RASC News Agency: Local sources in the Lal-Sarjangal district of Ghor have reported that Taliban officials have compelled local workers to contribute half of their wages toward the costs of repairing the Lal-Dawlatyar road. These workers had previously worked for twenty days during the past winter to repair secondary roads, receiving a total of 8,500 kabuli rupees as their wages. According to the sources, the Taliban have instructed the workers to surrender half of their earnings to fund the road repairs, which have been subcontracted to a private company. Additionally, the workers have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the repair work, asserting that the current state of the road does not match the standard of repairs that were supposedly carried out.
The Taliban have also designated an individual to collect money from the workers to cover the expenses of the contracted company, with claims that some of the collected funds are being personally diverted for individual gain. This is not the first instance of the Taliban forcing the local population to contribute financially for road repairs; a similar demand was made to the residents of Lal-Sarjangal in January of the previous year. Reports indicate that, in recent months, the Taliban have continued their practice of extracting funds from the public for the repairs of the Lal-Dawlatyar road. Specific amounts collected include 6,000 kabuli Rupees from large freight trucks, 2,000 kabuli Rupees from passenger vehicles, and 1,000 kabuli Rupees from smaller cars, typically Kabul-style taxis. Additionally, the Taliban requested that a humanitarian organization cover the costs of the road repairs, rather than providing aid to the local population. This request, however, was rejected by the organization, prompting the Taliban to turn to the public for contributions to pay the contractor.
The Taliban authorities in Ghor have yet to comment on the demand for workers to contribute half of their salaries. Previously, in January of the previous year, Abdul Wahid Hamaas, the Taliban spokesperson in Ghor, denied the accusations of coercing the public to pay for the road repairs, instead claiming that the local councils voluntarily contributed to the roadwork. This practice follows the Taliban’s repeated assertions that revenues from Afghanistan’s mining sector would be utilized for infrastructure development, including road construction. In line with this, the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Works has allocated a substantial portion of its budget to road building projects across the country. However, the ongoing forced contributions from the public for road repairs suggest a discrepancy between the group’s stated priorities and the financial reality on the ground.
