pakistani342
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Article here, excerpts below:
KABUL, Afghanistan — Through a tumultuous first six months as president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani has been living up to his promises to transform the office. But rather than decentralizing the post’s powers, as he had vowed, he has instead been quietly creating an even more dominant presidency, according to a range of current and former Afghan officials.
In the name of fighting corruption, Mr. Ghani is bringing billions of dollars in procurement deals under his direct purview, denying ministries the opportunity to contract their own goods and services.
And staff members under Mr. Ghani’s authority are even directly writing and carrying out policy for the government, leaving some ministry officials wondering what their jobs are anymore, some officials say, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering the president.
...
There is growing concern, however, that cooperating with Mr. Abdullah is not high on Mr. Ghani’s list. Some critics of the president believe that he sees the continuing deadlock as a useful chance to consolidate power before Mr. Abdullah’s side can settle in — and that the president’s desire to single-handedly reshape Afghan politics could take him down a more authoritarian path.
...
While Mr. Karzai used the administrative side of his office as a political appendage to supplement the ministries or other agencies, Mr. Ghani, by some accounts, is now using it to supplant them — sometimes in ways that appear to contradict the law.
...
Mr. Ghani, who has a notorious temper, has abruptly fired top officials, whether members of the security establishment or provincial governors. Some were summarily dismissed with little more than a harsh word or two — and often without having a replacement in mind.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Through a tumultuous first six months as president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani has been living up to his promises to transform the office. But rather than decentralizing the post’s powers, as he had vowed, he has instead been quietly creating an even more dominant presidency, according to a range of current and former Afghan officials.
In the name of fighting corruption, Mr. Ghani is bringing billions of dollars in procurement deals under his direct purview, denying ministries the opportunity to contract their own goods and services.
And staff members under Mr. Ghani’s authority are even directly writing and carrying out policy for the government, leaving some ministry officials wondering what their jobs are anymore, some officials say, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering the president.
...
There is growing concern, however, that cooperating with Mr. Abdullah is not high on Mr. Ghani’s list. Some critics of the president believe that he sees the continuing deadlock as a useful chance to consolidate power before Mr. Abdullah’s side can settle in — and that the president’s desire to single-handedly reshape Afghan politics could take him down a more authoritarian path.
...
While Mr. Karzai used the administrative side of his office as a political appendage to supplement the ministries or other agencies, Mr. Ghani, by some accounts, is now using it to supplant them — sometimes in ways that appear to contradict the law.
...
Mr. Ghani, who has a notorious temper, has abruptly fired top officials, whether members of the security establishment or provincial governors. Some were summarily dismissed with little more than a harsh word or two — and often without having a replacement in mind.
