The High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption (HOOAC) on Friday said at least six governors out of 14, who were asked to register their assets 20 days ago, have agreed to continue the process. However, eight of them have not responded to the HOOAC’s request in this respect.
 
The HOOAC chairman Ghulam Sakhi Fakhri said they have given a two weeks deadline for the governors to register their assets, otherwise government will cut their salaries and other privileges.
 
According to him, governors of Zabul, Faryab, Nuristan, Kunduz, Baghlan and Kandahar provinces have registered their assets after a request by the office.
 
Fakhri stated that governors of Paktika, Kapisa, Ghazni, Badakhshan, Paktia, Helmand, Uruzgan and acting governor of Balkh have not registered their assets so far.
 
“We will send a list of the officials, who have not registered their assets, to the Ministry of Finance, the Independent Directorate of Local Governance and to the Presidential Palace in order to take action against them,” he said.
 
Meanwhile, Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai, head of Independent Commission for Overseeing Implementation of the Constitution said the governors’ move is against the law and they should be held responsible for it.
 
“Refusing to register assets is the violation of the Constitution. The officials who have refused to register their assets should be investigated,” he mentioned.
 
The Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) has not commented on the issue so far.
 
However, the IDLG spokesperson Munira Yusufzada recently said that a number of governors are yet to register their assets due to technical problems.
 
“The IDLG in collaboration with the has sent the forms to the relevant officials. But the registration process has delayed due to technical problems; not intentionally,” Yusufzada said.
 
The Ministry of Finance meanwhile said senior officials from customs and other offices of the ministry are yet to register their assets.
 
“We have prepared the list of officials of the Ministry of Finance who have not registered their assets so far. The officials will fill the registration forms after they received it,” the Finance Ministry spokesman Ajmal Abdul Rahimzai said.
 
At least 8,000 government officials – including governors - have so far registered their assets at the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption.