Check the Africa country where there are no ATMs, scanty Sim cards, and no election held since 1993

One would continue to imagine whether there can be a country, especially in a age that technology and its accessories are ubiquitous, that will not have a single ATM, where there are scanty Sim cards and where no election holds since 1993 (23 years ago) that they gained independence.

The country I am talking about is Eritrea whose capital is Asmara. They gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, 27 years ago. According to a report made by BBC's Amharic's Jibat Tamirat when she visited the country in 2019, she concluded that the country is a repressive state where the citizens lack political and religious freedom.







One party has been ruling the state under President Isaias Afwerki since the country officially gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Jibat Tamirat reported that the government banned opposition parties and local private media, jailed critics and imposed military conscription on young men.

The mode of living in the country is simple, strict and pitiful at the same time. There are no ATMs to withdraw money. Citizens can only cash over bank counters. And there has been imposition on the amount of money citizens can cash out. The currency they use is nafka, and they can only withdraw 5000($330) in a month. That means if you need an amount which is greater that the sum withdrawable per month, you have to be proactive about it. Although, there are exception to this imposition. In the case of marriage and emergency, citizens would have to collect permit from local authorities in order to cash out larger amount.






Also, Sim cards are very scanty. Although, the citizens can own a Sim card, but the process to acquire it is very tedious. The state owned EriTel is the sole provider of Telecom services and it is tightly controlled by their government. According to report by International Telecommunication Union, the internet penetration in Eritrea is a little bit above 1%. There is no mobile that but only WiFi. This means even if you are able to acquire a Sim card, you still have to pass through the stress of getting a WiFi to connect to. To access the social media, people use Virtual Private Network (VPN). Infact, Eritrea is considered the world most censored country according to Jibat Tamirat report.

There is only one local television station; Eri-Tv, but a well-off citizen with a satellite dish can connect to BBC and other channels. There is only one brewery company and until recently, citizens were not allowed to drink more than a bottle of bear at a bar.

I believe all these simple and strict lifestyles are to regulate peoples' way of life by the government. Because of this, many citizens want to leave their home country for a greener pasture. The UN refugee agency describes Eritrea as the ninth largest country of refugees.