Kunduz media outlets face closures

KABUL (Tolo News): Officials at a number of local media outlets in Kunduz province said that economic challenges, lack of business advertising clients, and excessive taxes have hindered the activities of a number of local media outlets in Kunduz province. They also stated that they are now funding their activities from their own savings, and that if the situation continues, media coverage in the province will stop.
“There are no business ads. Some projects existed in the past, which are not available now,” said Akmal Rahmani, head of Khavar TV. “We had 30 employees working in every section of the television, after the collapse, our TV faced problems and we could not to start operations again,” said Samiullah Quraishi, head of Rawshani TV.
According to officers at the company, most of their staff have quit working in recent months due to non-payment of salaries. “We have fired many of our employees, there are many problems right now including economic problems,” said ZiaulHaq Zahed, head of Shabnam Radio.
However, Kunduz’s head of information and culture stated that they are working to address the province’s local media challenges. “We, along with the governor, had a meeting with local media officials and addressed some problems and will do more,” said Matiullah Rouhani, director of information and culture of Kunduz.
Meanwhile, officials from several media outlets in Khost province say that the persistent shortage of electricity has challenged the media coverage process in the province. “The local media faces shortages of electricity in Khost province and this is a serious challenge,” said Mobin Mirza, deputy director of Radio Hawa. Concerns about the media situation in Kunduz arise as the Free Afghanistan Journalists Association has announced the closure of 300 media outlets and the dismissal of nearly 6,000 journalists and media workers across the country.