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Kabul faces blackouts over unpaid bills for imported power
Kabul could face a winter of power outages as concerns grow over the amount owed to neighboring countries that supply Afghanistan with electricity.
According to officials from Afghanistan’s power supplier, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the country owes its neighbors $62 million.
DABS officials said however that they have not received any warnings about imminent disconnections.
However, the Afghan public is heavily indebted to DABS, to the tune of $500 million, officials confirmed.
Safiullah Ahmadzai, acting CEO of DABS, told Ariana News that they are working on a plan to recoup money owed to them.
“Some customers and (former) politicians still owe money. We are working on a mechanism to formulate a policy to collect the electricity tariffs owed by customers. InshAllah, the work will be completed and the money collected,” said Ahmadzai.
DABS also warned homeowners, tenants, business owners, former politicians and warlords to pay their outstanding bills or face losing their properties.
Ahmadzai said they have two options: pay their bills or their properties will be sold on auction.
Afghanistan relies heavily on its neighbors for electricity at buys power at a cost of $300 million a year from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.
There is however one key domestic supplier – Bayat Power which is the largest (and only domestic) natural gas power producer in the country and serves about one million Afghans.
Bayat Power, the region’s most technologically advanced gas-fired electric power plant, is also Afghan Gas Enterprises’ (AGE) only commercial customer. AGE is responsible for the extraction and supply of natural gas.
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Continued aid to Afghanistan vital for regional security: Kazakh president
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has emphasized the continuation of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, stating that the ongoing provision of such aid plays an important role in ensuring regional security.
Speaking at the international conference “Peace and Trust” in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, Tokayev described addressing complex humanitarian challenges and the reconstruction of Afghanistan as a necessity.
“To ensure regional security, we consider it essential to continue providing assistance to Afghanistan, including by strengthening international efforts to address complex humanitarian issues and the reconstruction of this country. Kazakhstan remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan through humanitarian aid, educational projects, trade development, and food security initiatives,” he said.
Meanwhile, experts believe that sustainable improvement of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan requires broad cooperation from the international community and support for the country’s economic development.
“Investment can be defined as one of the fundamental drivers of the economic cycle, and whenever Afghan traders do not take their money out of the country and instead invest domestically, it naturally leads to greater growth and dynamism in Afghanistan’s economy,” said Abdul Zahoor Modabber, an economic analyst.
As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan continues, reports by international relief organizations indicate that millions of citizens of the country are in urgent need of food, health, and livelihood assistance.
The reduction in funding for aid organizations, the impacts of climate change, and the return of migrants have increased concerns about a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.
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Islamic Emirate declines to attend Tehran meeting on Afghanistan
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Sirajuddin Haqqani: A government that intimidates its people is not a true government
Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said during a visit to Khost province on Friday that any government which rules through fear cannot be considered a true government.
“A government is one that is loved by its people, one that serves them with respect and compassion, and from whose behavior people learn ethics and sincerity,” he said.
Haqqani also stressed that Afghans who opposed the Islamic Emirate in the past should be tolerated and treated in a way that helps eliminate hostility and animosity, paving the way for national cohesion.
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