Political Tensions Bring Economic Woes to North

Monday, 19 October, 2009

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Abdul Latif Sahak

IWPR-trained reporter

Faqir Mohammad stares glumly at the dirt road in front of his shop. The dust stirred up by passing cars covers the bottles of water and soda stacked in front of his doors, which have to be cleaned several times a day. The air is thick with it, and potential customers seem to want to hurry on their way rather than stop for a little shopping.



Just over six months ago, the city government announced with great fanfare that this road, along with 22 others, was due to be paved. Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, had been declared the pride of Afghanistan, and some 20 million US dollars had been appropriated for its refurbishment by the central government.



Then came the election campaign and the war of words between the governor of Balkh and the president of Afghanistan. Atta Mohammad Noor abandoned his old friend Hamed Karzai, instead supporting Karzai’s main rival, Abdullah Abdullah.



Work on the roads stopped.



“This work should have been completed months ago,” grumbled Faqir, who laid the blame squarely at the feet of the politicians.



“Everything stopped when Atta decided not to support Karzai.”



The August 20 elections for president and provincial councils spawned many more problems than they solved. Six weeks after the vote, there is still no clear winner in the presidential poll, as allegations of widespread fraud continue to mar the process.



In Balkh, this tension has hit the economy hard. Many projects funded by the central government have been suspended in what residents see as revenge for Atta’s defection to Abdullah.



In addition, many private initiatives are on hold as businessmen wait to see which way the political winds will finally blow.



Ordinary people are caught in the middle of the political fray. Many have lost jobs and livelihoods because of these political games.



“The government today is like a bunch of kids playing,” said Mir Ahmad, taxi driver in Mazar-e-Sharif. “They get mad at each other and just destroy each other’s homes.”



Mir Ahmad said that the suspension of construction projects was clearly Karzai’s revenge for Atta’s lack of support.



“It is always the little people who have to deal with the problems,” he sighed. “Roads here used to be much better. Now we taxi drivers have to pay a lot of money just to repair our cars. This means we have to charge more, so taxi fares have gone up.”



Engineer Jan Mohammad, the deputy mayor of Mazar-e-Sharif, confirmed that construction had stopped on the highway projects. However, the budget was approved and roads would be built, he insisted, rejecting the notion that the delay was tied to the elections.



“The money has been blocked in Kabul,” he said. “It is just an administrative difficulty.”



Zabiullah Akhtari, director of technical services in Balkh, told IWPR that work on the roads would be resumed soon. But he did not rule out that the temporary suspension had something to do with the elections.



Mazar’s residents are getting impatient.



“Roads should not depend on politics,” Gul Mir said. “Officials should not sacrifice reconstruction because of their political needs.”



Karzai was trying to punish Atta, he added, because Atta was famous for rebuilding Mazar – shutting down the projects made it clear that Atta can do nothing without Karzai.



Other projects sponsored by the central government have also been shelved. The education, energy, and public health sectors have witnessed closures and suspensions in the past few months, creating unemployment and causing anxiety among the population.



Mir Ahmad is a merchant in Meraj market, selling household appliances, office equipment and other electronics.



“Before the elections I would often do more than 20,000 afghani (400 US dollars) worth of business in a day,” he said. “Now that figure has dropped to 7,000 or 8,000. At that rate I cannot even pay the rent on my shop and my house.”



The reason for the downturn, he says, was people’s worry over the outcome of the elections and the possibility of protests if the electorate felt they had been cheated.



“People are waiting to see what happens before they make any major purchases,” he said. “They remember the riots and strikes during the mujahedin years, and when General [Abdul Rashid] Dostum was ruling the area. Dozens of markets, shops and houses were looted. People are afraid that could happen again.”



Sayed Taher Roshanzada, director of the chamber of commerce and industries in Balkh province, told IWPR that the elections had been a difficult time for business people.



“Armed men killed one businessman along with two of his friends,” he said. “Another two businessmen were abducted. The police have not been able to find these men to release them. So investors are losing interest in putting their money into Mazar-e-Sharif.”



The business community was anxiously awaiting the results of the elections, said Roshanzada, and would be happy to restart activities if a stable administration came to power.



Bejan is the owner of Bejan Brothers, which imports foodstuffs. He told IWPR he had done very little business over the past four months.



“Atta has said that there will be protests and strikes if Abdullah does not win the election,” he said. “Businessmen do not bring goods into a city where the situation is not stable. They remember the looting in the past.”



This reluctance to import goods has led to skyrocketing prices on necessities like fuel, sugar, cooking oil, wheat, and liquid gas.



Sociologist Fahim Hamdard blames the politicians.



“It’s always the ordinary people who have to pay the price,” he said. “No reconstruction or development can take place in Balkh if the relations between these two camps become violent. Balkh has been the only province where people live in dignity and peace. It has been an example for the rest of the country, and proof to the world that development and reconstruction can take place in Afghanistan.”



According to Hamdard, the delay in announcing the election results has just increased people’s problems and concerns.



Firoz, a day labourer, has not worked in three days. He just needs some work in order to feed his wife and three children. He cares little who wins the elections and just wants to earn some money.



“Before the elections I could earn 250 afghani per day,” he said. “Now I would be happy to get 100 afghani. I really do not care about the elections. I swear to God, I did not even vote. No matter who becomes president, he will not care about poor people. I just want a job.”



Abdul Latif Sahak is an IWPR trainee in Mazar-e-Sharif.