MoT, MCIT Ministers Survive Parliament Impeachment

Afghan parliamentarians on Wednesday impeached two ministers for their failure to spend their development budget.

But at the end of the session, both ministers secured votes of confidence to continue their jobs.

During the session, the Transport Minister Mohammad Hamid Tahmasi and the Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Shahzad Gul Aryobi responded to the questions raised by lawmakers.

At the beginning of the session, Azim Muhseni Head of the Finance and Budget Commission of the Lower House of Parliament told MPs that the Ministry of Transport has spent only 24 percent of its development budget during the fiscal year 1396 while the Ministry of Telecommunication has spent 59 percent.

Both Ministers stated that lack of authority to reject or amend a number of projects, long procurement processes and complexity of some projects are the main reasons why they haven’t spend their development projects satisfactorily.

The Lawmakers have decided to impeach those ministers who have spent less than 70 percent of their development budgets.

During the week, parliamentarians impeached the Public Works Minister Yama Yari, Justice Minister Abdul Basir Anwar, and the Counter Narcotics Minister Salamat Azimi while at the end all secured confidence votes.