Pervasive corruption hindering access to information: VP Danish

AVA- Danish was speaking in the second National Conference on Strengthening Reporting in Localities and Promotion of Good Governance Culture in Kabul.

According to the VP, access to information could be one of the most effective ways to counter corruption, which he cited as a major challenge for governance.

“If access to information especially to official documents gets facilitated, corrupt figures will be revealed very soon,” he said.

Danish also said that the structure of the administration in Afghanistan is old and that there is lack of mechanism for access to information.

Meanwhile, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, the acting spokesman of the Afghan president, said that Afghanistan is facing propaganda war, adding providing information to citizens by government institutions is very effective.

Access to information is seen as key to accountability in Afghanistan which is considered as one of the most corruption countries in the world.

President Ghani signed access to information in his early days in office in 2014. However, many institutions refuse to provide information when they are reached by the media.