Violence remains greatest obstacle to economic prosperity in Afghanistan

KABUL -- Afghanistan has great economic potential with an abundance of natural resources and an ample labour force, but the perpetrators of violence are thwarting growth and development, investment and trade analysts say.

The war has destroyed infrastructure projects, halted development and caused billions of dollars in losses of potential investments and jobs for Afghans.

"Afghanistan could have become one of the most prosperous and richest countries in the region thanks to its natural resources and manpower, but the war and failure to ensure peace have created an obstacle to the economic growth and development of Afghanistan," said Azarakhsh Hafizi, a member of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment.

"Every country's economic growth relies on peace and security, and in their absence, every effort for economic growth can fail," he said.

"Many efforts have been made in the past 20 years for economic growth and prosperity of Afghanistan, which helped build some infrastructure as well, but the continuation of war destroyed this infrastructure again, caused these attempts to fail and ruined the financial and economic system," he added.

"The international community, especially the United States, provided abundant and generous economic support that paved the way for trade and investment, economic growth, and job creation," Hafizi said. "But the war and its perpetrators deprived Afghans of this golden opportunity, destroying the economy and increasing poverty and unemployment, and the aid that could have been spent on economic growth and job creation instead financed the war."

"Mines, one of the revenue sources that can strengthen the economy and create jobs, went unused because of war," he said.

Hafizi gave two examples of lost potential without specifying the dates.

"A while ago, one of our investors purchased excavators for hundreds of thousands of dollars from Germany, and when [his employees] started to work on one of the mines in Takhar Province, insurgents stopped their work and threw the excavators off the mountain."

"Similarly, a pomegranate juice factory was blown up in Pul-e-Charkhi [Industrial Park] of Kabul, costing the investors hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses and hundreds of workers their jobs," he said.

"The war has put the lives and investments of [Afghan] entrepreneurs in jeopardy, forcing 8,400 traders and investors to move their businesses and economic operations to Turkey and invest millions of dollars there," he said. "If there was no war, they would invest and operate in their own country, which would help the economy to grow and reduce poverty."

"The war has had a considerable impact on the economic growth of Afghanistan and prosperity of Afghans," Hafizi said.

War has hobbled Afghan growth

"According to a World Bank report and a Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework document, the war is the biggest reason behind lack of economic growth and of development and the surge in unemployment," said Abdul Basir Azimi, a former deputy minister of energy and water.

"The war has caused development and economic projects to stop," he said. "As economic and development projects can't be implemented in most parts of the country, Afghans' livelihoods don't grow, and economic issues and unemployment have considerably increased in these areas."

"The past 20 years created a huge opportunity for growth in Afghanistan and for Afghans, tens of billions of dollars in grants were provided for the country's development and improvement of Afghan lives, dozens of countries and organisations implemented years-long projects for the growth of Afghanistan and Afghans," he said. "But unfortunately, the war put an obstacle to that growth."

Afghanistan has a great location from an economic perspective as it can connect South Asia to Central Asia, Azimi said. As a transit corridor between the two regions, Afghanistan could earn millions of dollars per year.

"But the war hasn't let that happen; instead, we've incurred losses of millions of dollars," he said.

"Afghanistan has one of the best locations for foreign trade and investment," said Sayed Azeem Kabarzani, a member of the Wolesi Jirga from Herat Province.

"Reports show that, if there was not any unrest in Afghanistan, foreign traders would invest billions of dollars in many sectors, especially mining, which could make Afghanistan economically self reliant and significantly reduce unemployment," he said.

"Afghanistan has abundant natural resources and water," he said. "If we didn't have war, the government could make Afghanistan prosperous through managing the water alone."

Immense lost potential

"In addition to destroying economic infrastructure, the war has hampered the growth and success of Afghans and Afghanistan," Kabarzani said.

"The international community's support to Afghanistan created an opportunity for the economic growth, development and prosperity of Afghans, but the war and its perpetrators stole this chance from the public, creating a big obstacle to the self-reliance of Afghans and their prosperity," he said.

"The war has ruined the economic infrastructure of Afghanistan," said Mirza Muhammad Yarmand, a former deputy minister of Interior Affairs.

"Private companies and investors have seen losses in every explosion and attack. Highways have been destroyed," he said. "Most important, the government has shifted all its attention to containing the war and ensuring stability."

"If there wasn't any war, the government could spend all its energy oninitiatives that could lead to growth, a reduction in poverty and unemployment, the prosperity of Afghanistan and a considerable change in the livelihoods of Afghans," he added.

"If there was no war, it is obvious that aid would have been spent on building infrastructure, creating employment and building roads and highways," Yarmand said. "We wouldn't have a country dependent on foreign aid and plagued by unemployment and poverty."

The under-construction Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural-gas pipeline is another example of opportunities squandered, said Muhammad Omar Safi, a former governor of Kunduz.

"Large economic projects such as TAPI, which has [potential] revenues of millions of dollars for Afghanistan, haven't been implemented because of the war," he said.

"If there were peace and security, the work on this project, hydro-electric dams and hundreds of other products would begin employing thousands of Afghans and improving the economic conditions [of Afghanistan]," Safi said.