KABUL - PMs at the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghan parliament, suspended the budget for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce over its “repeated refusal” by Ajmal Ahmadi, the acting minister to attend a briefing session.
Mr. Ahamdi’s refusal to attend a briefing session in the lower house forced the MPs to suspend his authorities effective from Monday, 13 December 2020.
“The suspension of the budget is applicable until the acting minister is fired,” MPs said in a statement. All representatives at the parliament jointly voted in favor of the decision – to suspend the budget and the authorities of the acting minister of industry and commerce.
The decision comes in a time where the parliament is assessing the budget for the next fiscal year, and interestingly, most of the ministries are run by acting ministers.
Mr. Rahman Rahmani, Speaker of the Parliament, said. “From today on, we do not recognize Ajmal Ahmadi as the minister of industry and commerce. His endorsement on any contract will be considered a crime.”
However, a spokesperson for the Industry and Commerce Ministry said they have been responsive enough to the parliament. He further added, “The parliament can reject or approve the budget as a whole but (suspending) a part of the budget is not the authority of the MPs.” (KHAAMA PRESS)