With the Wolesi Jirga set to vote on the remaining members of unity government cabinet, the long and controversial process of cabinet formation is closing to its end. According to the reports, the Lower House of the parliament has begun receiving the cabinet picks from Tuesday and will decide on their eligibility after they present their plans to the members of the parliament (Wolesi Jirga). As the cabinet nominees have started presenting their plans to the Wolesi Jirga, the Wolesi Jirga should remain committed on its obligation and decide on capability and eligibility of the nominees based on their academic and professional competencies. 

Obviously, the new cabinet proposal has some certain advantages as well as weaknesses. The new government is going to be comprised of mostly new faces as ministers who seem to be more committed to serving the country. Most of the new ministers have robust academic background as well as experiences of serving in the governmental positions. Despite being formed based on compromises and power sharing between the key stakeholders, the leaders of the unity government have remained committed to forming a qualified cabinet. However, there are criticisms that a number of the nominees introduced for the ministries have different academic and professional background than their ministry field. For any top managerial posts such as government ministries, potential for efficient leadership and management is the key characteristics which the nominees should own.

The Wolesi Jirga is the ultimate manifestation of national will. Therefore, its sanctity and dignity should be preserved by the Members of the Parliament (MPs). The house has been much criticized in the past over its performances and practices regarding national issues. However, there is still time for the parliament to take the right course in order to mitigate this problem. The Wolesi Jirga now must do its job right and pick the best qualified ministerial nominees. The house needs to come together and get united along the common good of Afghanistan so to be able to make the right decisions and help building an efficient and capable government cabinet. Many has lost their faith to the parliament as they believe the MPs vote not based on considering merits of the to-be-ministers but through secret dealings and corruption. The parliament needs to avoid its further defaming and humiliation by acting responsibly and voting to ministerial picks based on their merits.

Corruption and biased approach has hampered the Wolesi Jirga of doing its job right in the past. And it is likely to be so in the future. If so, the house will further lose its credibility. The MPs should not lose the big picture of benefiting the country through approving the highly-qualified cabinet nominees. It needs to repair its damaged prestige and credibility. It is enough for the MPs to remind themselves that the first and second national assemblies were far less corrupt and had far better credibility. It is time for the Wolesi Jirga to correct its course and perform based on long-term interests of Afghanistan while also serving their own legitimate interests.

The key ministry of defense was introduced to the parliament on Monday. There have been unconfirmed reports of differences between the leaders of the unity government over who should lead the top security post. However, the announcement on Monday ended the speculations of differences over the post. Despite the challenges and insufficiencies existing, the new cabinet is going to have many new faces many of whom are obviously more committed.

The formation of the unity government cabinet has been a long and exhausting process. It has exhausted the public as the economic and security situation is deteriorating. The government affairs in all ministries and departments are virtually in disarray. Recently, a number of the provincial governors started complaining regarding their inability to do their routine duties as they serve as caretakers. The losses resulting from absence of a fully functional government are huge. According to estimates, the prolonged presidential elections cost millions of dollars for the economy declined and businesses went stagnant. Swift formation of the government cabinet will definitely help the government to bring the economy back on track and restore the business trends.

Introducing the new cabinet nominees to the Lower House of the parliament (Wolesi Jirga) last Wednesday, Vice President Sarwar Danish urged the MPs to give vote of confidence and approve the ministerial nominations. The unity government hopes to handle the sluggish economy through quick formation of the cabinet. If the Wolesi Jirga once again fails to help the government finalize the cabinet and fill the top posts, it will not be helpful for the government’s administration and the country’s ailing economy. Quickly resolving the problem by both the government and the Wolesi Jirga will also encourage the business community.

In conclusion, the Wolesi Jirga needs to heed the call of the nation: to consider competencies and capabilities of the proposed individuals when deciding on the ministerial picks. And it should do it on due time with further unnecessary delays. The people hope to see end of the political controversies over the formation of the new cabinet and the resulting administrative vacuum. It is time for both the parliament and the unity government leaders to realize the urgency of concluding the cabinet formation and conclude the process.