Kandahar officials lament fund paucity

KANDAHAR CIYY (PAN): Despite progress in areas of security, governance and development in southern Kandahar province over the past years, problems remain in the three sectors due to paucity of funds, officials said on Tuesday.

The views were expressed at a meeting between local officials and a 20-member delegation of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) in Kandahar City as part of assessing progress made in connection with the presidential decree number 45.

The IDLG delegation has been in Kandahar over the past few days, listening to problems facing residents and officials. Today’s meeting was attended by Governor Toryalai Weesa, a number of district chiefs, tribal elders, security officials and others.

At the start, Deputy Governor Abdul Qayyum Patyal said security, governance and development affairs in Kandahar had improved. But the sectors continued to face problems, he explained, calling fund allocation to Kandahar inadequate.

He said this year’s funds were yet to be received at a time when 70 percent of government vacancies had been filled. The deputy governor said district headquarters in Maroof, Registan, Mianshin, Ghorak, Shurabak and Nooryan lacked proper buildings and other facilities.

He said the provincial government had failed to honour its pledges held out to residents of districts due lack of cooperation from the central government.

Relations between the provincial and central governments had often been tense over the appointment of local officials, he said, alleging Kabul sent inefficient and inexperienced staff to Kandahar.

High peace committee head, Haji Atta Mohammad Ahmadi, mentioned a number of problems facing residents. He said one major problem was unemployment.

For his part, provincial council member Haji Agha Lalai Dastagiri complained senior officials in some districts lived in the provincial capital and abstained from attending offices.

Governor Weesa said he had time and again shared the problems facing Kandahar with officials in Kabul, but failed to elicit a positive response. Good governance at the district level could be ensured only when the officials concerned availed required facilities, he believed.

Mohammad Ibrahim Sapi, who spoke on behalf of the IDLG delegation, said their visit was part of efforts to implement the presidential decree. He added their job was to find solutions to governance-related problems.

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