Afghan Government Employees Still Await March Salaries Amid Budget Approval Delays
Two weeks into the month of Saur, Afghan government employees have yet to receive their salaries for the month of Hamal. Sources from multiple government offices, including the Taliban-run Ministry of Finance, attribute this delay to the untimely approval of the fiscal year 1405 budget.
According to these sources, salary payments have “once again been delayed,” and budget details remained unclear until yesterday. They added that the new fiscal budget was only approved by the Taliban leadership on Sunday.
Several government employees, speaking to the media, emphasized that the ongoing situation has caused them serious economic difficulties. They stated that the repeated delays in salary payments have made it challenging to meet their families’ basic needs.
Sources expressed hope that with the recent budget approval, salaries would be paid within the current week. However, the Taliban administration has yet to release full details of the 1405 budget.
Economic experts consider the lack of transparency in the budget preparation and approval process concerning. Seyed Masoud, an economic analyst, said that under normal structures, the parliament is responsible for approving and overseeing the budget, but such an institution does not exist in present-day Afghanistan. He explained that the budget involves three fundamental principles—preparation, approval, and oversight—and under current conditions, oversight is effectively absent; a situation that could raise concerns about financial transparency and the potential for administrative corruption.
Meanwhile, two other sources indicated that the 1405 fiscal budget includes salary increases for military personnel and staff of judicial institutions. The Taliban administration has not officially commented on the salary delays or the details of these changes.
