KABUL - Telecommunications and IT minister-designate Barna Karimi on Thursday said he would complete the national fibre ring project and provide the Afghans high quality telecom and internet services at lower rates.

Explaining his future plans and programmes to Wolesi Jirga members, the cabinet nominee said he, if granted a trust vote, would comprehensively improve the ministry’s strategic programmes for the next five years.

He called the telecom sector a job-generating area, saying more than 80 percent of Afghans accessed mobile phone services and that the sector had been a good income source for the government during the past few years.

“I want to enable telecom companies to provide high quality services at cheap rates,” he said, adding the quality of services the ministry provided needed be improved like that of private companies.

Karimi identified completion of the fiber ring project one of his priorities, saying the project completion would convert Afghanistan into a regional telecom intersection that would help the country receive more taxes from neighbouring countries.

“Access to the Internet is every Afghan’s right and extending this service to all part of the country will be my primary goal,” he said.

About postal services, he regretted the service had been confined to Kabul and a few provinces alone, but said he would streamline postal addresses in cooperation with the authorities concerned.

Karimi also vowed to protect phone calls from being tapped, fight corruption and establish electronic government, if he was endorsed.

About electronic ID cards, the minister-designate said despite the fact, it was not the telecommunications ministry’s responsibility, but he would technically support the process. He also promised to digitalise TV broadcasts. (Pajhwok)