The number of children begging in the streets of a capital remains a reliable sign of the state of a country. At the very beginning of February, those of Kabul, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, show how much Afghanistan is suffering economically after six months of Taliban rule. According to NGOs, the situation is even more serious in the South, where children suffering from malnutrition are seen every day in health centres. Afghanistan was poor before the return of the Islamists to power, but the worsening of living conditions shows the difficulty of the current leaders in managing the country.
The Taliban equation for transforming an insurgent force into a government force seems far from settled. The decisions taken since the beginning of September 2021 relate mainly to authoritarian adaptation principles of education, public health, the relationship between men and women or national sovereignty to Taliban religious beliefs. On the other hand, no fundamental reform has yet been undertaken in terms of public policies, agriculture, taxation, infrastructure, energy… And for good reason, the Afghan Islamists’ authority remains the Taliban shura. (traditional council), not the government. The shura operates in a consensus mode; everyone has to be in agreement for the decision to be implemented. Which is rarely the case.
According to a Qatari diplomat interviewed by The world, the Taliban leaders finalize the overhaul of their mode of governance and promise to make an announcement “within three months”. It would associate, within an advisory council, voices other than their own. It would not be a question of opening up positions of power to other political forces, but of including other forms of authority in Afghan society, non-religious, such as tribal chiefs. Nevertheless, in recent months, the Taliban have already made such statements, without managing to implement them.
Loosen the financial noose
The other major obstacle to the demonstration of management skills is due to the serious liquidity crisis linked to the American financial sanctions, and in particular to the freezing of nearly 10 billion dollars (8.7 billion euros) from the Afghan central bank. In response, the Taliban have just presented an initial budget of 450 million dollars, essentially made up of customs duties and taxes collected since their arrival. This manna, they assure, will allow them to pay part of the salaries of civil servants. The regime added that if this sum was not enough to run the state, it at least showed that the country could, without corruption, collect as much money as the previous regime. But the latter could count on American aid and that of the international community.
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