VZCZCXRO7074
PP RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #2551/01 1551403
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041403Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0645
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0023
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 6025
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/COMSOCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RUEATRS/US TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002551 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, G KATE FRIEDRICH, G/IWI DIANNE 
GRAHAM 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND 
CENTCOM FOR POLAD, CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 
TREASURY FOR APARAMESWARAN, ABAUKOL 
STATE PLEASE PASS USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
SAN JOSE FOR JANAE COOLEY 
REL NATO/ISAF, AUS, NZ 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ECON EFIN KDEM AF
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT APPROVES REVISED BUDGET 
 
REF: KABUL 2323 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  The Afghan National Assembly approved a 
revised national budget, including modest increases in 
government salaries and payments to the disabled, on June 3. 
The new budget, which did not go above the previously agreed 
ceiling, accommodates Parliament's most significant concerns; 
during debate, the GOA also promised to take Parliament's 
other suggestions into consideration for the next fiscal 
year.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Revised Budget Passes by Large Margin 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Minister of Finance Ahadi resubmitted the GOA 1385 
budget to the Wolesi Jirga (lower house of Parliament) on 
June 3.  The budget contained two significant revisions: a 
300 Afghani/month raise for government employees and a 100 
Afghani/month increase in the stipends paid to the disabled, 
widows, and orphans.  The below table describes the overall 
changes to the budget: 
 
1385 Budget Revisions (in Afghanis) 
 
Category                   Previous Budget (4/7)  Revised 
Budget (5/31) 
 
Wages & Salaries             24,492,173,000 
24,921,172,000 
Goods & Services              9,337,685,000 
8,998,685,000 
Capital                       1,227,130,000 
1,220,130,600 
Allowance: Martyrs & Disabled   750,000,000 
965,000,000 
Policy Reserve                  780,000,000 
561,000,000 
Emergency Contingency           600,000,000 
530,000,000 
All Other                     3,159,204,000 
3,150,204,400 
 
Total                        40,346,192,000 
40,346,192,000 
 
¶3. (SBU) The increase in allowances for Martyrs & Disabled 
totals 215 million AFs, and is effective upon approval (the 
allowance is increasing by 100 AFs per person per month, from 
beginning of FY1385).  The increase in wages and salaries 
totals 497.5 million AFs, and is effective upon Mid-Year 
Review and a strong revenue situation (wages and salaries 
will increase by 300 AFs per person per month).  The increase 
in these funds was paid for by offsets from the following 
accounts: Policy Reserve (losing 219m AFs), Emergency 
Contingency fund (70m AFs), and the ministries of Public 
Works (200m AFs), Defense (75m AFs), Education (60m AFs), 
Finance (50m AFs), Martyrs and Disabled (10m AFs), Labor and 
Social Affairs (18.5m AFs), and Youth (10m AFs).  Therefore, 
the revised budget did not break the previously agreed budget 
ceiling. 
 
¶4. (SBU) After Ahadi gave a speech making clear the 
consequences of rejecting the budget (mentioning the debt 
relief deal specifically) and urging fiscal responsibility, 
MPs turned to a short debate on the revised budget.  Most 
comments were in favor of passing the budget, if only to 
prevent a fiscal crisis (one MP stated that he would hold his 
nose while voting for the budget).  Several dissenting voices 
did complain about the lack of funding for roads and some 
continued to complain about international constraints on 
 
KABUL 00002551  002 OF 002 
 
 
Afghanistan's sovereignty.  Wolesi Jirga Speaker Yunus 
Qanooni summarized debate before the vote by saying: We were 
able to accommodate the needs of workers and the disabled 
during this budget process and showed that we make our own 
decisions.  He continued: We have started out on a sound 
basis - we will start small and hope for better in the future. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The vote on the budget came surprisingly quickly 
after only a few hours of additional debate, and was 
overwhelmingly in favor - 125  for the budget, with only a 
handful (5-6) votes against.  After the vote, applause broke 
out in the session. 
 
Remaining Parliamentary Schedule Unclear 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Parliament has several confirmations (five 
Ministers, seven Supreme Court Justices, and a few other 
remaining posts) left on its agenda, but all are pending 
official nominations from the executive branch.  While there 
were rumors that Parliament would extend its session past its 
June 6 scheduled recess date in order to deal with the 
budget, it is unclear what business will be before them or if 
Parliament will be inclined to stay longer now.  In 
conversation with A/DCM on June 2, Karzai Chief of Staff 
Jawid Ludin stated that the Palace would still like to 
resubmit the Supreme Court before Parliament's recess 
(although it was unclear whether it would be able to finalize 
its nominees and strategy to do so), but will not be 
resubmitting the Ministerial nominees until regular session 
resumes in July. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) While the budget passed overwhelmingly, most MPs 
remain discontented with the process and expect significantly 
more input into the 1386 budget.  The vote does indicate, 
however, that Parliament's priorities in the process were to 
(A) assert Parliamentary independence and the WJ's 
constitutional "power of the purse," and (B) have something 
to deliver to constituents when they return home on leave. 
The vote also shows that the GOA put more effort into 
advocating for its budget the second time around: not only 
did MOF officials hand out a thorough binder of budget 
materials to all MPs (as compared with several pages of 
spreadsheets before), but the first five MPs to comment after 
Ahadi finished his speech all delivered pro-government 
speeches that they had written (rather than the normal 
off-the-cuff comments that make up legislative debate).  The 
outstanding question now is whether the revised budget will 
be acceptable to the IMF authorities.  END COMMENT. 
NEUMANN