Agence France Presse, 14 February 2008
KABUL (AFP) - More than 70 percent of public expenditure in Afghanistan comes from donors and most is spent without government oversight, according to a report that calls for more accountability.
The bypassing of government undermines its authority and development, said the report by nongovernmental group ActionAid Afghanistan released Wednesday.
"Over 72 percent of the total government expenditure in Afghanistan comes from external assistance," it said.
"However three-fourths of the total external assistance is spent directly by donors, and most of it without any reporting to the Afghan government."
The report, "Gaps in Aid Accountability", calls for urgent efforts to improve the government's own revenue, including through better tax collection.
It notes that donors committed about 19.9 billion dollars between 2002 and 2006 but only 14.7 billion was disbursed.
And the government's flagship community development project, National Solidarity Programme which is said to reach 22,000 villages, faced a shortfall of 87 percent for this year, it said.
The Afghan government and some of its partners have been urging donors to direct more of their aid through the government's budget but there are concerns about corruption and mismanagement of funds.
Citation: " Report calls for more Afghan control of budget," Agence France Presse, 14 February 2008.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080214/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanbudgeteconomy