Tanveer Company fails to honor FBMI accord

KABUL (Pajhwok): An Afghan Carpet Company fraudulently sell carpets in the United Arab Emirate under its own label showing it has own factories in Afghanistan but in reality the factory purchases carpets from other small companies.

The Tanveer Carpet Producing Company (TCPC) has also inked an accord in this regard with the Fatima Bint Mohammad Initiative (FBMI) company which is owned by Fatima Binti Mohammad Bin Zayed, the sister of Emeriti Ameer.

According to the accord, on financial support of the FBMI, the company will set up specific carpet waving centres where women would be provided carpet waving skill in Afghanistan and their product would be exported to foreign countries.

But the Tanveer Company in violation of the contract purchased carpets from other companies.

On the basis of documents, the Tanveer Company in 2020 sold 124 carpets worth $120,000 on FBMI company.

Tanweer Carpet Waving Centres

The Azadi Radio back in 2010 reported that the Tanveer Company would establish a carpet waving centre worth $2.5 million in Kabul.

The report quoted the company head Dr. Ahmad FahimPerzada as saying besides this carpet waving centre similar facilities would be built in Jalalabad and other provinces in the future.

Perzada said the Tanveer Company made $33 million investment in carpet waving sector and the volume of its export would be 44,000 square metre.

On the same year an agreement was signed between the Justice Ministry and the Tanweer Company that women prisoners would be provided carpet waving training by Tanveer company. Besides this training, the company would provide women with educational and social trainings as well.

According to Bakhdi News Agency back in 2011 the Tanveer Company head Dawod Jabakhel was quoted saying that their programe was being implemented in 6 provinces and by the end of 2011 the program will spread to 15 provinces.

In addition Kilid Group also published a report back in 2010 saying: “The Tanveer Company monthly produce 4,000 square metre carpet and export it to foreign countries.”

Tolo New also published a report on the same year and cited the company head Dawod Jabbakehl that Tanweer Company has signed agreement with the UAE and this will help promote the carpet waving sector in Afghanistan. Less fortunate women will get benefit from this scheme and will help them become self-sufficient economically.

Awards earned by Tanveer Company

A report published by Pajhwok Afghan News in 2012, showed that an expo was organized in Dubai in which the carpets from 14 countries were displayed.

Afghan carpets won first position and the Tanveer company got the medal.

In 2013, the Tanveer Company participated in an exhibition in Germany and represented Afghanistan. According to Jamhoor News Agency report, 1,600 companies from 60 countries participated in the exhibition and Tanveer got a winning trophy named Scaar.

Violating the agreement

A well-placed source, wishing not to be named, said Tanveer Company did not acted in compliance with FBMI Company.

According to the source, 5,000 women should have been provided working opportunity in carpet waving sector according to the agreement. But this did not happen and there is no proof of that agreement on the ground.

In addition, the amount of carpets sold outside the country never returned to Afghanistan but properties purchased on that amount outside the country.

The source added that Tanveer Company sold one million square metre carpets but the amount earned from carpet purchase was missing.

“The FBMI company gave $30 million to Tanveer Company in 2010 and $40 million in 2014 for Afghan women carpet wavers and promotion of carpet waving industry in Afghanistan,” said the sourced.

According to the source, Tanveer Company signed another contract with FBMI about dried fruits.

However, the source added that Tanveer Company took $70 million from the UAE firm since 2010 for what it said building carpet weaving centers in Afghanistan.

A person who have a factory of carpet weaving in Kabul told Pajhwok that Tanveer Company was producing carpets, but not on a high level.

The person, who wished to go unnamed, said, “Tanveer Company has several times purchased carpets from us.”

The person said that Tanveer Company owner, Daud Jabbarkhil purchased carpets from the market because it is inexpensive.

On the other hand, Safiullah Jalalzai, head of prison affairs management in the former government, told Pajhwok that Tanveer Company provided carpet weaving training to only women prisoners in Kabul.

He said that the company had a contract between 2010 and 2020 and trained only 30 women.

Claims and clarifications

Officials of Tanveer Company say that the company has employed 3,000 women.

Pajhwok talked with officials of a number of carpet weaving factories in Kabul about the issue.

An official of a carpet weaving factory in Kabul, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok that one person on average could weave 1.5 meter of carpet in a month.

He said that if Tanveer Company hired 3,000 women, then they should weave 4,500 square meters of carpet in a month.

By this calculation, this company should produce 54,000 square meters of carpet in a year while the company produced only 540,000 square meters of carpet since 2010, he said.

According to the price check from the market by Pajhwok, the average price of one square meter of carpet is 6,000 Afghanis.

Based on the price, Tanveer Company obtained 27 million Afghanis in a month and 324 million Afghanis in a year from carpet production.

However, deputy head of Tanveer Company, Dr. Ahmad Fahim in an interview with Azadi Radio in 2010 said that they would increase their production by 44,000 square meters of carpet in a year.

Based on the statements, the company should produce 3,600 square meters of carpet in a month. On a monthly production, the company earned 2.16 million Afghanis and 264 million Afghanis in a year. By this calculation, the company earned 2.64 billion Afghanis in the last 10 years.

Tanveer Company has carpet-weaving centers in provinces?

Based on information obtained Pajhwok from various sources, Tanveer Company has centers only in Kabul, Nangarhar and Laghman provinces.

However, the company officials had several times said that they had centers in six provinces and they had the plan to extend the centers to 15 provinces.

DaudJabbarkhil, head of the company, said that he had no shareholders in his company and he independently invested in the carpet weaving.

He said that his company had friendship with FBMI and they facilitated carpet sales for FBMI in Dubai. “When needed, we also buy carpets from other companies and export them abroad,” he said.

“We have only one carpet weaving center in Kabul city, but women in other provinces work in their homes and I provide them with required materials, after carpets are prepared by the women, they are transferred to Kabul where they are processed and washed before exported to UAE for sale,” he said.

Jabbarkhil said that 150 women were working with him in a center in Kabul and each of them received 10,000 Afghanis in salary.

He said that his goal is serving his people and he also built clinics for people in a number of provinces including Nuristan, Nangarhar, Uruzgan and Zabul.

He said that they had family relations with the sister of UAE’s emir, who he added was assisting people and also helps him in marketing area in Dubai.

About the nature of contract between Tanveer Company and FBMI, Pajhwok emailed FBMI via [email protected].

FBMI in response said, “Our company signed a contract with Tanveer Company in 2010 for promoting the carpet industry as well as handicrafts in Afghanistan.”

The company said that Tanveer was a private commercial company which was also doing social activities.

FBMI said that it did not assist Tanveer Company and that more details should be taken from Tanveer Company on the regard.

Outcome: Documents, interviews and published reports show that Tanveer Company did not provide services according to the contract and purchased carpets from the market and then exported them to UAE under own mark for personal benefit.
This report has been produced by Pajhwok and financially supported by UNDP and Denmark.

Nh/Mds/ma

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