Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Kabul (BNA) After long delay the government of national unity leaders agreed on choosing cabinet picks and introducing to house of people for votes of confidence on Sunday.
House speaker, Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, in the initiation, thanked the country’s president, Ashraf Ghani for introducing the cabinet nominee ministers and putting end to the people wait.
He said the house of people had approved many laws in the past and relegated to the government and inspected the work of the government as well. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani introduced the ministers-designates to the House of People for approval on Tuesday. Addressing the house, the president said that he did his best to have capable cabinet to win lawmakers’ votes of confidence.
However, he said that the lawmakers have the authority to accept or reject the nominees.
Thanking the national assembly, the president said the legislators had ratified the defense and security agreements with US and NATO and assisted the government in fulfilling its international commitments.
“In line with your decisions the government’s active international policy over the past three months has won international community’s trust to renew its pledge to support the Afghan National Security Forces,” the president went on to say. Stressing for unity and coordination among the three pillars of the state, the president said that harmony among the three forces strengthens the government. Calling for time to bring reforms and ensure good governance, the president said that he would specify the responsibilities of ministries and independent directorate in order to make any individual to be taken accountable in fair manner.
The president also promised that he would change the presidency from individual into an institution, saying each ministry is key.
The new cabinet would be responsible and accountable before the president, national assembly and the people of Afghanistan, president Ghani stressed. “Our plan is to have meeting with zones in each month, with provincial governors, ministers and provincial officials in each quarter to make the sense of accountability,” the president added.
The president underscored that necessary steps would be taken to check corruption and promote the culture of encourage and punishment in each government department over the next seven months.
During the mentioned period specific plans would be chalked out to improve security, ensure coordination among security organs with the sense of accountability, building infrastructures, focusing on national projects and capacity building of human resources to help Afghans take all the affairs of the country in their hands, president Ghani said.
He also said that works are underway to create three-year development budget. “Cabinet is accountable before you the legislators and the people of Afghanistan, you have the authority to accept or reject the cabinet,” the president emphasized, adding, “I am sure your decision is for the national interest.” At the end of president’s speech, the government’s minister for parliamentary affairs Nabi Farahi readout the biography of the ministers-designates as under: General Shir Mohammad Karimi candidate for defense minister, General Nurul Haq Ulomi interior minister-designate, Salahuddin Rabbani foreign minister-designate, Aklil Hakimi finance minister-designate, Sayed Sadat Mansoor Nadiri labor & social affairs minister-designate, Sayed Hussain Aalimi Balkhi refugees’ repatriation minister-designate, Mohammad Gul Zalmai Yunusi education minister-designate, Firozudin Firoz public health minister-designate, Sardar Mohammad Rahimi commerce & industries minister-designate, Shah Zaman Miwandi Urban development minister-designate, Ahmad Siar Mahjor justice minister-designate, Barna Karimi communication & IT minister-designate, Nasir Ahmad Durani rural development minister-designate, Qamarudin Shinwari frontier and tribal affairs minister-designate, Najiba Ayubi women affairs minister-designate, Ghulam Abbas Basir public work minister-designate, Faizullah Zaki transport and civil aviation minister-designate, Daud Shah Sabah Mines & Petroleum minister-designate, Ay Khanum Khairi information & culture minister-designate, Faizullah Kakar counter-narcotics minister-designate, Faiz Mohammad Usmani Hajj and Auqaf minister-designate, Khatira Afghan higher education minister-designate, Abdul Rahman Salahi Water & Power minister-designate, General Rahmatullah Nabil nominated for the head of national directorate for security and Khalilullah Sediqi nominated for the governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, the country’s central bank.
