Wolesi Jirga summons finance minister

KABUL): Members of Parliament (MPs) on Monday called for summoning several ministers over their failure to spend even 50 percent of their development budget for the last fiscal year.

Wolesi Jirga members issued the call when a final report on last year’s budget spending was presented to the lower house by the Finance and Budget Commission.

On average, 40 percent of development budget and 90 percent of the general budget were spent, Siddique Ahmad Usmani, a member of the commission, told lawmakers.

Complete details of expenditures by different ministries would be presented to the assembly on Wednesday (Feb. 1), said the legislator, hailing from central Parwan province.

Wolesi Jirga passed the 215 billion afs ($4.35 billion) budget but the Ministry of Finance put the figure at 231 billion afs in its final report, Usmani added.

No funds were earmarked for 200 projects approved in last year, Usmani said, adding detailed information on the subject would be provided on Wednesday.

Those ministers who had failed to utilise the funds should be tried under the law after being sacked by parliamenttarians, suggested Asadullah Saadati, an MP from Daikundi province.

Manawar Shah Bahaduri, a Wolesi Jirga member from Herat, aske the finance minister to explain to the house why he had tampered with budget figures against the law.

Another member, Bashir Ahmad Tenaj, demanded an investigation into budgetary allocations to ascertain whether or not the money was spent appropriately.

Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi said Finance Minister Dr. Omer Zakhelwal and other relevant officials would be summoned to the house on Wednesday to answer members’ queries.

mas/mud

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