President Ghani, speaking at an event on Thursday focused on the 2020 Geneva conference follow-ups and implementation of commitments, said that 60 percent of the international aid to Afghanistan was not included in the government’s budget allocations for the coming year. The budget is currently still being debated between the Finance Ministry and a Parliament committee.
“60 percent of aid has gone out of the national budget; it is not the fault of the international community. Make the budget effective, make the state institutions accountable, the money will return,” said Ghani.
Ghani said that the main reason was the challenges that exist in the Afghan government, but stated that this aid could be brought into the structure of the country’s national budget if there was transparency and accountability among the state institutions.
Ghani emphasized that budget reform and implementation will play a key role in fulfilling Afghanistan’s commitments at the Geneva Summit.
Ghani said that he strongly supports the Ministry of Finance’s bringing significant amendments to the budget.
Ghani described corruption as the biggest weak point of the government and emphasized the need to combat the endemic corruption in a resolute way.
President Ghani added that without a change in the current administrative culture, it would not be possible to achieve the goals that Afghanistan committed to at the Geneva summit.
“The Ministry of Finance has my full support in this respect. Also, the digitalization process is underway to help digitalize Afghanistan’s govt, economy and there is a digital society,” said Ghani.
Ghani also said: “We will inherit a strong government, a dynamic market, lasting and just peace, and a unified nation for present and future generations, and this will not happen without building infrastructure.”
