4 companies contracted to MoI blacklisted

KABUL (Pajhwok): Four companies contracted to the Ministry of Interior (MoI) have been blacklisted and barred from bidding on its behalf, a source revealed on Tuesday.

The blacklisted companies include Shuja Abdara, owned by Haji Rasa, Iqra, co-owned by Haji Bahauddin and Yaran, and Mubarak Mumtaz, which belongs to Haji Bari.

An official, wishing to go unnamed, told Pajhwok Afghan News these were major companies monopolising MoI’s allowance-related contracts for many years. But they would be no longer in the bidding process.

However, the official did not provide information which organisation had blacklisted the companies.

Nasrat Rahimi, MoI spokesman, neither denied nor confirmed the matter. However, promised sharing information on the issue later on.

Pajhwok also tried to contact officials of the companies, but failed.

A day earlier, Rahimi claimed the ministry had saved around three billion afghanis only in logistics and procurement areas over the last eight months.

He said fighting corruption and safeguarding rights of police officials was MoI’s priorities.

On May 29, MoI said Haji Rasa, along with 20 other individuals, had been detained for allegedly embezzling 600 million afghanis in meat supplies to the ministry.

But the Attorney General Office (AGO) announced on June 23 the release of Haji Rasa on bail.

mds