KABUL - The European Union (EU) Special Representative and Head of the EU Delegation to Afghanistan, Ambassador Franz-Michael Mellbin, announced on Sunday the suspension of funds for the electronic-National Identity Card (e-NIC) following a consistent delay in the launch of the much-awaited process.
Expressing these statements in an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, Mellbin said however that the EU will continue its assistance once the process is started.
"Why we suspended our payments ... because we said we cannot continue to pay for people for rolling out the card when actually the card is not rolled out. So as soon as the card starts being rolled out again, our contributions will start to flow," Mellbin said.
He however urged the Afghan government to determine the fate of those who have already been hired for the program which has been drawn out for more than five years.
"The Afghan government will have to decide what it is going to do with this large body of people who have been hired to roll out the cards while this is actually not moving forward."
Furthermore, the EU envoy stressed the need for a test phase of the process which he said could determine whether the rollout can be successful.
"I think the technical part is ready for pilot that can test if it can work in real life and of course the pilot will show us whether in fact it can be rolled out successfully to the broader public but having the test move forward would be very informative for all of us and I hope it will happen soon than later because the card will be a big step for Afghanistan," he added.
The electronica ID card distribution authority, meanwhile, warned that it would stop the program if it failed to get funds for it.
"If the government does not decide to launch the distribution of ID cards, we will be compelled to stop our work due to lack of funding to pay the employees," said Fayazuddin Gheyasi, the e-NIC program director.
This comes after Ezmarai Baher, the head of the electronic National Identity Card department on Thursday called on the government to make a firm decision regarding the pilot roll out phase so as to avoid further delays.
In his remarks, Baher highlighted the issues facing his administration and said that the government must consider the budget as well as the employees working for the concerned department who have reportedly not been paid for months.
Initially, the timeframe for the pilot phase of the e-NIC roll out campaign was to have been Wednesday - August 19 - but President Ashraf Ghani said at a meeting recently with the ministers of interior affairs and communication that the cabinet in its Thursday meeting will take the final decision regarding the matter.
"We hope that the cabinet will consider a number of important issues facing the institution such as the exact date for distribution of the IDs and finding a settlement to the budget issues. There are about 800 employees who have not received their salaries for several months," Baher said.
"Further delays will create more issues such as losing financial aid," he added.
Even the public is now calling for a decision to be taken. "So far the government has made several commitments and pledged that the process will start, then why is it not starting," a member of the public said.
This comes after USAID terminated its financial cooperation a few weeks ago in reaction to the continued delays. (Tolonews)