Afghanistan’s government – which has been controlled by the Taliban since August - has revealed plans for an extensive restructure of state bodies relating to telecommunications.
Under the plans, the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA), state-owned operator Afghan Telecom (Aftel), and the Afghan Post will all be folded into the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).
According to TeleGeography, the ATRA will remain a non-budgetary unit and will continue its duties in much the same manner, although it will now be overseen by the Minister for Telecommunication and Information Technology.
Aftel and Afghan Post will become part of the framework of the ministry, with the telecoms minister responsible for appointing their top brass, including technical and financial management positions. The ministry stated that the merger would enable “more coordination to achieve the goals of this sector” and “help to improve services under a single leadership.”
