All persons holding high office are bound by law to make their assets public knowledge, but a Killid investigation reveals the need for stricter implementation.
Under Article 154 of the Constitution, “The property of president, vice presidents, ministers,
All persons holding high office are bound by law to make their assets public knowledge, but a Killid investigation reveals the need for stricter implementation.
Under Article 154 of the Constitution, “The property of president, vice presidents, ministers, members of the supreme court and the attorney general should be registered and verified prior to service and after service …”
Yet only Hamid Karzai, former president, Mohammad Karim Khalili, his second vice president and nine ministers declared their wealth at the end of their terms with the High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption.
A preliminary review of the submissions reveals no “big” differences between the wealth registered before assuming public office and after. The reality may be quite different, senior officials fear. Rules of property registration, for instance, are not enforced. People with influence can easily transfer land to family members to evade scrutiny.
Sayed Ghulam Husain Fakhri, acting chief of the High Office says, “Unfortunately due to deficiencies in the government system, properties (movable and immovable) are not registered precisely in the various offices like the estate office or banks, and individuals transfer it in the names of others, or conceal their property from the official records, all of which creates problems for us.”
Fakhri did not reveal names of defaulters but told Killid in an interview that his office has sought clarifications from “some” individuals and their dossiers were under scrutiny.
According to officials, a majority of governors, Members of Parliament (MPs) and others who fall under the ambit of Article 153 have not registered their properties, or responded to summons issued to them. The government of national unity has announced a new High Council of Counter Corruption which will have executive authority.
Currently the functioning of the High Office is restricted to registering wealth although its original agenda included verification and scrutiny. Fakhri reiterates that while Article 154 was clear that all high-ranking officials had to register their assets, this has rarely been voluntary. Even repeated reminders on registration have not yielded results.
No transparency
Among the many obstacles facing the high has been the general absence of proof of ownership like land titles, non-cooperation of government offices, and the clout wielded by top officials to evade scrutiny. The office was mandated to publish an annual list of properties of all high-level officials including governors and mayors but it got little help in cases involving influential government officials, Fakhri alleges. He blames the banks for letting “powerful” account holders siphon funds abroad.
According to him, two dossiers involving corruption by high officials were forwarded to the Attorney General’s (AGs) Office. Their names have been shared with the government, he says. A total of 440 dossiers of corrupt officials at all levels of the government are with the AG’s Office.
AG’s Office spokesperson Baser Aziza told Killid they are working on the files forwarded from the High Office. In some cases, the matter is already in court and the High Office has been informed through letters. However, he insists they have not received the dossiers on two high-level officials that Fakhri mentions.
Fakhri says all serving high officials – a list of 35 that includes the president, chief executive, attorney general and Supreme Court judges – have declared their assets. The second phase of verification and scrutiny has also begun.
But Fakhri has not been so lucky with lawmakers. Only two out of 249 MPs have registered their properties. Others like Engineer Saheb Khan and Fakori Beheshti see no need to since they have no executive powers and declared their assets at the time of election.
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