‘1402 fiscal budget being distributed’

KABUL (TOLOnews): The fiscal budget of the current solar year is being distributed to the ministries and provinces, the Islamic Emirate’s Spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid said, without providing information about the scale of the budget.

Zabiullah Mujahid told TOLOnews that the scale of the development budget has surged and that a major part of the budget has been allocated for big projects such as dams and road repair. “The budget of the Islamic Emirate for the 1402 solar year had been signed and its under distribution now. There has been sufficient budget for the ministries. A better step compared to the previous year is that this year, a larger amount has been considered for development budget,” he said.

This comes as the Ministry of Economy said that projects which are being implemented this year will help Afghanistan with self-sufficiency in the long-term. “The development projects, for which the budgets have been considered this year, are those infrastructure projects which can bring Afghanistan to self-sufficiency in the long-term,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy Minister of Economy.

Shams Rahman Ahmadzai, an economist, said that not disclosing the budget to the public is the policy of the Islamic Emirate. Economist Qutbuddin Yaqobi said that the budget should be modified based on the needs of the people of various provinces. “Based on the policy of the current government, the officials would announce the scale of the development budgets in the provinces when it is needed,” he said.

Qutbuddin Yaqobi, an economist, said that the budget should be distributed in a fair way to all provinces. “The development budget, which is currently being considered, should be fairly distributed, so it can be effective. I meant it should be based on the needs of every province,” he said. The officials of the interim Afghan government said that the development projects are being supported through national revenue and mines. The office of Deputy of the Prime Minister for economic affairs has recently confirmed 25 economic projects worth six billion Afs.