It has been a very productive year for Killid. There have been at least 60 investigative stories, 65 reports on transitional justice, 225 on peace and security, and many other reports nailing corruption and a host of other issues. A review of some of the major stories published over the last year.
It has been a very productive year for Killid. There have been at least 60 investigative stories, 65 reports on transitional justice, 225 on peace and security, and many other reports nailing corruption and a host of other issues. A review of some of the major stories published over the last year.
Code 91 gives the president authority to spend money without prior sanction. An investigation by Killid revealed large-scale misuse of this privilege. Money was spent either improperly or for the benefit of government officials. For instance, money was withdrawn under Code 91 for the funeral ceremonies of one of the advisors of the president; the anniversary celebrations of the vice president; on foreign trips and other sundry events.
Among the documents in Killid’s possession is one that shows former president Hamid Karzai had ordered a pay out of more than 2 million Afghanis (29,000 USD) for the treatment of his second vice president. This is while a soldier who has lost his leg or hand in a military operation is not given more than 40,000 Afs (590 USD) for treatment.
Tens of thousands of Afghans, particularly from among the youth, have left the country because of war and serious unemployment. They undertake perilous journeys without any assurance of being able to make a life for themselves in countries in Europe and elsewhere. According to UN estimates nearly 2.6 million Afghans have migrated. The number has risen by 60 percent over the last decade.
Taking off from President Ashraf Ghani’s comment that each drop of water in Afghanistan would be equal to one drop of oil in Iran in the coming decade, Killid investigated the issue of water. While the abundant water in the rivers and streams is from melting snows and rain, Afghanistan uses only 30 percent of this immense resource in agriculture and power generation. The rest flows out of the country while the country faces an acute shortage of electricity and irrigated land.
What is the impact of continuing conflict on school education? As many as 779 schools are closed in 19 provinces. Some 500 others are under threat in Takhar, Sar-e Pol, Nangarhar, Baghlan, Parwan, Kunduz, Helmand and Badakhshan.
There are many schools – roughly 65 percent – without buildings. Some have been partly destroyed and students study in tents or in the open. According to the Ministry of Education, there are roughly 9 million children in school in Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
Killid probed the serious problem of air and environmental pollution. The air that Afghans breathe in cities like the capital, Kabul, is dangerous for health. There are no controls on vehicular pollution and rivers are treated as giant drains. Yet officials are apathetic.
Afghanistan has become a market for cheap, poor quality imports. The Afghan National Standard Authority (ANSA) was established in 2009, but it has not been able to enforce standards on imports. According to some estimates, half the foodstuff sold in the markets is of poor quality or even past the date of expiry. The office of the environment protection agency in Kabul Municipality pitches the figure even higher at 70 percent.
We probed the private printing industry’s complaint that most government orders for printing go out of the country. Orders that come to private printers are monopolised by a handful of politically influential printing businesses. Either way, small printing establishments stand no chance in Afghanistan.
Jala Noorani, owner of a printing house called Azadi, says bulk orders for textbooks from the Ministry of Education continue to be given to printers outside the country.
Killid polled dozens of Afghans on the current state of the country, particularly the security situation. The survey on social media revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs, both the security and economy. Some 60 percent of respondents said they were not satisfied with their current life. Security and livelihood were the top concerns. Some blamed the uncertain security situation while others said there were few prospects for jobs.
The National Solidarity Programme (NSD) that was launched in 2003 to promote rural development has had a challenging run. We surveyed the impact of the programme in areas it had planned to make major changes – for instance in irrigation, drinking water, rural energy and health. The result of NSD projects was generally uneven. There were defects in planning and implementation. Many of our interviewees pointed at corruption as the bane of the programme to provide jobs and improve infrastructure throughout the country.
Unemployment is one of the most serious problems facing the country. The Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, and Martyrs & Disabled estimates 3 million people are jobless. Yet there are 26,925 posts waiting to be filled out of 417,000 posts in government offices. Officials say posts haven’t been filled because of delays in recruitment. This could be the result of changes in leadership of the ministry or insecurity in some districts. Most vacancies are in the ministries of education, public health, agriculture and interior affairs.
Killid published stories on agriculture and environment (100), women’s rights (85), health (75), youth (120), human rights (110) and corruption (100).
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