Looting going-on in Afghanistan mines

Afghanistan minister of mines says that looting in Afghanistan’s mines is going on and gemstones are easily steal and take away outside the borders.

During responding to Wolesi Jirga, Dawood Shah Sabah, the minister of mines noted that the current government policy will lead Afghanistan mines on the road to disasters.

Sabah confirming the poor management and inadequate government policies said, “We have responsibilities to set rules and regulation to reduce looting in the mines.”

The minister of mines noted that currently the mining has become a topic of pain for Afghan people.

He also said to consider presence of Daesh group and other security problems the main challenges against mining.

According to statistics, 339 contracts have been signed with different companies for the mining sector so far.

Afghanistan today is a paradise for illegal excavators and smugglers of precious gems, stones and other antique artifacts. These are being smuggled to European and Asian countries with much ease in the absence of effective government.

Mining in Afghanistan is often portrayed as a panacea to the fragile state’s socio-economic problems. It is, however, far from certain whether the ministry can manage the mining sector to exploit its potential benefits.

The Afghan government has long been dependent on foreign aid, failing to amass enough domestic revenue because of low tax collections in an economy weakened anyway by decades of conflict.

Afghanistan has a wealth of natural resources — copper, iron ore, lithium and gold, to name just a few.  The potential is huge for attracting international investment to exploit these resources.

Reported by Abdul Aziz Karimi