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 The government faces difficulty paying salaries next month and has
once more gone cap in hand to donors for help, a senior finance
ministry official said on condition of anonymity, because of the
sensitivity of the topic.
The U.S. embassy in Kabul confirmed Afghan officials had briefed
them about their difficulty paying salaries and funding programs in
coming months, but did not detail how donors planned to respond.
"While the U.S. and the donor community... are working closely with
Afghan authorities to avoid any major disruptions in critical
services...resolving this situation requires action by Afghan
authorities first and foremost," a State Department official said.
Foreign powers have poured billions of dollars of aid into
Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, but the country's
next leader is unlikely to receive the same levels of financial
support.
The size of the gap to date is unclear, but the most recent data on
the finance ministry's website shows domestic revenue in the first
six months of 2014 fell 27.5 percent short of a target of 60.2
billion Afghanis ($1.1 billion).
 The ministry said current figures were not yet ready, although the
senior official indicated the budget shortfall stands between $500
and $600 million.
"If the election goes wrong we’ll not be able to manage, we will
face huge problems beyond our control," said finance ministry
spokesman Abdul Qadir Jaillani.
Presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani have been
locked in a bitter struggle for power for months, over accusations
of mass fraud and rivalry between their camps that has pushed the
country to the brink of a civil war.
"Our humble request from the finance ministry is for both candidates
to reach an agreement to avoid a further decrease in revenue and the
economy," Jaillani added.
Jaillani denied salaries were at immediate risk, although a host of
projects to build and maintain roads, schools and clinics had been
suspended for lack of cash, although he warned that resources were
running low.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has twice flown to Kabul in the
past month to defuse the electoral crisis, but cracks are already
showing in the framework agreement signed during his last visit a
week ago.
Abdullah was the clear winner in the first round held in April,
while a preliminary count showed Ghani won the run-off vote in June.
An audit of all eight million votes cast as part of an earlier deal
is underway, but proceeding slowly.
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Outgoing President Hamid Karzai has set a deadline at the end of
August to inaugurate his successor, but electoral officials fear the
audit could drag on into September.
A month into the process, only about a third of the votes have been
audited and it is unclear what fraction marked for recount will be
excluded from the final tally.
NATO will discuss Afghanistan at a summit in Wales on Sept 4 and 5.
Who, if anyone, will represent the country has become an
increasingly pressing and awkward question as NATO seeks to bring
the 13-year war to an end.
Western nations had hoped the summit would be the crowning moment of
their achievements in Afghanistan after 13 years of war. Instead,
last week the alliance warned it would be forced to withdraw
completely unless a new leader emerged soon.
"The budgetary and economic situation is another reason to quickly
conclude the election audit and install a new government of national
unity that is capable of addressing Afghanistan's challenges," the
U.S. State Department official added. A second conference to decide
on aid for other government and civilian needs is set for November.
"These are vital conferences for our country," Jaillani said. "If
the election is not resolved by then it will affect the outcome of
the conferences and have a negative impact overall on the economy."
(1 US dollar=55.5300 Afghani)
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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