KABUL - Addressing the 9th Oversight Coordination Board meeting in the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, Mr. Richard H. Riley said that as co-chair of the oversight coordination body, the U.S. government has “prioritized” anti-corruption and transparency within the ministries of Interior and Defense to “improve donor confidence.”
“Corruption is a threat to Afghanistan’s national security, It siphons funds away from the bilateral services, It undermines the rule of law and weakens the legitimacy and power of the Afghan government, all of which play into the Taliban narrative,” he said.
Mr. Riley, meanwhile, said that corruption harms the critical missions to protect the Afghan people and borders “when corrupt officials sell ANDSF fuel and weapons to the enemy.”
Recognizing the “strong leadership” of the acting ministers to bring real reform to the Interior and Defense ministries, he stated: ” We support and encourage their [ministers] continued efforts.”
According to this U.S. diplomat , the Taliban remains a “resilient and demanding enemy”, continued strong performance by the Afghan Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and continued implementation of the goals and outline in the security road map, remain “critical” to the eventual success of ongoing fight in the war-strife country.
In the meeting, Afghan Finance Minister, Iklil Hakimi said that the government was committed to fight against corruption.
This comes as President Ashraf Ghani has expressed concern regarding the widespread corruption in the state security institutions, particularly in the Interior Affairs Ministry as the president described MoI the “heart of corruption” . (ATN)