Try No Lemon over by the Supreme Store, same road.

Z


On Thur, 03 Apr 2008 04:14:07 GMT, QuickTopic daily digest <
qtopic-23-NN24HsfiTdmn@quicktopic.com> wrote:
>
>



--
"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." Lao Tzu
< replied-to message removed by QT >

Charlie,
Contact Gandamack Lodge.

To those in the know, the mapping and linked GIS systems currently being used in Country are from the dark ages in terms of their accuracy and relevance. Scary if you are giving a position or calculating loadings to build a dam.

Modern commercial aerial photography and mapping techniques used elsewhere in the World are available in Afghanistan, but only to those in the know.
It is possible to link existing GIS programs to aerial photography and up to date maps accurate to within 10cms on the ground. The value of being able to see and accurately pin point a property, project, settlement, road, is invaluable but sadly alludes most Donors, implementers and beneficiaries - who are left in the dark.

The Seminar on the 9th April is being held in Kabul to follow on from the success of the earlier seminar in Dubai to enlighten you to what is possible and to the savings and efficiency that accurate mapping can bring to your program or project. The Seminar is of interest to those administering and reporting on programs and to those working at a practical level working with maps, GIS systems and in fact almost anyone - because everyone needs to relate their "something" to an accurate up to date map base. Even those who think they are in the know will be amazed at the accuracy and ability to interpret and analyse the imagery and geo referenced data - as some of our existing customers in country know.

To confirm you and your colleagues places at this unique event, please email your names, organisation, job titles and phone numbers to Tor on
tor@pc-af.com Tor will then reply to confirm your place and attendance with in 12 hours.

For security, catering and due to limited seating - only those who have pre registered and are accepted will be allowed to attend the seminars.
Tor@pc-af.com



Please email back if you do not wish to be included on www.afghanguide.com mailing list informing you about future events


  
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Help... considering a move to Kabul Afghanistan at Director level job in IT and data center industry. What should salary and benefit package ranges be.

Wanted: Secure single accommodation in expat house in city center, ensuite bath, Net access, kitchen etc. from Mid April.

Charlie,

Afghan Logistics is a very good, reputable company. Their information is here:

Afghan Logistics & Tours Pvt.Co.Ltd ( ALT )
Office Manager: (93) 0700 44 22 11
24 hours Mini Cab Services in Kabul 0798 44 33 11 / 0777 44 33 11 /
0700 44 33 11 & 0786 44 33 11
Office Sat phone: 0088 216 212 078 26
 
Email: info@afghanlogisticstours.com
http://www.afghanlogisticstours.com

Kabul hotel tax raid sparks cash exodus
FT.com - World News By Jon Boone in Kabul April 7 2008
Afghanistan businesses are moving cash reserves overseas after learning that the government claimed it was owed more than $285,000 in back taxes from the Aga Khan’s luxury hotel development in Kabul.
A fortnight after eight guests and staff were killed by a terrorist attack at the city’s most upmarket hotel on January 14, the ministry of finance took the money from the dollar account of the Serena hotel without warning.

After two years in operation, the Serena, an elegant five-star hotel set up by the Aga Khan in the hope that it would spur other international investors, has yet to make healthy profits.

The ministry of finance said it was within Afghan law to settle tax disputes by freezing or “making transfers” from private accounts. But Christopher Newbery, the hotel’s general manager, said the sudden withdrawal of funds could not have come at a worse time. The hotel’s revenue had dried up after a team of suicide bombers detonated themselves in front of the compound in central Kabul and it needed cash to repair the damage.

“We were absolutely furious because having been attacked on January 14, on January 29 we had a second attack when the government took our money at just the moment we needed it most.”
The case has highlighted the risks of starting businesses in a country where entrepreneurs say government interference and ¬“nuisance taxes” are as big a problem as declining ¬security and a decrepit national electricity supply.

Three companies, which declined to be named, told the Financial Times that they were taking cash out of the country to protect their businesses.

The Serena is one of two businesses that the Aga Khan Development Network has invested in as part of a private sector-led development programme. Frantic lobbying of Hamid Karzai, the president, by the ambassador to the Aga Khan, the billionaire spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslim community, led to the money being temporarily repaid.

The ministry of finance says it expects the money to be paid to the government in three tranches. But the Serena’s tax consultants say the amount owed, which related to tax accrued by the Indian construction company that built the hotel, is more like $50,000 (£25,000, 32,000).

At a meeting on December 31 they paid that sum as a goodwill gesture and were told by Sharifullah Ibrahimi, the deputy minister of finance, that the dispute would only be settled after a full audit by the country’s large taxpayer’s office.

“It was as if the meeting had never taken place,” Mr Newbery said. “Not only did they simply help themselves to money, they claimed that we had never paid the $50,000. That’s what they do to people who actually pay their taxes – they take whatever they can get.”

Cases such as these are, the Afghan business community says, damaging the country’s efforts to build its economy, so Afghanistan can pay its own way when the foreign cash that pays for almost everything the government does dries up.

But the private sector is so limited – and so reliant on money spent by international consultants, diplomats and aid workers – that a French restaurant in Kabul catering to the culinary needs of the city’s expats is one of the country’s 100 biggest taxpayers.

Taxes, along with crime and persistent power outages, are leading some businesses to stop projects or relocate some or all of their businesses to Dubai. Saad Mohseni, chief executive of Moby Media, which runs television and radio stations, says he recently had videotapes of imported Indian television programmes impounded at Kabul airport because a government agency believed they should be paying on the content.

“The government says it is dealing with these so-called nuisance taxes but it’s ridiculous that after seven years we are still facing these problems,” he said. “Why can’t the whole lot just be declared null and void?”

He says his frustration with Afghan government “incompetence” is so great that the company has set up a business division in Dubai.

One leading international logistics company came close to pulling out of Afghanistan last year after it discovered it had been paying taxes to the ministry of communications – technically illegal because only the ministry of finance is allowed to raise revenue.

Some efforts to improve the tax system have made the situation worse. Draft laws prepared in English by foreign consultants have been mistranslated into Dari, the official language of government. The garbled version is then treated as the law. A western official, who declined to be named but has worked closely on tax reform issues, said the “cheques had been made out to the ministry of post, which doesn’t exist, so God knows who actually got the money”.

login:
fromIP: E127.0.0.1

Mike,

we have accomodation for you, Share=Now, ZADAR GH ,









----------------------------------------
> Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 13:44:19 +0000
> Subject: The Survival Guide to Kabul - online at www.kabulguide.net - leave your message
> From: qtopic-23-NN24HsfiTdmn@quicktopic.com
> To: qtopic-subs@quicktopic.com
>

_________________________________________________________________ News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now! http://www.live.com/getstarted.aspxSTRIPMIME_JOINLINES
< replied-to message removed by QT >

Saska Galic:

Please email me at amigoneuvo@yahoo.com

I shall be comung to Kabul for 2 months Where is a good place to stay for that time please

Hi,

I have just returned to Kabul and wanted to get back on the mailing list for the newsletter that contains the list of Kabul restaurants, plus a weekly News round up? Could be called Kabul Weekly, but I can't remember. Can anyone send me the email so I can subscribe?

Thanks,
Bianca

I am originally from Afghanistan( visible Afghan minority),I speak Pashtu & Dari languages plus English.I would like to come to Kabul, Can any one help me to get a job and an low cost accommodation ? I am presently living in Toronto ON Canada.

Local job postings for International Organizations?

I'm presently finishing up a contract here (in Kabul) and am now hunting for a job again. I have been perusing the various online listings (reliefweb, devex, even a few expat postings on ACBAR) but I wanted to check and see if anyone:

#1 Knew of any local job listings for expats
#2 Knew of any job openings for expats with a background in agricultural/rural development.

My online CV can be found here: www.linkedin.com/in/davidsonh and phone is +93 (0)776489265

Cheers

-Davidson

Hi Bianca - why wait for a newsletter when you can look on line 24/7 www.afghanguide.biz

It updates itself by people or organisations sending in their comments and updates.

I hope it helps.

You can also drop by Property Consulting - Afghanistan's shop in Share Now next to brac bank to pick up your free www.afghanguide.biz fridge magnet!


From: Anki Time: 09:52 AM
Hi,

I have just returned to Kabul and wanted to get back on the mailing list for the newsletter that contains the list of Kabul restaurants, plus a weekly News round up? Could be called Kabul Weekly, but I can't remember. Can anyone send me the email so I can subscribe?

Thanks,
Bianca
------------------------------------------------------------


  
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Bianca - The one you're looking for is What's On In Kabul and you can subscribe by emailing KABUL NEWS & INFO CENTER [kabul.news@caritas.org]
< replied-to message removed by QT >

If anybody needs high speed quality internet services, please contact me. We also provide website development, e-marketing and Wi-Fi networking services.

Please contact me at bhatti@btechnocrats.com