Sunday, September 13, 2015

Governance News

Karzai and the Durand Line. The former Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke out recently about the problems Afghanistan is having with Pakistan over the Durand Line. The border area is very porous and poorly marked. Some areas of the border are claimed by both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Read more in "Karzai: Afghan people will not give up their rights on Durand Line", Khaama Press, September 8, 2015.

Electoral Reform? The Electoral Reform Commission reports that President Ghani has approved seven out of eleven key reform proposals. Read a report by Tolo News, September 7, 2015.

National ID Card. Not yet. It is delay after delay. The national electronic identity card (e-NIC) may be just too hard to do in a society that didn't have paved roads, railroads, or phones just 15 years ago. So far over $30 million has been spent on the project. It is hard to say how much went to the e-NIC effort and how much is sitting in someones bank account in Dubai. Was anyone watching where the money went? (Tolo News, Sep 12, 2015).

Pakistan ID Cards for Militants. Foreign Islamic militants have been able to secure Pakistani national identity cards for years in exchange for bribes as low as $100. That will never happen once the Afghans get their system up and running - because . . . the Afghans just hate corruption and Afghan officials can't be bought!  Read more in "Pakistan Corruption Lets Militants Get National ID Cards", ABC News, September 2, 2015.

Diplomatic Training. The United States and China have been running a training program for young Afghan diplomats. Learn more in a 20-min video posted by the U.S. Department of State (Sep 9, 2015).

RECCA and SOM. Two conferences held in Kabul this past week saw delegates from about 60 countries and numerous donor organizations in attendance. The conferences were concerned with the Afghan economy. Numerous resolutions were adopted that will assure continued donor nation support. Naturally Afghanistan will expend great effort in eliminating corruption! Of course. Read more in "Govt Vows to Keep Promises Ahead of Brussels Summit", Tolo News, September 7, 2015.

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