MPs rejects govt plan to borrow $229m from IMF

KABUL on Wednesday rejected the government’s plan to borrow $229 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for combating coronavirus in the country.

The Finance and Budgetary Commission of the lower house of parliament presented the proposal to the general session but it was rejected citing corruption claims in financial part of handling the respiratory disease.

Lawmaker Mir Afghan Safi said the amount was being borrowed from the IMF on the basis of easy terms and was in the interest of Afghanistan.

But a number of lawmakers rejected the proposal.

Ghulam Hussain Nasiri, a lawmaker from Kabul province said: “We are not against borrowing of money but the government should provide information first regarding the $800 million which the international community has provided for fighting coronavirus.”

“There is no transparency in spending money provided by friendly countries, we should not put the burden of debt on our future generations.”

Other lawmakers held similar views and finally the house rejected the proposal with a majority vote.

Nh/ma