Govt, Parliament Asked to Finalize National Budget tolonews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tolonews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Govt, Parliament Asked to Finalize National Budget
Criticizing the delay in the approval of the current fiscal year’s budget, a number of Kabul residents, most of them from low-income families, called on the government and the parliament to finalize the document and end the stand-off between the two branches of the state.
The fiscal year began on December 21, 2020, but so far, the budget draft has not been approved by the parliament. The parliament has rejected the budget draft twice and is reviewing a third reviewed version.
“The government needs to amend the budget and remove the shortcomings in the document to secure vote of confidence from the lawmakers,” said Abdul Hamid, a Kabul resident.
MPs React to Rahmani Remarks on Interim Setup
The Wolesi Jirga Speaker Mir Rahmani’s remarks on an interim government plan stoked debate in Monday’s session as some MPs said such a plan is against the law and that the Republic must be maintained.
Addressing an event on Sunday, Rahmani said he has found access to the draft of an interim setup and he welcomes it, but he added that the plan needs to be comprehensive.
“The plan, which is said to have been prepared by the United States and the Taliban for establishing an interim government or a proposed peace, has reached us,” the parliament speaker said. “We welcome it because it has mentioned staying with the current system and the national assembly, but it has many problems that need discussion.”
Parliament Forms Committee to Monitor Peace Efforts
The Afghan parliament formed a 21-member committee on peace to have a more direct involvement in the ongoing efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan.
The Wolesi Jirga Speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani, who heads the committee, said that both sides in the peace process are trying to achieve power and that the committee will encourage the parties to achieve real peace.
“Going forward, the Wolesi Jirga should be directly involved in the peace process,” Rahmani said. “The Wolesi Jirga should find out which side is delaying the talks, and evaluate the claims both sides are making of the other… The parliament delegation should be made aware of the reality and make a comprehensive plan based on it.”
Govt Spent $64M Over Budget From Code 91: MPs
The Afghan government has spent Afs5 billion ($64.8 million) more than the allocated budget for Code 91 funds in three fiscal years, according to information provided by the finance and budget committee of the parliament. Code 91 is an emergency budgetary unit, and its spending has been under scrutiny by critics.
At least Afs3 billion ($38.9 million) has been spent through Code 91 funds during former acting finance minister Mohammad Humayun Qayoumi’s leadership, something that has raised questions.
According to the details provided by the finance and budget committee of the parliament, the allocated budget for Code 91 in the 1396 fiscal year (2017) was Afs1.3 billion ($16.8 million) and it spent an additional Afs 1.499 million ($19.4 million), the budget for the code in 1397 fiscal year (2018) was Afs1.3 billion ($16.8 million) and it spent an additional Afs 1.720 billion ($22.3 million) and the budget for the code in