WJ urged to approve budget to evade economic woes

 

KABUL (SW) – The Ministry of Finance has warned of additional economic hardships in the country if the Wolesi Jirga (lower house) continued to hinder approval of the annual budget.

The interim head of the Ministry of Finance, Mohammad Khalid Payenda told a press conference here that demands of the members of parliament have been incorporated in the third draft of the budget document.

Payenda emphasized the finance ministry is ready to cooperate with the house on technical issues for eventual approval of the budget. The head of the Ministry of Finance added the third draft of the budget document envisages a salary increase plan. But, he stressed raising the salaries of low-ranking government employees requires more work. According to him, technical and austerity measures should be taken into account for it.

He added this matter would be resolved by the mid of next fiscal year.

Payenda said the finance ministry has created a special code to standardize the salaries of teachers and low-ranking government employees, which would have in it about AFN 1.7 billion. He said an additional AFN 6 billion can also be added to it through cutting NTE salaries.

He warned that delay in approval of the budget would have devastating impacts on the entire economic cycle in the country.

It should be noted that the budget document has been rejected twice by the WJ. The parliament has warned that it will reject the document for the third time as well until the salaries of teachers and low-ranking government employees are increased and misplaced expenses are prevented.

ENDS

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