.
Meanwhile, chief executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah has promised the national unity government will not miss the opportunity to make changes. “We are trying not to lose the opportunity for solving the problems and we should change the national unity government to a national unity agreement,” he said.
He further said he would deliver on social justice and promises of a responsible and responsive government. He called on ministers appointed as caretakers by the president to get on with the work. President Ghani has requested all the acting ministers to present their priorities in writing to the chief executive.
Great expectations
Public opinion is strongly in favour of the resumption of work by the government after nearly seven months of paralysis as a result of the presidential election.
The president has promised sweeping changes in the government. Abdul Ali Mohammadi, the presidential legal adviser, says there are parallel ministries, and some may have to go. People want to see the appointment of capable ministers, and not individuals appointed because of their contacts or tribal connections.
Sayed Naser Musawai, the spokesperson of the Afghan Civil Society Network, thinks the absence of strong people in former president Hamid Karzai’s cabinet caused problems and weakened the affairs of the government.
“We request President Ahmadzai to select ministers based on merit and beyond tribal interests. If the members of cabinet are chosen on tribal, zonal and linguistic lines the Afghan people would again become victims of political conflicts,” said Musawai.
Members of Parliament (MPs) have also joined the calls for good governance, and a capable cabinet. Both parliament and the senate have been all praise for the president’s action on the Kabul Bank and Bilateral Security Agreement with the US. The decision to assess within 45 days both the multi-million dollar bank fraud as well as money laundering cases is being viewed as a reflection of the government’s intention to keep to poll promises of cleaning up and tackling corruption. Kabul Bank was Afghanistan’s biggest private bank until its collapse in 2010 following media reports of massive high-level corruption and the misappropriation of 900 million USD, most of it money from international donors.
Sayed Nadersha Bahr, MP, called the reopening of the probe “dangerous” for what it can reveal. “The case of Kabul Bank is dangerous because it has not been investigated as it should have been because of powerful individuals in the (previous) government,” he observed.
Another MP Habiba Danesh pointed out the Kabul Bank fraud was only the tip of the iceberg. “Money from Azizi Bank and Pashtani Bank have been stolen and taken outside the country. It needs to be followed up,” she said. The government will have to bring the stolen monies back into the country to pass the credibility test, she added.
Sweeping reforms
Civil society activists have high expectations from the government. Activists Hamida Wardak said she wants the president to induct more women in the cabinet and government. Also considering the problems faced by electoral institutions “the president should bring in reforms in the institutions and laws because if attention is not paid people may not participate in polls in the future in as large numbers as they did this year,” she said.
Wardak believes combating corruption is a great need so it is better those who are involved should be sacked from government, and the case handed over to the justice system.
What will be the new government’s relationship with the US and NATO?
Mohammad Qarabaghi, a writer and journalist, urged the new president to be “decisive”. That is what people want, he said.
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