A document seen by TOLOnews reveals that nearly Afs400 million have been embezzled from contracts sealed for the purchase of feedstuff by the of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) in 2018.

The document by the Administrative Office of the President which was sent to the president and a copy of which was seen by TOLOnews shows that the leadership of Ministry of Agriculture had misused an order of the president related to contracts for the purchase of feed in 1397 (2018). The contracts worth more than one billion Afghanis.

But, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has rejected the report as false.

“At the same time, there is nothing about investigation of embezzlement in the report,” said Akbar Rustami, head of media department of MAIL.

“The scale of the drought was severe and we didn’t have enough resources, so we rushed to help the vulnerable provinces,” said Mohammadullah Sahil, head of the procurement department of MAIL.

According to the report, the feedstuff was supposed to be supplied to Qush Tepa district of Jawzjan province, but the Minister of Agriculture acted against the order of the president and sent it to Badghis and Ghor provinces.

Meanwhile, Mohammadullah Sahil, the head of procurement department of MAIL, said the contracts were sealed with full transparency and no violation occurred in the contracts.

“I hope that those who violate the rights of the people go behind the bars,” said Abdul Sattar Hussaini, a member of parliament.

“The government should take action to prevent corruption,” said Kiramuddin Reza Zada, a member of parliament.

In 2018, ranchers in several regions of the country reported that thousands of their livestock had died of drought. But later on, the government decided to purchase feedstuff worth of one billion Afghanis to help the ranchers .