Kabul residents want to get rid of ragged banknotes

KABUL (Pajhwok): Residents of Kabul complain they are facing problems conducting routine transactions due to old banknotes.

Residents, including moneychangers, shopkeepers, drivers and others, said almost all banknotes were worn-out, But the 10, 20, 50, and 100 denomination notes were even in worse condition, they added.

Tabish, an inhabitant of Taimani area, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the circulation of tattered banknotes had increased in the market, posing challenges to the people.

He urged the central bank to withdraw old banknotes and replace them with new ones to address the issues being encountered by the people.

Jamshid, a resident of the Kart-i-Naw area of the 8^th police district, said: “The afghani bills have become so old that they can be no longer used. Numbers on many of them are not visible. Therefore, they should be replaced.”

Shamsullah, a fuel pump station worker in Taimani locality, complained that drivers gave them damaged notes.

He grumbled many banks and exchange offices did not accept old banknotes, a situation creating serious problems for them.

The worker urged the central bank to print and circulate new afghani banknotes.

Basir Karimi, a moneychanger in Sara-i-Shahzada market, said the problem was worsening with each passing day and commoners did not accept from them.

Abdul Rahman Zirak, spokesman for the moneychangers’ association, confirmed the issue had escalated in all money markets across the country.

He said: “We are receiving complaints from provinces from time to time that the banknotes have become extremely old and are causing problems for customers.

“We have shared the issue with the central bank and the Ministry of Finance. They promised to address the problem.”

Zirak recalled some time ago, Da Afghanistan Bank provided newly-printed banknotes to private banks for distribution in the form of salaries.

Hasibullah Noori, spokesman for the central bank, told Pajhwok considering market needs, they implemented reasonable monetary policies. New banknotes are injected into the market and old ones withdrawn.

“As you are aware, some time back, the central bank launched the process of distributing fresh notes to commercial banks and withdrawing old ones. The process is ongoing based on DAB procedures,” he explained.

Newly-printed banknotes had the best quality, he claimed, but people did not pay much attention to them as all transactions were done in cash. This leads to the bills getting old prematurely.

He urged all citizens to consider taking necessary steps for the protection of banknotes to keep them from being damaged too soon and discharge their national responsibility.

However, he did not share information about the amount of the newly-printed banknotes.

Shah Mahmood Mehrabi, chairman of the inspection committee of DAB, earlier told reporters the new banknotes printed in France would arrive in Afghanistan in May.

In January this year, Da Afghanistan Bank, said it had distributed 100 million afs fresh banknotes to commercial banks across the country, demonetising ragged bills.

sa/mud

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