Foreign aid in the hands of fantastically corrupt regime in Kabul

by: Muhammad Jalal

This week, Geneva hosted a conference dedicated to Afghanistan at which donor countries pledged more than $3 billion to Afghanistan in next year. The international community also pledge the same amount for the following three years conditioned mainly on progress in the Afghan peace process and eradication of corruption. Ironically, all these pledges were made to an anti-peace and corrupt regime in Kabul.

Over the past 19 years, the amount of aid that has been given to Afghanistan had no positive impact on the lives of ordinary Afghanistan. For example, no progress has been made in the field of health; Afghans have to travel to neighboring countries for very basic treatments. The main reason for this, as donor countries know, is that most of this aid money is stolen by the corrupt Kabul administration. More than 60 countries’ taxpayer money, under the name of helping Afghans, falls into the pockets of certain individuals in Kabul, an unfortunate continuum that has been taking place for the past two decades.

Millions of donated dollars in fight against Covid-19 was stolen in Afghanistan by Kabul regime’s vice president and his gang of so-called green trend; ventilators were sold to neighbors; money from bread which was supposed serve the poor were stolen; distribution of 3kg of wheat for millions of dollars of donation became a joke in Kabul. A report from the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR) on September 14 strongly criticized donors for pouring billions of dollars into Afghanistan with so little oversight which has further fueled a culture of “rampant corruption”.

The people of Afghanistan need help more than any other country at this time. The Islamic Emirate has always strived for the well-being of its people and for this purpose it has sought and welcomed the support of the international community. However, if aid is collected in the name of the Afghan people and does not reach the deserving people, the Islamic Emirate does not support it. The Islamic Emirate has always called on the countries of the world and international organizations to ensure that the donations collected in the name of the people should reach to the people.

In order for such aid to reach the people in need, in a transparent and fair manner, the best way forward for the international community is to implement aid projects in coordination with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate has always been ready for any cooperation and considers it as its responsibility to deliver what belongs to the people of Afghanistan.