Kapisa PRT opens courthouse in Key Terrain District

KAPISA PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

09.25.2010

Story by Capt. Kirsten Udd 

Combined Joint Task Force 101

KAPISA PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Afghan contractor, Kapisa Kohnadi Construction, Task Force La Fayette, and Kapisa Provincial Reconstruction Team co-hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Tagab District Courthouse, Sept. 25.

As part of the ceremony, Mohammad Sharif Hakimzada Safi, the acting governor of Kapisa, along with the sub-governor, the head judge of Kapisa, and other key leaders from Kapisa province and Tagab District addressed the participants. Because the area is so dangerous, this was the first time in at least seven months that members of the provincial government had traveled to Tagab.

International Security Assistance Force recently designated Tagab District as a Key Terrain District. A Key Terrain District is an area which is identified as critical to stabilizing and supporting the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Tagab District Courthouse project is one of the development projects Kapisa PRT is using to connect the government to the people and improve quality of life in the province. Kapisa PRT assists GIRoA in providing a secure, stable environment for reconstruction efforts by increasing government officials’ capabilities and capacities.

“Every speaker noted, with certainty, that the reason Tagab District is somewhat isolated from the provincial government has to do with the lack of security in the region and that without security, development cannot take place,” said U.S. Army Maj. Mike Brockway, Kapisa PRT deputy commander and a native of Monroe, N.Y. “They also iterated that security is as much the responsibility of the local leaders and people as it is the Afghanistan National Security Forces.”

As if to emphasize the security issues in the area, coalition forces received intelligence a few minutes prior to the ceremony that there were two potential suicide bombers on their way to disrupt the ceremony. Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army and coalition forces successfully defended the ceremony participants.

"It was bad security, so I have only visited twice," said the lead contractor, Faizagh Qadri, through an interpreter. “The courthouse is really important for the area. It is going to help people. It is a positive thing, and I tried to do my best with the quality. All the people in the area are happy about the project.”

"People are happy because the judge will be here for us and there is no need to travel to the governor’s compound," said Asad Agha, a villager from the area, through an interpreter.

Currently, because of the security situation in the area, there has been no judge or court and the people must risk their safety to travel to an area where a judge can hear their case. The courthouse project is intended to support the GIRoA by providing the people a legitimate alternative to the Taliban vigilante justice system.

The Tagab District Courthouse was funded by the PRT in 2009, cost roughly $368,282 to build, and took 11 months to complete. The courthouse facilities consist of a justice center, residential quarters, generator room, jail facility, guard shack and restrooms.

"While the courthouse is an important structure, what follows is truly important," said Brockway. “If the facility is not manned and used as a house for rule of law, then it is simply an empty gesture. It is imperative that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Task Force La Fayette, and Kapisa PRT continue to nurture this sensitive issue.”

The PRT’s civil engineers have completed more than $11 million in projects in Kapisa Province, including a $6.5 million 28-km road, four schools valued at $1.2 million, a $20,000 recreation field, a $185,000 mosque, two health projects valued at $225,000, and a $45,000 flood protection project.

• Date Taken: 09.25.2010
• Date Posted: 10.01.2010 14:56
• Story ID: 57329
• Location: KAPISA PROVINCE, AF