Ghani

KABUL, May 5 (Xinhua) — Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said on Thursday that the Afghan government is firm in fight against administrative corruption and would step up efforts to eliminate the menace in the country.

“The administrative corruption is still a big challenge. The Afghans are fed up with corruption. But we are firmly committed to fighting it and bring reforms to ensure good governance and rule of law,” president Ghani told a meeting organized by the European Union Delegation in Afghanistan.

High-ranking Afghan officials and members of EU delegation in Afghanistan attended the one-day event — The Way Ahead for Anti-Corruption in Afghanistan — held in Afghan Presidential Palace.

“We have to acknowledge that the corruption is a national shame … but with your help, we will soon be mounting a national campaign to engage our public in the fight against corruption,” the Afghan leader told the audience.

Ghani also said that the government was carefully considering a proposal to establish a specialized Anti-Corruption Justice Center to further enhance the effectiveness of anti-corruption campaign.

The comments came as the poverty rate in the militancy hit country has reportedly increased from 46 percent in 2013 to 49 percent in 2014 mainly due to the withdrawal of foreign forces from the war-hit country and a decline in the foreign aid, according to officials.

The European Union will continue its support to the Afghan nations and will spare no effort to help Afghans to curb the administrative corruption, said Franz-Michael Mellbin, EU special envoy and head of the EU Delegation in Afghanistan, at the same event.

Mellbin pointed out that the European Union and other international donors have high expectations from the Afghan government in curbing the endemic corruption in the country.

Meanwhile, some Afghan lawmakers and civil society members reportedly said that the existing anti-corruption measures have not been strict enough to serve as effective deterrents.

They said Afghanistan would not be able to achieve lasting peace prosperity unless the government is able to eliminate or at least minimize corruption in government and non-government entities.

The Afghan leader also said his country was preparing for the two international conferences to be held later this year.

The two conferences — Warsaw in July and Brussels in October — will focus on Afghan security and development on the top of its agendas, respectively.