Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence (MOD) will take over military procurement responsibilities for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) from the Nato-led forces in line with the transition of security to ANSF lead, MOD officials said Wednesday.
Deputy Minister of Defence Muhebullah Muheb told TOLOnews that personnel responsible for this task will be fully trained to conduct the procurement affairs in a standard and transparent way.
To this effect, a two-month training at the ministry is underway, Muheb said.
"Alongside the security transition, the army will take over all procurement responsibilities which will need professional and skilled personnel," he said.
His comments come a week after Afghan private company Tarsian and Blinkley claimed the Ministry of Defence gave them insufficient time to fulfill a large contract, forcing them to quit the contract. The company is now close to bankruptcy, it says.
"The Afghan Ministries of Defence and Interior asked us to provide 105,000 uniforms [with boots] in two months. We quit the contract because we couldn't even import the necessary raw materials during that period," Nasrat Rahmati, head of the Afghan-owned Tarsian and Blinkley, told TOLOnews last week.
In the past, Isaf has overseen military procurement.
The MOD has a record of struggling with lack of professional personnel and transparency in handling military contracts.