Afghanistan requests $90 mln from UN to repay its electricity debts - TASS

Afghanistan’s electricity corporation, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), has requested $90 million from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to close the country’s debt to foreign electricity supplies, a company source has told TASS.

In a statement published earlier, DABS said the country owes about $62 million to neighboring countries for electricity supplies.

According to the source, Kabul owes over $25 million to Iran, $11.2 million to Tajikistan, $9.9 million to Uzbekistan and $5.1 million to Turkmenistan. Besides, the company has liabilities to local power generating enterprises.

The company’s head Safiullah Ahmadzai told reporters that DABS has sent lots of official letters to partners, assuring that it would eventually honor all obligations, and urging them to continue supplies.

In turn, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan announced they would not cut power supplies to Afghanistan during the winter season, despite the debts.

In order to solve its problems, the company requested assistance from a UN body.

"DABS has requested $90 million in aid from UNAMA to repay its debts," the TASS source said.

The situation is made worse by the plunge in incomes that many Afghan residents are facing now. According to a TASS correspondent, some Kabul residents owe up to $600 to power suppliers, which is an impracticable sum for an average family.

The Taliban (outlawed in Russia) launched a large-scale operation to regain control over Afghanistan after the United States announced the withdrawal of its military personnel from the country. On August 15, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country, and the Taliban forces swept into Kabul, meeting no resistance. On September 6, the Taliban gained full control over Afghanistan, and on September 7, the radicals announced the new interim government.

Despite Taliban’s efforts, the economic situation in Afghanistan remains dire. The Taliban have access to no more than 0.1% of state reserves, since a significant part of them had been frozen by the United States.