The Afghan parliament on Saturday rejected the budget plan for the fiscal year 1400 that started on December 21, 2020.
The finance and budget committee of the Wolesi Jirga, the Lower House of Parliament, in a report on Saturday said the government has not brought any change to the amended draft budget.
The quorum for Saturday’s session was 135 out of which 15 voted in favor and 120 lawmakers voted against approval of the budget plan.
The committee said that one of their main demands was equalizing the salaries of government employees, but it has not been considered in the amended draft.
Lawmakers said they see 10 key issues in the budget plan that have remained unsolved.
On Jan. 11, the budget and finance committee of the House said the government takes over Afs36 billion from the International Monetary Fund but details of how the money will be spent are unclear. Also, millions have been allocated from the national budget for the purchase of armored vehicles, which has given rise to debate.
The exclusion of 1,131 provincial projects, the allocation of Afs13 billion ($166 million) for the emergency code (an emergency budgetary unit) and the allocation of Afs2 billion ($25.5 million) to the government’s Code 91 and 92–also emergency funds–were reasons for concern raised by lawmakers.
The budget for the fiscal year 1400 (2021) that was submitted to the parliament by the government estimated a total of Afs452 billion ($5.8 billion) for this fiscal year.
