Needy families in the northern province of Jawzjan on Tuesday complained that they were left out of a plan recently implemented by the Afghan government to provide free bread specifically for needy families in the province.

They said that bread is not being distributed according to the plan or in a fair manner.

They said the only families to benefit from the plan are those with connections among the district counselors, local elders and other government officials.

The families gathered in front of the government building in the province to lodge their complaints about what they described as corruption in the process.

“The poor people are harmed, there is corruption in this process,” said Rahima, a woman in Jawzjan.

They said that the government should take action and identify those truly in need.

Local officials commented on the allegations.

"I have not received any complaints, so we can't confirm the irregularity. We already signed an agreement and assured the public that the mosque imams and district counselor would oversee the process,” said Abdul Qader, the deputy governor of Jawzjan.

Statistics of Jawzjan municipality show that there are over 10,000 needy families in the province.

“We do not say that a nationwide process will be excluded from shortcomings, also we do not claim to be 99 percent correct in our work, so no one should expect 100 percent success in our work,” said Mohammad Hussain Saleh, the mayor of Sheberghan province.

The initiative is designed to provide aid through the city's bakeries, and--along with problems caused by overcrowding amid the COVID-19 outbreak--residents say the plan is failing because the lists of families to be given the bread were incorrect and not transparent.