Thousands lose jobs as levy on Samangan coal jumps

AIBAK (Pajhwok): Thousands of people have lost their jobs and around 2,000 trucks parked after the government increased duty on coal business in northern Samangan province.

According to a Pajhwok Afghan News report, previously people paid 1,500 afghanis for extraction of one ton of coal from Dara-i-Suf Bala coalmine in Samangan, but the amount was increased to 2,200 afs about 20 days ago following an order from the president.

Some people say extraction works at the mine stopped after the increase in royalty payment. Traders say they could not earn enough from the business after the hike in charges that also rendered thousands jobless.

Ali Akbar Ahrar, acting Dara-i-Suf Bala district chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News that around 16,000 people had been working in the district’s coalmine but now all of them were jobless. He said around 2,000 coal trucks had been stopped.

Haji Masaab, a resident of the district and an extractor of the coalmine, confirmed thousands of people had lost jobs and said coalmine extractors had invested from one to 50 million afghanis in the business.

The coalmine extractors would suffer millions of afghanis loss if the problem was not solved, he said.

Workers who lost jobs

Ali Ahmad, a resident of Baloch area of Dara-i-Suf Bala district, said he had been working in a coalmine in the district since four years and could earn up to 500 afghanis a day.

 “Now I am jobless, I must go to Iran or Turkey for earning money to support my family,” he said.

Yaqob Ali, a resident of the center of Dara-i-Suf Bala district, said two of his trucks were stopped after increase in royalty payment. He demanded solution to the problem.

Eng. Borhanuddin Baher, head of coal enterprise of north in Samangan, said that the enterprise increased the charges following a president’s order. He said it was not his authority to decrease the charge.

He said they previously could sell 7,000 tons of coal on a daily basis on average, but now the process has stopped and the government suffered 252 million afghanis loss.

mds/ma