KABUL - The Afghanistan Chamber of Conference and Industry (ACCI) on Thursday said administrative corruption has been the main hurdle to investment in Afghanistan.

ACCI deputy chief executive Khan Jan Alokozai told this at a day-long national conference of traders who had gathered to evaluate challenges facing the private sector.

Organised by the ACCI, economic experts at the conference would identify challenges to the private sector before the analysis were presented before presidential hopefuls to make them part of their priorities.

Alokozai said the participants would float suggestions on how to address problems being faced by the private sector.

He said corruption remained the key hurdle to the private sector’s development, saying high ranking government officials were involved in the menace.

He said administrative corruption continued unabated despite the creation of a commission and the issuance of several presidential decrees.

The trader representative said the private sector would support a presidential candidate, who had the will to eliminate corruption, a key reason behind growing unemployment.  

The daylong conference would outline the challenges to the economic development before presenting them to presidential candidates for a debate, he said.

Meanwhile Harkat Organization Director Nasim Akbar said economic development could be achieved through encouraging investment.

He said local and foreign investment directly and indirectly depended on a country’s political situation, the level of corruption, access to financial resources, energy, land, law implementation, contracts execution and legal facilities.

ACCI president Mohammad Qurban Haqjo said the April elections would determinate Afghanistan’s destiny. He said some people demanded peace, some good ties with neighboring countries and others signing of the bilateral security agreement with the US, but the ACCI wanted economic development.  (Pajhwok)