Kabul, Nov 19: Under intense pressure to fix his corrupt government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought to strike a balance in his second inaugural speech on Thursday: answer international demands for reform while appeasing his political allies who returned him to power.
Karzai begins a second term facing an increasingly violent insurgency, an administration crippled by corruption, high unemployment and an impoverished population frustrated by eight years of war and few, if any, improvements to their daily lives.
An official familiar with a draft of the speech said Karzai would not pepper his address with rhetoric criticizing the international community. Still, Karzai is likely to wag his finger at foreign donors, as he has done before, for allowing millions of dollars to be skimmed from aid contracts before Afghans ever see the assistance.
The official said Karzai would repeat his demand for assistance to be funneled through the Afghan government as opposed to international organisations.
While Karzai was expected to address rampant graft and bribery that has corroded his government, his message is not likely to satisfy the international community, which is hinging future aid and troops on his resolve to clean up corruption.
The Karzai government unveiled an anti-corruption and major crimes unit this week just as Afghanistan slipped three places to become the world’s second most-corrupt country, according to an annual survey by Transparency International.
–Agencies