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Arghandiwal Blames 'Groups in Palace' for His Removal

The former minister of finance, Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, who was removed by President Ashraf Ghani this week, blamed some “groups” at the Presidential Palace for his dismissal, saying that these groups thought their interests were jeopardized by his presence in the ministry.  

Arghandiwal was appointed as acting minister of finance last year in March. He was approved by the parliament as finance minister last year in November.
 
He was held responsible for delays in the collection of taxes, not cooperating in an assessment by a joint team into illegal appointments at the Ministry of Finance and for obstructing the assessments, weak management, lack of commitment to good governance values, not obeying Article 77 of the Constitution in his activities, and violating decrees and directions of the High Office of the President, according to a statement from the Administrative Office of the President.

Mohammad Khalid Payenda was appointed as acting minister of finance by President Ghani, says the Administrative Office of the President. Payenda was serving as the deputy minister of finance in 2018.

Arghandiwal said the president was happy with his activities in the ministry of finance, denying the validity of the reasons provided by the president’s office for his removal. 

Arghandiwal, who heads the Hizb-e-Islami party, said he agreed to support President Ghani in the 2019 election on the condition that no one will interfere in his activities, but a group at the Presidential Palace interfered with his work. 

He added that someone asked him to give them two directorates of customs, but he refrained. He did not name anyone but said he will name them at some point. 

“When their interests are in danger, when Arghandiwal remains in the finance ministry, when he prevents those groups that want to gain money, of course, they will not tolerate this,” Arghandiwal said. 

According to him, he was not feeling well and when he returned to the ministry, he found a letter of termination. 

Arghandiwal says that under his leadership, "90% of the regular budget and 87% of the development budget was spent by the Ministry of Finance in the last fiscal year."  

He said that he has prioritized national interests with the activities of the ministry, adding that no "illegal appointments" were made in the Ministry of Finance under his leadership. 

He said that under his leadership, action was taken against corruption and he collected Afs30 billion in the ministry’s reserves and also completed the target for revenue collection.

“Our presence in the procurement commission is another issue… In a procurement commission that I attended, I said that (regarding contracts that were discussed), my first criticism is the meat contract for the Administrative Office of the President that includes 18 types of meat,” Arghandiwal said.

“The president removed the finance minister without a legitimate reason. He had a vote of confidence from the Parliament and (Ghani) ignored the MPs’ decision,” the Wolesi Jirga speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani said.  

Arghandiwal said that the installation of scales and security cameras that were stocked in the ministry were other achievements by him.  

He also said that under his leadership, Afghanistan succeeded in getting $13.4 billion in aid pledges from the international community at the Geneva conference last November.

Arghandiwal Blames 'Groups in Palace' for His Removal

Arghandiwal says he was not feeling well and when he returned to the ministry, he found a letter of termination.

تصویر بندانگشتی

The former minister of finance, Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, who was removed by President Ashraf Ghani this week, blamed some “groups” at the Presidential Palace for his dismissal, saying that these groups thought their interests were jeopardized by his presence in the ministry.  

Arghandiwal was appointed as acting minister of finance last year in March. He was approved by the parliament as finance minister last year in November.
 
He was held responsible for delays in the collection of taxes, not cooperating in an assessment by a joint team into illegal appointments at the Ministry of Finance and for obstructing the assessments, weak management, lack of commitment to good governance values, not obeying Article 77 of the Constitution in his activities, and violating decrees and directions of the High Office of the President, according to a statement from the Administrative Office of the President.

Mohammad Khalid Payenda was appointed as acting minister of finance by President Ghani, says the Administrative Office of the President. Payenda was serving as the deputy minister of finance in 2018.

Arghandiwal said the president was happy with his activities in the ministry of finance, denying the validity of the reasons provided by the president’s office for his removal. 

Arghandiwal, who heads the Hizb-e-Islami party, said he agreed to support President Ghani in the 2019 election on the condition that no one will interfere in his activities, but a group at the Presidential Palace interfered with his work. 

He added that someone asked him to give them two directorates of customs, but he refrained. He did not name anyone but said he will name them at some point. 

“When their interests are in danger, when Arghandiwal remains in the finance ministry, when he prevents those groups that want to gain money, of course, they will not tolerate this,” Arghandiwal said. 

According to him, he was not feeling well and when he returned to the ministry, he found a letter of termination. 

Arghandiwal says that under his leadership, "90% of the regular budget and 87% of the development budget was spent by the Ministry of Finance in the last fiscal year."  

He said that he has prioritized national interests with the activities of the ministry, adding that no "illegal appointments" were made in the Ministry of Finance under his leadership. 

He said that under his leadership, action was taken against corruption and he collected Afs30 billion in the ministry’s reserves and also completed the target for revenue collection.

“Our presence in the procurement commission is another issue… In a procurement commission that I attended, I said that (regarding contracts that were discussed), my first criticism is the meat contract for the Administrative Office of the President that includes 18 types of meat,” Arghandiwal said.

“The president removed the finance minister without a legitimate reason. He had a vote of confidence from the Parliament and (Ghani) ignored the MPs’ decision,” the Wolesi Jirga speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani said.  

Arghandiwal said that the installation of scales and security cameras that were stocked in the ministry were other achievements by him.  

He also said that under his leadership, Afghanistan succeeded in getting $13.4 billion in aid pledges from the international community at the Geneva conference last November.

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