A close scrutiny of government expenditure reveals an inordinately large amount was spent on communication particularly mobile phone costs in the last financial year. An investigation.
Documents in Killid’s possession show bills of high-ranking government officials on their digital and mobile phones accounted for more than 2 billion Afs (34 million USD). The biggest spender was the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI) – more than 1 billion Afs (17 million USD). Four other ministries including defence and finance spent several million Afs each. Communication costs were the government’s single largest expense.
Killid’s findings show the Afghan Telecom Company has earned 470 million Afs (8 million USD) over the last financial year from providing fixed phone connections to government offices. As many as 6,377 government officers collected mobile phone cards every month. The government bears the expense of these pre-paid cards, which vary from 750 to 10,000 Afs (13 to 171 USD).
Officials in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) say the facility of free mobile phone usage is provided for officials who are not always in their offices where everyone has access to land phones.
Members of Parliament (MPs) have complained about the inflated communication budgets of government offices. Last year, both the ministries of finance and interior affairs spent 70 percent of their budget, while the remaining was seconded to its other departments. Najib Danesh, the deputy spokesperson, neither rejected nor admitted to these huge amounts, but said he could not comment till he had studied the figures himself. He asked for four days time, but eventually backed out from talking to Killid.
Ministry of Defence
It is at number two on the list of highest spending ministries having spent 538,067, 552 Afs (9.2 million USD). The ministry’s deputy spokesperson Dawlat Waziri who did not want to confirm the figure, eventually told Killid that the ministry has no knowledge of this amount. However, Killid has got documents to show the money was transferred from MoF to the defence ministry as its communication budget. The spokesperson was not prepared to share information on the total number of digital and mobile phones in the ministry.
Ministry of Finance
Communication expenses of the ministry added up to 47 million Afs(804,000 USD). Abdul Qader Jailani, MoF spokesperson, confirmed the figure. He said it included the expenses of internet, mobile credit cards and digital phones. Also that there were 90 active digital phones in the ministry for the use of employees, apart from pre-paid phone cards. He cited a presidential order – number 6532 – that permitted the issue of phone cards.
The order dated 18/11/2010 that established a working committee of representatives from the ministries of finance, economy, labour and social affairs, and the high commission of civil services and administrative reforms, and the control and audit office decided that every minister, head of state administration and head of ministers’ council secretariat should be paid 10,000 Afs per month as communication expenses. The assistants of state administration and ministers’ council secretariat would get 7,500 Afs, deputy ministers 5,000 Afs, head of independent budgetary units who are in a higher grade (equivalent to ministers’ grade) 6,000 Afs, assistant directors in independent offices and commissions 3,750 Afs, commissioners of independent commissions 3,500 Afs, the directors of departments (working in first grade) 2,500 Afs, secretaries to ministers, deputy ministers and head of independent presidencies 1,000 Afs per month as communication expenses.
The order has set 6,000 Afs as monthly communication expenses for governors of grade one provinces, 5,000 Afs for governors of provinces of grade two and three, deputy governors and mastofees (high provincial finance office) 3,000 Afs, the heads of department in province level 2,500 Afs, district governors 2,000 Afs, consultants in higher grade approved in structure 2,500 Afs, the consultants of ministers in grade one and grade two 1,000 Afs, and the head of state owned enterprises (trade enterprises, service enterprises, industrial enterprises) 2,000 Afs.
Officials in the ministries of defence, interior affairs and National Directorate of Security are bound by their own rules. The presidential order, which was signed by previous president Hamid Karzai, has allocated 1,500 Afs as communication expense for every expert in the state administration office and duty staff (assigned for day and night).
MoF spokesperson Jailani also said 665 of the some 6,377 government officers who are entitled to the privilege of free mobile phone cards are from the MoF.
Other big spenders
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had spent 51,792,667 Afs (886,000 USD) on communication expenses. Documents show some 1,000 officers in the ministry are enjoying the privilege of free mobile and digital phone use. The National Radio Television spent 41,607,732 Afs (712,100 USD) and Ministry of Agriculture 40 million Afs (685,000 USD).
Another big spender is the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) – 36,825,864 Afs (630,000 USD) on communications. Tawab Ghorzang, spokesperson, claims the costs include internet and post services in the central office and provincial councils and governors’ offices.
Killid interviewed Gul Ahmad Rastman, the head of Afghan Telecom Company who said the ministries’ fixed phone expenses have increased in the last financial year. The Telecom Company has been able to earn some 67 million Afs (1.1 million USD) from providing voice services to government offices in Kabul. Rastman said more than 250 government offices use their fix line system in 13 provinces. While he could not give the exact number, he said the company has distributed many hundreds of digital hand-sets in government offices.
Thorough probe
The Control and Audit Office, which is bound to probe financial impropriety in the government, has so far not received any complaints about the huge communication expenses. Sharif Sharifi, the head, said accounts would be scrutinised after the publication of the report by Killid.
According to Nasrullah Sadeqi Nilizada, a member of the parliamentary finance and budget commission, communication costs are inserted as office expenses in the finalised budget every year. Hence, it is not accounted for as a separate expense.
“Our expectation is that the government should introduce a law on the expenses of offices and high ranking authorities to control unnecessary expenses,” he said. He expressed strong disapproval for the reckless spending on communications in a country where poverty and unemployment are both serious problems.
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi, MP from Kabul, called for close monitoring of the budget by lawmakers. She said it was a “technical issue” and most MPs shied away from the subject. Mohammad Noor Akbari who is the representative from Daikundi in Parliament said there must be reform in the matter of the government’s communication expenses. The government has to begin to cut back on costs considering it is no longer receiving large amounts of foreign funding. “Leaders must introduce a policy of frugality or people would be foisted with a burden beyond their means,” he said.
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