Afghanistan- Editorial: Irony of Ghani's demagogic appointments
Date
1/22/2020 2:24:29 PM
(MENAFN- Afghanistan Times) President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has decreed the appointment of his deputy chief of staff, Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri, as the deputy Minister for Political affairs and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs. The same presidential decree has further ordered that the deputy for political affairs who replaced Idrees Zaman shall also lead the ministry's reform process while keeping in view the quality improvement, professionalism, and efficiency while, ironically, he himself isn't seemingly appointed based on merit. In a remarkable twist of irony, Chakhansuri, holding a master's degree in Public Administration, has no relevant experience in diplomacy and international relations as he has mostly served in rural development and media-related positions.
This is while the president always claims of cementing the
foundation for reform by dismissing the aging old guard and replacing them with
the highly educated Afghan youth. Claiming to be working for organizational
rejuvenation, a blind eye, however, shouldn't be turned towards the principle
of meritocracy. Moreover, almost all of President Ghani's cabinet has remained
in the acting capacity in his more than the 5-year term in the office – meaning
none of them was able to gain the vote of confidence from the parliament
throughout the period. In a recent happening, a couple of weeks ago, the Wolesi
Jirga put on hold the budget of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and said
the Acting Commerce Minister Ajmal Ahmady's signature was no longer valid after
he was summoned twice but did not appear before the lower house. But he has
still not conceded his power and is continuing in his job like nothing happened – perhaps he is being strongly supported by
President Ghani. Although everybody lends weight to the influential class of
educated or able people, they should be selected based on merit and the hiring
process should be competitive and in compliance with the accepted norms and
standards. Given his experience, Chakhansuri would have served well in other
capacities and would have been a great deputy minister in the ministries of agriculture
or rural rehabilitation. These demagogic speeches and ironical appointments
carried out by President Ghani resemble a monopoly of power and have
dictatorial qualities to them. They do make one wonder that is diplomacy the
same as a mediocre shopping store which could be handled by everybody? The
government should translate its claims of 'assigning work to the eligible' into
practice. Meanwhile, this generation's youth should decline job offers in fields
where they are illiterate and must let the country be steered towards the
proper development path where everybody serves in the right capacity.
MENAFN2201202001690000ID1099587954
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.