Afghanistan asks UN for clarification on graft survey report

The Attorney General office of Afghanistan has requested the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to provide evidence and documents regarding its report which highlights growing corruption in Afghan governmental organizations.

UNODC following a report released earlier this month announced, since 2009, Afghanistan has made some tangible progress in reducing corruption in the public sector. Despite fewer people paying bribes, the total corruption cost increased to US$ 3.9 billion. This is an increase of 40 per cent in real terms between 2009 and 2012. In 2012, half of Afghan citizens paid a bribe while requesting a public service, says a joint High Office for Oversight and Anticorruption (HOO) and UNODC survey on trends and patterns of corruption in Afghanistan, released today.

“The bribes that Afghan citizens paid in 2012, equals double Afghanistan’s domestic revenue or one fourth of the Tokyo pledge. Nobody doubts the seriousness of the issue, the art is to design the correct strategy to remedy the situation. The findings of the survey will allow us to do so“, said Mr. Jean‐Luc Lemahieu, UNODC Regional Representative.

Nearly 30 per cent of Afghan citizens paid a bribe when requesting a service from individuals not employed in the public sector of Afghanistan in 2012, as opposed to the 50 per cent who paid bribes to public officials. The national economic impact of non‐governmental bribery is also lower, with an estimated total cost of US$ 600 million, some 15 per cent of the total cost of bribes paid to the public sector, says the survey.

“Afghans know that corruption is eating at the fabric of their society. The solution is not only to be found within the Government but also within the wider community. Having the support of our Goodwill Ambassador, popular and respected Afghan public icon, Mr. Farhad Darya to this end, proves powerful in our public campaigning”, said Mr. Lemahieu.

The survey was based on a representative sample of 6,700 Afghan citizens aged 18 and over interviewed across Afghanistan. Of the respondents, 42 percent, were women.

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