Kabul- The World Bank began paying financial dues to Afghan companies that had implemented projects funded before the Taliban took control of power in August 2021, in a move that sparked a variation in interpretations between international institutions and local authorities.
While the Afghan government describes this step as “great financial progress”, the World Bank confirms that it is merely liquidation of previous obligations, implemented through independent control mechanisms, without any direct coordination with the current government.
The step comes in light of a crisis you are going through Afghanistan After a significant decline in foreign aid, financial stagnation caused by the freezing of foreign assets and the absence of sustainable financing, according to observers.
Old obligations or new support?
The World Bank explained, in a statement issued last month, that the ongoing payments do not mean resuming cooperation with the Taliban government, but rather to liquidate financial obligations arising from contracts concluded with local companies during the era of the previous government.
The bank’s statement was a direct response to the announcement of the Afghan Ministry of Finance, issued on May 19, which spoke about a first batch of 10.8 million dollars, as part of a plan to pay a total of 50 million.
The bank stated that the contracts concerned belong to projects in the fields of infrastructure, energy and education, their payments were stopped after the American withdrawal in 2021, and the almost complete cuts of Western aid. He added that the payment of these dues is carried out after a strict audit supervised by an independent third party, to ensure transparency and prevent any direct dealings with the current authorities in Kabul.
Companies are breathing with caution
Abdel -Basir Sadat, director of a construction company in Kabul “We have been waiting for this payment for more than two years. The stopping of money has led to a stifling financial crisis that made us unable to pay the salaries of employees or pay debts to suppliers. This money is not only compensation for the past, but it is a life artery for dozens of families.”
“Some companies have completely closed their doors, and others have been the majority of their employees. Today, with the start of transfers, there is hope, but it is not sufficient without continuous financial support we can actually resume our business,” he added in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net.
According to Afghan Finance, the first phase of the payment has already started on May 19, and an additional $ 39 million is expected to be transferred in 3 subsequent batches, which the ministry described as stimulating the restoration of suspended development projects and there are new job opportunities.
The debtor party
While the current Afghan government insists that World Bank It is the city, the bank made it clear that the contracts were concluded between the previous Afghan companies and government, and not with the bank itself.
In this context, Afghan economic researcher Fadl Al -Rahman Ihsan told Al -Jazeera Net, “The World Bank was only funded, and not a direct party in contracts. Now, he fits the dues in order to preserve his reputation, but he uses control mechanisms to avoid recognizing or dealing with the Taliban government.”
Nevertheless, the Afghan authorities believe that this step is an implicit recognition and practical coordination with the government. The finances said that the process is “in coordination with the World Bank” and even went on to the latter reopening his office with a cable. However, the bank denied this, stressing that its office is still closed and that the payments are implemented through an supervisory program outside government channels.
Why now?
The move comes after about 3 years of international financing stopped, in light of a significant decline in foreign aid from 3.8 billion dollars in 2022 to 1.9 billion in 2023, according to international data, in addition to the high rate Unemployment For about 14%.
The payments aim to support the companies that completed their projects before August 15, 2021, provided that verification operations are met.
An Afghan government source – to Al Jazeera Net – said, preferring not to publish his identity that there is “unannounced” coordination with World Bank officials to provide the required documents, expressing the government’s hope that the bank’s suspended projects will resume, and that new financing to support development, but the bank was evident in rejecting these expectations, stressing that the process is limited to only liquidating previous obligations, and does not represent an appeal for any cooperation Institutional or political recognition.
The World Bank’s position on the Taliban
Despite the payment of dues, the World Bank has adhered to its stated position since 2021 not to recognize the current government. In the winter of 2023, the bank announced the provision of $ 300 million to support basic services through international agencies, such as food, health and water, away from state institutions.
During his participation in the European Humanitarian Forum, the President of the World Bank in Afghanistan, Faris Haddad Zeros, said that his institution provided aid with more than $ 2.2 billion since 2021, all without passing through government channels.
Zeros asserts that this approach reflects a balance between what he called the moral commitment to the Afghan people, and political caution in dealing with an internationally unrecognized government, and says, “The current payment may give the private sector a temporary batch, but it does not address deep economic roots, such as the absence of foreign investment, lack of international confidence, and poor cash.”
The human face of the crisis
Orange Rahimi, a former engineer at a contracting company with the World Bank projects, reveals the direct human impact of the crisis. “I was working on major infrastructure projects, but the financing stopped my company to dispense with me in 2022. I had to work in temporary daily jobs to support my family. This payment may open the way for the return of some employees but it is not enough to restore the lost economic stability,” he told Al -Jazeera Net.
A complex crisis and limited aid
In light of the living crisis, the Afghan finance announced – on September 16, 2024 – that it had paid to the World Bank of 2.7 billion Afghan (38.8 million dollars), including 910 million Afghan (about 13 million dollars) despite the continued freezing of more than 7 billion dollars in Afghan assets in the United States, which the current government considers a “collective punishment” exacerbating the suffering of the population.
The World Bank’s payment represents about 50 million dollars of Afghan companies ’dues partially a positive step towards supporting the private sector and reviving hope in affected professional circles, but the absence of official coordination and the continuation of the bank’s position rejecting direct dealing with the current government reflects a more complex reality in the Afghan economic arena that is still under the weight of international isolation and declining financing, pending long -term solutions that exceed the settlement of old obligations, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, Observers.