'Afghan Villages Fight Corruption', The Christian Science Monitor, 24 March 2009
EXCERPT: "Villagers trained by an international nonprofit are tackling corruption at the local level through 'social audits.' They gather to inspect the books of shuras, or elected councils, that oversee many villages and receive funds from the government and NGOs to undertake development projects. In many villages that uncover corruption, residents voted their shuras out in subsequent elections. 'For the first time, we feel like we have some control in our lives,' says one villager, Rahimah, who like many Afghans has only one name. 'We can finally hold our leaders accountable.' 'It used to be that our shura would get money and we'd have no idea what happened to it,' says Begum, another villager here in Kalan Gazar, in northern Baghlan Province. In some areas, money earmarked for a development project had simply vanished. To help build Afghans' capacity in dealing with such problems, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) introduced the idea of social audits – meetings that scrutinize the books of the village council – in hundreds of villages."
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See also:
'"Corrupt" Afghan police targeted in US policy, Holbrooke says', Bloomberg, 21 March 2009
'Afghan officials in drug trade cut deals across enemy lines', The Globe and Mail, 21 March 2009
Related posts:
'Pervasive corruption fuels deep anger', 25 November 2008
'Calls on Afghanistan to fight corruption, provide services', 3 June 2008
'New UN report highlights widespread corruption, insecurity', 27 September 2007
