Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Interim government Afghanistan, Taliban, claims to have amassed more than $270 million in revenue since taking power in mid-August.
The spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Finance, Ahmad Wali Haqmal, said the revenue was collected from day to day. Quotes Anadolu Agency, he identified customs and other taxes as the main source of revenue, without providing further details.
Recently, the Taliban said it would pay the salaries of all civil servants, who have not been paid for the past three months.
“The finance ministry said, starting today, the last three months the salaries of all government employees and staff will be paid in full,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujadi said on Twitter, Saturday (11/20).
The pensioner’s deferred salary, Wali said, will be paid to all retirees in Afghanistan.
According to the Taliban, more than 60,000 pension contributions have not been paid by the previous government for a year.
Earlier, Taliban officials held a meeting with German and Dutch special envoys. The group’s delegation then stated that the two countries were willing to explore the payment of health and education sector workers directly through international organizations.
However, so far it remains unclear whether the salary payments were linked to the meeting.
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Illustration. The Taliban claims to have amassed IDR 3.8 trillion in revenue since taking control of Afghanistan in August. (REUTERS/ZOHRA BENSEMRA)- – |
Afghanistan is experiencing a severe economic crisis. Some residents sell their assets and even beg for bread to survive.
Two days after the Taliban took control of Kabul, the United States government froze the assets of Afghanistan’s central bank worth about US $ 9.5 billion or equivalent to Rp135 trillion.
Not only the US, many donors and international organizations including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have stopped providing assistance to Afghanistan.
The increasingly stifling economic situation has made the United Nations (UN) estimate that around 22.8 million people are facing an acute food crisis. This figure covers almost half of Afghanistan’s population.
Human Rights Watch urges the United Nations and international agencies to adjust restrictions and sanctions to affect the Afghan economy and banking sector.
According to local media, Hasht-e-Subh, the previous government earned an average of about US$235 million a month. This figure is fairly stable, even as long as business is declining during the Covid-19 pandemic.
(isa/asr/bac)
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