Like every year in the past, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) says government departments and ministries have not fully used up money budgeted for development this fiscal.
Like every year in the past, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) says government departments and ministries have not fully used up money budgeted for development this fiscal.The MoF has calculated that 15 ministries spent less than 30 percent of the budget in the first six months of the current financial year which will end on Dec 21.
Parliament, which has been taking a serious view about the under-utilisation of funds despite the huge requirements of money to rebuild the war-shattered country, has decided to hold accountable all ministers who use up less than 50 percent of the budget.
Wahidullah Tawhidi, MoF spokesperson, revealed there are ministries that have spent as little as 15 percent of the budget while some others have used 85 percent. “The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), Ministry of Urban Development Affairs, and Ministry of Finance are some of those who have hardly touched their development budgets,” he said.
Among the ministries that have utilised under 30 percent of the funds in the first six months are: Justice (8.3 percent), Interior Affairs (12.7 percent), Higher Education (13.4 percent), Water and Energy (17.9 percent), Hajj and Religious Affairs (18.4 percent), Tribes and Borders (19.8 percent), Commerce (20.05 percent), Defence (20.1 percent), Mines and Industries (23.1 percent), Finance (24.4 percent), Education (26.3 percent), Agriculture (26.7 percent), Transport and Aviation (27.4 percent) and Public Health (28.8 percent).
The high performing ministries include urban development affairs, public works, women’s affairs and rural rehabilitation and development. According to the most recent figures for money withdrawn from the development budget by ministries, the Ministry of City Development had topped the list spending 82.21 percent in the first six months. Six ministries had spent between 30 and 40 percent. Ahead of them were the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (49.2 percent), Ministry of Public Works (44.8 percent), and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (40.8 percent).
What are the reasons?
Government officials, members of parliament (MPs) and economic analysts say delay in the approval of the budget sets off a chain of events that ends in the monies set aside for development not being spent. As a result there is neither enough time to find the best company to execute the project nor complete it as per the contract. Consequently, the money is not withdrawn, and year after year the utilisation of the development budget is low. A look at some of the ministries.
Ministry of Justice (8.3 percent)
Abdul Halim Hemat, head of financial and administrative department, insists 25 percent of the budget has been utilised. According to him, the release of funds from the budget is sometimes delayed or there is a problem because donors have not delivered on their commitment. Also, the ministry sometimes diverts its development budget to the Afghanistan Rehabilitation and Developmental Services (ARDS) of the Ministry of Economy.
“An amount of 2.7 million USD was promised by the World Bank and was reflected in our budget but it did not materialise,” he said.
Ministry of Higher Education (13.4 percent)
Thousands of students are unable to get into the existing institutions of higher education in the country, and yet the ministry spends only 13 percent of its 49 million USD development budget.
Abdul Muneer Mehrwar, head of planning in the Ministry of Higher Education, agrees there is underutilisation of funds for 23 projects this year – construction, capacity building and equipment. “It is a fact that we could not do what was necessary for implementation of the projects. We spent 13 percent of the budget in the first six months. Now the figure has gone up to 20 percent, but it is not enough,” he candidly stated.
Muneer identifies delays in implementing the project as the main reason for the failure of growth in this sector. “The procurement phases are time consuming. For example, when we announce a project it will take four to six months to process all procurements. As a result there is not enough time for implementation.”
In his opinion the gap in the budget and utilisation is because the “budget is anticipated for one year while most of the construction contracts take more than one year.”
Ministry of Water and Energy (17.9 percent)
Shujauddin Ziayee, deputy minister of water and energy, dismisses the MoF’s figures, and insists the ministry has spent 22 percent of its development budget in the first six months of this fiscal.
“This is a problem between us and the Ministry of Finance,” he argues. “We have processed but the Ministry of Finance has not processed it. On the other hand physical works have been done for projects but the money has not been paid. When this money would be paid, the figure would rise to 55-60 percent by the end of the year,” he adds.
“There is a problem in procurement as our projects are very big and processing takes time,” Ziayee explains. “There are security problems as well – our water project in Pakhtia was stopped for two months; the survey and design of the Gambiri project located between Kunar and Jalalabad is stopped completely.”
