A giant Afghan iron ore deposit may provide hope for the prosperity of the country, but the Afghan government is not able to ensure the mine is managed properly and profiteering warlords could spark further violence.
A graft watchdog said that the Hajigak project, which straddles the central provinces of Bamiyan, Parwan and Wardak has deposits of 2 billion tonnes with an estimated worth of USD 350 billion and is described by the Afghan government as Asia's largest unmined iron deposit.
The deadline for bids on the deposit is September 4 and Mines Minister Mr Wahidullah Shahrani has said he expects to award a contract some time in November. He said 17 companies, mainly from India, were interested in the deposit.
Integrity Watch Afghanistan, a Kabul based group that aims to spotlight corruption, said while Shahrani and Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal were committed to a transparent mining sector, the government lacked the capacity to stamp out reported endemic corruption.
Integrity Watch Afghanistan in a report released said that "The Afghan government will not be able to ensure that Hajigak is well managed and, ultimately, beneficial for the future of the country.”
Since Shahrani became minister at the start of 2010, he has shed staff, drawn up the ministry's first business plan and signed Afghanistan up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative as a candidate country. He was optimistic that by April 2012 Afghanistan would get full EITI compliant status.
This month, the World Bank gave Afghanistan a USD 52 million grant, to be disbursed over three years, to help manage its natural resources effectively and transparently, including completion of the bidding process for the Hajigak project.
But public sector corruption in Afghanistan is seen as worse than in any other country except Myanmar and Somalia, according to corruption watchdog Transparency International. President Hamid Karzai has acknowledged graft exists in his government but has said foreigners are also to blame.
(Sourced from Reuters)
