KABUL, July 31: Afghanistan has so far received around a third of the 1.8 billion dollar aid package pledged by the international community for this year but only a fraction is earmarked for reconstruction projects, officials said Wednesday.

Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani told reporters that the vast majority of the some 570 million dollars that had so far been handed over was being spent on humanitarian projects but a balance needed to be struck to tackle the underlying causes of poverty.

“Humanitarian crises are very real and a priority particular with the winter approaching,” said Ghani.

“But the causes of the humanitarian crisis are the deep-rooted poverty and exclusion in this country.

“Unless we are able to move the economy forward, in particular to inject cash in rural areas through labour-intensive programmes and reconstruction efforts, we will not be able to deal with the root causes.”

While some funds come directly to the Afghan government, others are only released on condition that they go towards specific projects.

Aidan Cox, an advisor with the Afghan Assistance Coordination Authority, said around 330 million dollars had been disbursed to spend on humanitarian projects and some 150 million on reconstruction work.

Donors pledged 1.8 billion dollars at a landmark reconstruction conference in Tokyo in January.

“There’s obviously a big gap between what’s been disbursed and the amount promised. That said that kind of rate is not too bad by international standards but Afghanistan’s needs are very great,” said Cox.

Ghani admitted that there was a gap between the priorities of the government and those as seen by the donor community, but added that “the dialogue is continuing and the donors are seeing our point of view, we are seeing their point of view.”

President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly called for the international community to help rebuild the country’s roads, which have been shattered by 23 years of conflict, but money is coming in more readily to fund health and food projects.

Ghani said the government wanted a comprehensive approach and said he was determined to tackle the country’s “dismal” health record.

“But simultaneously we have seen that while other countries have shrunk because of the developments in technology infrastructure, our country has actually expanded,” he said.

“It took two hours to reach (the main eastern city) Jalalabad (from Kabul) in 1973, it takes eight hours now. We have been slowed down, the whole world is speeding up.”

The minister rejected claims that drought-ridden southern Afghanistan was being neglected, saying that funds were being directed on the basis of need.

But some parts of the country which were blessed with natural resources could expect to benefit more from investment.

“What we need to recognise is that certain job-creation programmes are going to take place and investment is likely to take place in places where there are resources,” said Ghani.

“A government that is committed to a private sector-led model of growth would be able to persuade and direct but it cannot command.—AFP