No, there is no corruption according to some politicians in Afghanistan. To please the donors, President Karzai is expected to outline new anti-corruption and accountability measures in the donors meeting in Tokyo. He claims that donors are primarily to blame for corruption. It is because they have been more eager to spend than to comply with government procedures, transparency and Afghan customs.
The donor countries are meeting in Tokyo to perhaps promise another $4 billion in annual economic and development support at least through 2017 and perhaps until 2025. The combined donations are likely to equal roughly half of Afghanistan’s $15.9 billion gross domestic product. The United States expects to contribute half the nearly $8 billion total. The money is a substantial decrease in the more than $100 billion a year the United States currently spends in Afghanistan. A senior reporter of thegarlic was unable to find how the $100 billion a year is being used. The reporter questioned a number of USA as well as Afghanistan officials who were very surprised that our reporter wanted details of the expenditure.
A senior Obama administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, explained the importance of this year’s meeting.The official noted that the international community is agreeing on the need for assistance, the need to keep investing in Afghanistan, and that the Afghans themselves are also taking responsibility for the things they need to do . Without it, the administration and its partners fear Afghanistan will slip back to where it was two decades ago. At that time the militant factions fought for control, the economy ceased to function and the Taliban emerged victorious. Some senior Afghanistanis have claimed that the aid also provides jobs for the local people. Construction of mansions for senior politicians and bureaucrats is providing a substantial number of jobs in the construction industry,
The World Bank and the Afghan government worked together to come up with the target figure of $8 Billion a year, along with a plan to set priorities to develop revenue-producing mines, agriculture, education, and other national resources. The issue of corruption was not discussed. Some informed sources believe that billions of dollars are looted by government cronies. Recently it was reported that nearly a billion dollars from the country’s biggest bank was looted. It is not clear how it was done.
