Afghanistan receives USD 180 million in incentives from World Bank

Afghanistan has received $180 million in new incentives from World Bank for the implementation of key reforms and making progress in the fight against corruption.

The Ministry of Finance spokesman Ajmal Abdul Rahimzai told reporters in Kabul that the Ministry of Finance has received 189 million USD$ from Word Bank due to the efforts of the government in the fight against corruption and bringing essential reform on 5 key sections.

Rahimzai further added that of 900$ million dollars allocated by the World Bank for incentives, the Ministry of Finance has received 550$ million dollars so far.

He said the 900 million dollar incentives are committed for three year 2016 to 2018.

According to Rahimzai, the Afghan government is expecting to receive the remaining amount in coming three years.

This comes as the United Nations in a report said late in April that the Afghan authorities have made headway in their fight against corruption although it stated that enormous changes still remain.

Titled ‘Afghanistan's Fight against Corruption: The Other Battlefield’, the report states that key component of Afghanistan's fight against corruption is the dedicated Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC), with dedicated police and prosecution units.

The other key component dedicated to Afghanistan's fight against corruption included a new national primary and appeals court, established by Presidential Decree to operate with jurisdiction over the broad range of corruption offences specified in the current penal code, as well as money laundering offences, destruction or selling of cultural and historical relics, crimes against internal and external security, illegal extraction of mines, and land usurpation.