KABUL (SW) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has announced that more than 65% of small and medium-sized companies in Afghanistan have sacked their employees due to the current economic crisis.
Meanwhile, a number of Kabul residents say that with the rise to power of the Islamic Emirate, poverty and unemployment in the country are increasing.
Turyalay Rezvani, a Kabul resident, told Salam Watandar that he had worked for a private company before the fall of the republic, but has now lost his job.
Najibullah, another Kabul resident, said that attracting domestic and foreign investment and providing investment opportunities within the country was one of the main responsibilities of government, but that the Islamic Emirate was doing other things instead of meeting the basic needs of the people.
A number of economic experts have expressed concerns over the growing poverty and unemployment in the country, citing the report by the International Organization for Migration.
“Most private companies, which have laid off more than 65% of their employees, are in a very bad state” said Zakaria Heydari, an economics expert. “These people, who are unemployed, have their incomes reduced and they are forced to reduce their consumption, and this has a direct impact on the market. This is a catastrophic situation and it creates a lot of problems.”
However, officials at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs say that poverty and unemployment are inherited from the previous regime to the Islamic Emirate.
Makhdoom Abdul Salam Saadat, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, says about the citizens who have lost their jobs, in the past, that there was organizational inflation in a number of departments, but the Islamic Emirate has introduced professionalism hence there was downsizing in a number of departments.
The Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs emphasized that job opportunities are created for citizens and they are trying to eliminate the phenomenon of unemployment among citizens.
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