KABUL (Pajhwok): A Wolesi Jirga member on Saturday said he was ready to disclose the names of lawmakers who allegedly received bribes from ministers in return for cancellation of parliamentary summons.
But the startling disclosures could not be made because of the Administrative Board’s inability to arrange the meeting, said Abdur Rahim Ayubi, a public representative from southern Kandahar province.
Based on Article 92, a minister could be summoned by the suggestion of 20 percent of lawmakers. If the minister could not provide satisfactory answers, he or she can be unseated with a no-confidence vote by a majority of MPs.
Last week, Ayubi accused some MPs of getting cash from a number of ministers in return for saving them the embarrassment of being summoned by the legislature. The speaker asked him to substantiate his claim on Saturday, when the scheduled session was scrapped.
Ayubi, who had promised naming the bribe-taking legislators, told reporters Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi had been to Switzerland and his first deputy Abdul Zahir Qadeer was busy struggling against Daesh in Nangarhar.
Second Deputy Speaker Nazir Ahmad Ahmadzai was on a visit to Moscow, he added, regretting the assembly’s inability to convene. “I was ready to name the tainted members of the house,” he maintained.
The MP urged President Ashraf Ghani to constitute a commission to investigate the legislators who had received payments from the ministers. Ayubi vowed to extend all possible cooperation to the proposed panel.
Another public representative from Kabul, Sher Wali Wardak, also slammed the Administrative Board for its failure to handle parliamentary affairs in a befitting manner.
“The continuation of such a weak performance is a disservice to the nation. Given the serious situation, the session should have taken place today, but the board exhibited poor coordination,” he regretted.
Qazi Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, a lawmaker from western Herat province, also lashed out at the Administrative Board. “Foreign trips of board members be scheduled in a way that doesn’t hamper sessions.”
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