(MENAFN- Afghanistan Times) AT-KABUL: Corruption remains central to many of Afghanistan'schallenges, says Integrity Watch Afghanistan's national corruption survey 2018,asking the government to focus on long term anti-graft efforts.
The survey released on Saturday has found some slight
progress since in Afghanistan's general situation since 2016, with limited room
for optimism.
In the 2018 biennial survey, 61 percent of respondents
stated they were either 'very satisfied' or 'somewhat satisfied' with the
situation in their home provinces, compared to 54 percent in 2016.
In terms progress made over the past 12 months, respondents
in the Northeast and Central Highlands, where the government has stronger
representation and greater influence — as well as the Southern region which,
in contrast is traditionally a Taliban stronghold—are the most positive.
When asked about the political situation in Afghanistan as a
whole, the level of optimism was markedly different, with only a quarter of all
respondents describing the situation in Afghanistan as good.
'This sense of pessimism is particularly acute in Central
and Western regions, where only 16 percent and 18percent respectively gave a
positive assessment,' the survey said.
As was the case with previous surveys, insecurity continued
to be the main concern among Afghans followed by unemployment and corruption,
it said.
However, the proportion of those who mention corruption
among the country´s top three problems has declined from 47 percent to
33percent.
'This does not necessarily indicate that corruption is on
the decline. Instead it is more likely that the deteriorating security
situation and other key challenges are demanding citizens´ attention, problems
which are themselves exacerbated by widespread corruption and the failure to
prioritise longer-term strategies to strengthen governance in the country.'
The report said 62 percent of those surveyed felt the
government had not done enough to tackle these problems over the past two years
—a slight decrease on the 67 percent who felt the same way in 2016.
Respondents in more insecure southern region were
significantly more positive about government´s efforts to address Afghanistan´s
major problems than those in more strongly government-controlled areas, such as
the Central Highlands region.
Despite deteriorating security and ever-increasing influence
of the Taliban, Afghans remained optimistic about the prospects for peace and
reconciliation, the survey found.
Nevertheless, 43 percent of respondents strongly agreed or
agreed with the statement that people in their areas refered to the Taliban
because of corruption —- up from 39 percent in 2016.
Meanwhile, 62 percent of respondents across the country
agreed that corruption within the state was facilitating the expansion of
Taliban, a significant increase on the 51 percent who believed this to be the
case in 2016.
Respondents in the South, where the insurgency is at its
strongest, were the least likely to say that corruption within the state was
facilitating the expansion of the Taliban.
The international community was also the target of much
criticism. More than half (52 percent) of those surveyed did not believe the
international community wanted to fight corruption in Afghanistan, compared to
45 percent in 2016, 36 percent in 2014 and 37 percent in 2012.
The same proportion (52percent) believes that the
international community is not supportive of honest government officials in
their provinces.
Perceptions and experiences of corruption
Since 2016, there has been a slight decrease in proportion
of citizens who feel that corruption is 'very serious' and a corresponding
decrease in the proportion of Afghans who feel there has been no improvement in
reducing corruption in any public institution.
When asked about institutions they deemed the most corrupt,
a majority named courts and judges (14 percent), Ministry of Education (10
percent) and the Attorney General's office (9percent) among the top three.
Meanwhile, only a quarter of Afghans believed there had been
some progress in reducing corruption in any public institution.
Impacts and drivers of corruption
The vast majority of Afghans (83 percent) believed that
corruption had negatively affected the life of people in their local areas.
Almost three quarters of those surveyed did not trust local
public services because of corruption amid a strong sense that people in
government, NGOs and international organisations were only out to benefit
themselves.
By far the most common reason Afghans say they would give a
bribe is because there is no other way to obtain a service.
Meanwhile, there has been a significant increase since 2016
in the number of respondents who say they would pay a bribe (33 percent up from
22 percent.
Attitudes of fighting corruption
Worryingly the proportion of citizens who feel that they
could do nothing personally to reduce corruption has doubled since the last
survey in 2016, with women being significantly more pessimistic than men in
this regard.
On the other hand, awareness among citizens about where to
report corruption has increased significantly since 2016.
At the same time, 14 percent of respondents stated that they
or someone in their household had reported such an act during the past 12
months, compared to 9 percent in 2016.
Moreover, around half of those who reported corruption
voiced some level of dissatisfaction with the process.
The most commonly cited reasons for not reporting corruption
remained the lack of confidence that any action would be taken and the fear
that those who reported corruption would be subject to retribution/revenge.
Although 40 percent felt corruption could not be reduced at
all (as compared to 37 percent in 2016).
About 64 percent, 54 percent and 44 percent of respondents
respectively believed the Office of the President, the NUG and the Office of
the Chief Executive has 'a sincere desire and will to combat corruption', which
is a small but significant improvement.
Recommendations
Prosecutions: To give confidence to the people that the
Government is really serious about tackling corruption, the Government must
prosecute a much higher number of more serious corruption cases & carry out
these prosecutions in a timely & efficient manner.
Asset recovery: Use the existing legislation on illicit
enrichment to seize assets unlawfully obtained.
Staffing: The Attorney General's and Anti-Corruption Justice
Centre (ACJC) office must be properly staffed with suitably qualified personnel
to allow a much higher level of prosecutions in corruption cases both in number
& seriousness of cases.
Penalties: As a proper deterrent, the penalties for
conviction of persons involved in corruption cases, particularly the more
serious ones, must be reviewed so that those persons so convicted will face the
penalties of losing their jobs, their pensions, serving a prison sentence and
paying substantial fines.
Accountability systems: The government should establish
robust accountability mechanisms within the public service, including the use
of complaint mechanisms and citizen-led monitoring systems in key service
delivery ministries
Whistleblowing: The government must take urgent action to
ensure that those who report corruption are afforded protection through the
active enforcement of Afghanistan´s new whistle-blower protection law.
Awareness-raising: All actors should work to strengthen
public engagement in the fight against corruption by supporting the use of
tools to anonymously report and track corruption such as Integrity Watch
Afghanistan´s Efshagar platform.
Anti-Corruption Law: The government should urgently
reconsider its decision not to form a joint governmental and civil society
selection committee for the proposed Anti-Corruption Commission. Without a
joint selection committee, the independence of the Commission will be seriously
compromised.
Civil service reform: The government should push through key
civil service reforms, including installing & enforcing a system of
recruitment & promotion on merit, ensuring the verification of asset
declarations of all senior public officials and the imposition of sanctions for
failure to register.
Business sector: The government should continue its recent
progress in simplifying business processes and reducing red tape in order to
further reduce the opportunities for administrative corruption. Areas which
require further simplification include registering property, dealing with
construction permits and enforcing contracts.
Working Together: Encourage government departments,
business, civil society organisations and donors to work together in the fight
against corruption and to promote a culture of integrity within the civil
service and society in general.
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