KABUL budget amendment draft for fighting coronavirus.
Following the rejection of the previous budget amendment plan, the government presented a new plan to the lower house which was presented to today’s session by finance and budget commission of the house.
According to Finance Commission, the total budget for the year 1399 was 428 billion afghanis -- 21 billion afghanis up over the previous budget.
Mir Afghan Safi, head of the finance and budget commission, told today’s session that in the new draft 1.5 billion afs had been adjusted in normal budget and 3.4 billion in the development budget.
He added the joint meeting of the commission agreed to all new government plans, but with some adjustments.
Safi explained that in the previous plan, 4.5 billion afghanis had been allocated for the Presidential Operation department and 1.7 billion afghanis for some provincial projects but due to lack of transparency, the department budget spending was removed from the new draft.
He also added that 350 million afghanis had been allocated by the Ministry of Finance to support industrial parks but the amount was cancelled because there was no mechanism to spend them.
The head of the commission said that four billion afghanis which had been allocated for water projects of Kabul, one billion of them approved and three others rejected.
In addition, he said, 650 million afghans were suggested in the budget for shortage of salaries for NDS, 190 million afs for employees of High National Reconciliation Council, 380 million for State Ministry of Peace, 260 million for a number of projects but they were canceled due to lack of transparency.
According to him, 260 million proposed to modernize National Radio Television in the new draft, 100 million had been approved and 160 million other rejected.
Safi asked the speaker to present the draft for vote because the new plan was agreeable.
Mir Rahman Rahmani, speaker of the house, presented the draft for vote and it was approved with a majority.
Acting finance minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal was also present in today’s session.
sa/ma
