KABUL: The World Bank on Tuesday announced more than $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, stating the money will go to UN agencies and international NGOs while remaining outside the control of the IEA authorities. The aid was provided as asked by the international community and Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), the Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan recommended ways regarding the aids provided to Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Finance suggested that the expenses of projects excluded from the national budget should be decreased as well as supporting parallel sides should be avoided. On the other hand, the ministry has assured the efficiency, transparency and accountability in these projects, further assuring that the projects will be monitored in accordance with the laws and regulations.
According to the Ministry of Finance, development projects along side with the humanitarian assistance can help grow economy of the country. Besides, it is a great step towards development of the country.
Ahmad Wali Haqmal, Spokesman of the Ministry of Finance welcomed the World Bank decision to have approved $ 1Bln.
The World Bank statement said that as a first step, ARTF donors will decide on four projects worth about $600m that will support “urgent needs in education, health and agricultural sectors, as well as community livelihoods”.
The plan bypasses sanctioned IEA authorities by disbursing the money through the United Nations agencies and international aid groups, providing a major boost to efforts to ease the country’s worsening humanitarian and economic crises.
On the other hand, Da Afghanistan Bank welcomed this action of the World Bank taken in good intent and wants their further cooperation in the banking and financial sectors.
In the meantime, according the World Bank statement the approach aims to support the delivery of essential basic services, protect vulnerable Afghans, help preserve human capital and key economic and social services, and reduce the need for humanitarian assistance in the future.
Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) was frozen in August when the IEA took over Kabul as the last United States-led international troops departed after 20 years of war. However, the assets frozen by the U.S. are not included in ARTF funds.
Foreign governments ended financial aid constituting more than 70 percent of government expenditures while the US led in the freezing of some $9bn in Afghan central bank funds.
The funding cuts accelerated an economic collapse, worsening a cash crunch and deepening a humanitarian crisis that, the United Nations UN said, had pushed more than half of Afghanistan’s population of 39 million people to the verge of starvation. In order to improve the economic situation of the country, the IEA promised to find ways for the stability of the economy and that it had already taken effective steps.
Zabihullah Mujahid Spokesman and Deputy to the Ministry of Information and Culture said that the government is trying its best for the overall stability of the country including economy adding that much has been done in this regard and that the ministry of finance has collected national revenues with full transparency.
He also mentioned the importance of good relations with businessmen and traders and said that the IEA has secured firm relations with national investors, as well as has reached to agreements with foreign investors.
He pointed the biggest obstacle to be the sanctions imposed by the US and international community, that according to him have been lessened. Mujahid hoped that all sanctions should be lifted of relating to the investments and trade in Afghanistan.
Mujahid expressed these concerns after Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA, said that six months of indecision are eroding vital social and economic coping systems and pushing the population into greater uncertainty. However, the U.S. says that the only responsible side of the situations is the new government and should find ways towards economic stability.
In the meantime, a number of Kabul residents told The Kabul Times that in the fallen government, Afghanistan was aided on a large scale; however, the aids would go to the pockets of the so-called NGO’s and there were no signs of development works for the people of Afghanistan by these NGO’s.
They added that the previous government would not fundamentally pay attention to infrastructural projects. In addition, the opportunities were not used properly at that time.
They asked the US to release their national assets so that the contractors with small and large projects could access their money from the ministry of finance and initiate the projects in the country, which would create a large number of work opportunities, thus, reducing unemployment rate in the country.
The economy was already extremely fragile, heavily dependent on aid. A nation is considered aid-dependent when 10% or more of its gross domestic product (GDP) comes from foreign aid; in Afghanistan’s case, about 40% of its GDP was international aid, according to the World Bank.
Amiri
IEA recommends ways for WB aids to Afghanistan
