KABUL (SW): Daud Shah Saba, Minister of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) blamed complex bureaucratic system for hindering reforms in the mining sector.
Saba said this during the Consultative Council for Management for Minerals here on Monday. The meeting aimed to develop a comprehensive policy for the extraction of minerals.
The Minister said that bringing reforms in the minerals’ sector was not only confined to the MoMP but it has also a lot to do with other institutions in terms of decision making.
The MoMP has signed 300 new contracts with private firms. Officials at the Ministry also noted that in the current year, private sector has not paid $ 10 million of its debts to the MoMP.
Mohammad Qurban Haqjoo, Head of Afghanistan Investement Support Agency (AISA), has stressed that the private sector should pay their debts based on their contracts otherwise they would be sued.
He said on the occasion that AISA supports prevention of illegal mining.
Daud Shah Saba noted that lack of professional skills, monitoring, transparency and security are the main challenges hindering growth. He suggested that for the better management of mines, at least 20 new rules needed to be imposed but unfortunately no such rules exist.
ENDS
