Karzai to root out corruption
US: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview airing on
Monday he is taking steps to root out corruption in his government, but
he also said foreign money was making the problem worse.
In addition to what he called "the usual corruption in any
government," Karzai said he is dealing with a kind of corruption that is
foreign to his country.
| At
a glance |
| * Karzai says
taking steps to stem corruption
* Afghan leader asks allies to
respect sovereignty |
"We also mean corruption of a different kind which is a lot more
serious, which is new to Afghanistan, which is with the arrival of a lot
of money to Afghanistan," Karzai said in an interview with the PBS
program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."
Without providing specific examples, Karzai listed contractual
mechanisms, a lack of transparency in awarding contracts and corruption
in implementing projects among the "new" and more serious corruption
problem.
"The stigma falls mainly on Afghanistan because that's where it
happens, and that's why we should address it first and also hopefully
that our partners in the international community will also recognize
problems .
Washington has long called for a stronger and more accountable Afghan
government to fight a Taliban insurgency which is at its deadliest since
the Islamists were forced from power in 2001.
Since being re-elected in a controversial poll in which a fraud
investigation rejected more than a million of his votes, Karzai has been
under intense pressure.
Washington, Monday, Reuters |
