Local sources in Herat say the Taliban-controlled Electricity Company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), has cut off electricity to the province’s former bus terminal because the contracting company did not pay its debts. According to the sources, representatives of passenger transport companies, shopkeepers, hotel owners and travelers at the terminal have been facing serious difficulties for nearly 10 days. The sources add that the Taliban-controlled DABS told the terminal’s representatives that, over the past five years, the contracting company had run up a debt of nearly 20 million Afghanis in unpaid electricity bills, and that power will not be reconnected until the debt is paid. The sources say shopkeepers and companies operating at the terminal paid the set fees to the contracting company regularly and consistently, but the company left the terminal in late September 2023. They say that of the total announced debt, only the latest contracting company owes 6.6 million Afghanis. According to the sources, most of the contracting companies that were responsible for leasing and managing the terminal over the past five years were affiliated with the Taliban or gave shares to members of the group. The sources add that for this reason, none of the Taliban-controlled institutions have so far been willing to give the public a clear answer on the matter.
The sources say that after the contracting company left, reportedly leaving behind an electricity debt of 6.6 million Afghanis according to DABS, responsibility for running the terminal was handed to the Taliban-controlled Herat Land Transport Directorate, but the issue has not been addressed so far. According to the sources, several Taliban members in the group’s Ministry of Transport and the Land Transport Directorate are involved in misappropriating the money collected from companies and commercial activities inside the terminal. They say that despite these continuing problems, no senior or local Taliban official is accountable for the matter.
One source at the terminal says: “For five years, the electricity fees have been collected from shopkeepers, representatives of passenger transport companies and hotel owners, but this money was not paid to DABS and was embezzled by the leasing company. All the money collected from the people was pocketed by the leasing company, and its officials have left the terminal. It has now been nearly 10 days since the terminal has had no electricity.”
The source adds: “Representatives of the shopkeepers, passenger transport companies and others working at the terminal went to DABS to follow up on the problem. DABS officials told them that the terminal has an electricity debt of 20 million Afghanis from the past five years. For this reason, its power will not be reconnected until the terminal’s debts are settled.”
Another well-informed source, who also does not want his name mentioned in the report, says: “All of this money was stolen by the person who leased the terminal. They [the Taliban] are involved too. The terminal is government property, and without their [the Taliban’s] involvement, no one would dare to collect money from people and not pay their own electricity bill.”
The source adds: “The money collected from shopkeepers and companies operating in the terminal was misappropriated by the leaseholder and the Taliban officials responsible for this sector. The shopkeepers have no debts at all, yet no one takes responsibility. There is a deep well inside the terminal that needs electricity to supply water. It has now been nearly 10 days since we have had neither electricity nor water. The voice of the people is not heard.” According to this source, the contracting company that had leased the terminal received back the guarantee deposit it had paid to the Taliban when entering the bidding, after leaving the terminal, and has accepted no responsibility for the remaining debts.
Referring to the refund of the company’s guarantee deposit, the source asks: “If the Taliban are not involved in this affair, then why was the guarantee deposit of a company that owes money paid back to it?” According to this source, the leasing company’s contract ended on September 29, 2023, and the company left the terminal after the contract expired.
The sources stress that all contracts related to this terminal are concluded at the Taliban’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation in Kabul, and say that no company or contractor can win bids on its own without the participation of the Taliban and members of the group. According to the sources, the leaseholders have not paid the terminal’s electricity costs over the past five years.
The sources accuse senior Taliban members of misappropriating people’s money, and ask how contracting companies can collect money from shopkeepers, representatives of passenger transport companies and hotel owners, yet not pay their own debts to DABS.
Another source in Herat says: “After going to DABS, the shopkeepers, representatives of transport companies and hotel owners also went to the Taliban governor’s office and discussed their problems with him. They said that the people do not owe even a single rupee, and that the companies that previously leased the terminal must pay their remaining debts. However, despite going to the provincial authorities, they have not received a satisfactory response.”
The source says: “The former Herat terminal is a government facility that had been leased for 3.3 million Afghanis. The leaseholder collected all of these costs from companies, shopkeepers, hotel owners, and people who operate at this terminal and carry passengers from it. But now there is no sign of the contracting company, nor of the officials of the Land Transport Directorate. People have been left to fend for themselves without electricity and water, and no institution takes responsibility for this situation.”
The Herat terminal is one of the province’s important hubs for passenger travel and has been used for more than a decade to transport passengers to various parts of the country, including Kabul.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
قطعی برق ترمینال هرات؛ پولهای جمعآوریشده از مردم کجا شده است؟
