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| June 13, 2008 | Friday | Jamadi-us-Sani 08, 1429 |
Billions pledged in fresh aid, but Karzai told to fight corruption
PARIS, June 12: World donors led by the United States pledged more than $20 billion to rebuild Afghanistan on Thursday but told President Hamid Karzai to do more to fight corruption and strengthen the rule of law.
Karzai asked donors to finance part of a 50-billion-dollar development plan over the next five years to counter widespread poverty and a Taliban resistance movement.
“What brings us together today is a concern for the destiny of a nation that has emerged from a dark past,” Karzai told donors from more than 80 countries and international organisations gathered in Paris.
Citing progress in building roads and clinics, fighting opium production and setting up a functioning government since the 2001 fall of the Taliban, Karzai nevertheless acknowledged: “There is a long way still ahead of us." With a development plan on the table, Afghanistan needs “adequate, long-term and predictable support,” said Karzai.
Countries’ share
The lion’s share of funds was pledged by the United States, with First Lady Laura Bush announcing a $10.2 billion contribution over the next two years.
“Afghanistan has reached a decisive moment for its future. We must not turn our backs on this opportunity,” she said.
Big pledges also came from Britain, which announced $1.2 billion over the next five years, Japan with $550 million while Germany put up 420 million euros over three years.
The World Bank said it would channel about $1.1 billion over five years. Australia and the United Arab Emirates offered $250 million each to back Karzai’s development plan.
Canada said it would provide $600 million in new funds, part of which will be spent to rebuild a dam in Kandahar.
President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that French financial aid would be “more than doubled” with priority given to agriculture and health, bringing its assistance up to $165 million over the next two years.
Facing a presidential election next year, Karzai is under pressure over his apparent inability to deal with corruption and opium production, seen as prolonging the Taliban resistance. “While Afghanistan needs large amounts of aid, precisely how aid is spent is just as important,” said Karzai.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for “active measures” to be taken to fight corruption, guarantee transparency and ensure that financial aid reached those who need it.
“It is only by combating corruption and strengthening the rule of law that our commitment will be efficient,” stressed German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier.
More than six years after US-led forces ousted the Taliban, Afghanistan remains mired in poverty and its people lack many basics while extremists have pushed on with their insurgency in the south.
Some 47,000 troops from a Nato-led force are fighting the Taliban alongside 20,000 US troops. The violence has left 8,000 people dead in 2007 alone, including 1,500 civilians, according to UN figures.
Karzai’s ambitious blueprint focuses first on infrastructure, with plans to build roads, dams and power plants, but raising an army is also a priority along with developing agriculture.
Security remains Afghanistan’s biggest challenge, Karzai said, arguing that his government was fighting “international terrorists” funded from abroad.
Relief organisations have complained that too much international aid is spent on security while development projects vital to fight poverty and strengthen the state are neglected.—AFP
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