KABUL (SW): A coalition of civil society organizations the Mining Watch Afghanistan (MWA) has blamed government officials in different parts of the country for collaborating for illegal mining.
The MWA warned that the massive gaps and unexplained inconsistencies in the data the government provided to Afghanistan’s 5th Reconciliation Report under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) threaten to completely undermine the government’s claims to be safeguarding Afghan resources.
Sayed Ikram Afzali, Executive Director of Integrity Watch Afghanistan, speaking on behalf of more than 30 MWA members, said the government seems unable to consistently provide even the most basic data, showing what contracts are active, how much production they have had, and what revenues they have produced. “The government has appointed a promising new Minister for Mines, and have made some commitments on reform which we welcome,” Afzali said. “We stand ready to support them in this battle – but the time has come when they must deliver with actions and not just words.”
The report highlighted many instances where the government was apparently unable to provide a figure for production or revenues, or other basic information, like the Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) of contract holders or the whereabouts of the mines sites.
The CSOs called for the government to put in place basic reforms to strengthen transparency and oversight, including amending the mining law to make contract publication a condition of validity, establishing a single fully transparent account to be used for all extractive revenues, taking action against illegal mining, and strengthening the capacity of the ministry of mines in the next six months.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Behsudi, director for investigations at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, said in this regard that the local influential figures collaborate with outlawed men to illegally mine the minerals. He claimed reforms have been brought to the MoMP, and its working has improved significantly in the past two years.
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