KABUL (SW) – A number of businessmen say that the imposition of economic sanctions on Afghanistan and restrictions on exports and imports have hurt their business and made them distrustful about the future of investing in the country.
Ghulam Mohammad Haqdoost, the manager of a construction company in Kabul, said that the lack of capital, the rising price of raw materials and investors’ lack of confidence in the future of Afghanistan have discouraged them from taking projects and investing. He added: “The sanctions on the banking systems have affected our business activity. In general, the project is not taken because the money is frozen in the banks and when the money is frozen, people cannot work. The customs duty is very high and no one imports the materials.”
Nafisa Danesh, one of the saffron exporters in Herat, said that with the imposition of sanctions on the Afghan economy, she cannot export abroad now. According to her, she used to export saffron worth 200 thousand US dollars annually.
Mrs. Danesh said that now she cannot communicate with her clients outside of Afghanistan due to her inability to get a visa. She added: “Whatever money was there, it got destroyed. Morale was also ruined, businessmen should not be victims of political goals, capital was lost.”
Meanwhile, Rajab Khan, one of the honey traders in Afghanistan, said that the imposition of sanctions has caused his activity to decrease by 70%. “Currently, enough honey cannot be found in Afghanistan, bees cannot be found, and most of the materials needed for beekeeping come to the country from Pakistan. We import beeswax plastic from Iran.”
Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesman of the Ministry of Economy, said that following the imposition of economic sanctions on Afghanistan, 570 development projects in the country have remained half-finished and the domestic and foreign investment process has also decreased. He said: “Imposing restrictions on the banking system, cutting off development aid from the international community, and reducing non-governmental institutions have had negative effects on the country’s economy, affecting domestic production, domestic and foreign investment.”
The concern about the negative effects of sanctions on the Afghan economy is expressed while the World Bank recently said in a report that the Afghan economy will have a half percent negative growth this year.
ENDS
