It turns out that a bunch of cave-dwelling jihadis aren't very good at managing the complexities of a modern society:
Afghanistan's capital could be plunged into darkness as the winter sets in because the country's new Taliban rulers haven't paid Central Asian electricity suppliers or resumed collecting money from consumers.
Unless addressed, the situation could cause a humanitarian disaster, warned Daud Noorzai, who resigned as chief executive of the country's state power monopoly, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, nearly two weeks after the Taliban's takeover on Aug. 15.
"The consequences would be countrywide, but especially in Kabul. There will be blackout and it would bring Afghanistan back to the Dark Ages when it comes to power and to telecommunications," said Mr. Noorzai, who remains in close contact with DABS's remaining management. "This would be a really dangerous situation."
So that's pretty bad.
Afghanistan gets half of its power from other Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, while a drought has affected the production of local energy at hydropower stations.
Even if the Taliban wanted to pay their bills, it turns out that people don't have the money to pay the Taliban (for some unknown reason):
With government ministries not paying salaries for months and the banking system paralyzed, many Afghans don't have the means to pay their power bills. Last year, customers in Kabul accounted for about half of DABS's $387 million in total revenue, according to company documents.
The country needs $90 million immediately to keep the lights on.
The Taliban has also added to the nation's electric woes by blowing up infrastructure all over the country during the past two decades.
Maybe they can get Joe Biden and the Dems to help them with those infrastructure problems!
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