Afghan leader faces tough questions on Japan trip

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

TOKYO — Afghan President Hamid Karzai was set to face tough questions over governance and corruption from one of his country's major aid donors when he arrives in Japan on Wednesday for a five-day visit.

Japan last year pledged up to five billion dollars in aid over five years until 2013, provided the security situation allows projects to go ahead and contingent on guarantees the assistance will not be lost to graft.


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Massive graft, however, threatens to undermine many international aid projects. Watchdog Transparency International says Afghanistan has the worst corruption of any country except Somalia, which has no functional government.

Kodama said Japan's foreign minister had repeatedly stressed that "this money comes from our taxpayers' pockets, and the government needs to be accountable for the way their money will have been spent. Money must be spent in an efficient and effective manner to meet the declared objectives."



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iVV3hPOokUKcaTB8zzWlAJnv-WCg

[dipsydoodle]

1. I doubt he could give a straight answer to

how many beans make five.