Watchdog organizations and law experts said that a lack of focus on priorities when drafting the national budget has led to the spending of Code 91 funds for renting houses and vehicles instead of spending on policymaking.   

Funds are allocated every year from the national budget for the Code 91 budgetary unit, which is meant for emergency needs. 

A report published by Etilaatroz newspaper states that over Afs2 billion ($25.9 million) from Code 91 has been spent for the personal expenses of over a dozen government officials during the solar year 1398 (March 2019 to March 2020). 

The report shows that over Afs129 million ($1.6 million) has been spent on house rent, vehicle rent, daily expenses, bonuses for employees, apartment purchases, and travel expenses for 15 government officials and their staff. 

According to the report, presidential adviser Waheed Omer has received over Afs30 million ($392,000), presidential envoy Umer Daudzai has received Afs13,561,000 ($175,000), presidential adviser Fazl Mahmoud Fazli has received Afs12,912,624 ($167,000) and presidential adviser Mohammad Afzal Ludin has received Afs11,582,455 ($150,000). 

The report also shows that former president Hamid Karzai has received Afs11,700,000 ($151,000) from the code. 

“Code 91 is for emergency situations, for extraordinary situations. When they use this code, they are not considering any principles and rules and do whatever they want,” said Faizullah Jalal, a university lecturer. 

“There were concerns about this issue in the past years. This year, too, a recent report showed that there are many vulnerabilities in this respect,” said Mudasir Islami, a member of the independent anti-corruption committee. 

Watchdog institutions said the government intentionally does not do a proper estimation of the expenses of government officials and institutions; therefore, they refer to Code 91 funds. 

“The Presidential Palace of Afghanistan has politically manipulated Code 91 and has opened the way for its misuse,” said Ikram Afzali, head of the Integrity Watch Afghanistan. 

The Finance Ministry said that new provisions have been established to ensure transparency in the spending of the Code 91 budget. 

“The provision of emergency codes that was a big concern for lawmakers has been prepared and has been approved by the cabinet and it will lead to further transparency and effectiveness in the spending of emergency codes,” said Habibullah Zazai, the deputy minister of finance.