KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Army Maj. William Kerr of Chelsea, Mich., civil affairs officer for the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, observed and assessed the different dynamics of the government-run Kandahar Provincial Council meeting in Kandahar City, May 29.
The purpose of the Provincial Council meeting is to coordinate activities and facilitate discussions within the municipality and the province. The Provincial Council is a representative body that addresses the needs of the citizens of Kandahar province. The Provincial Council members allow district and provincial elders to attend and present their problems to local officials, including Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar City who was also in attendance.
“Overall I think it was a strong statement by the provincial government that they will continue to address the needs of the people despite the best efforts of the Taliban,” said Kerr.
The Provincial Council meetings had been delayed due to security concerns resulting in an above average number of issues to be address during the 90-minute meeting. The meetings primary objective was to discuss infrastructure, traffic, security, land, and contracting issues.
A major issue addressed in the meeting was the traffic in the city and other urban areas. A continuous discussion between the provincial council members and district elders is to build a bypass road to cut down the traffic. Many local leaders are looking to the provincial and national government to fund this project.
Addressing the traffic issues, Ahmed Karzai, the chairman of the Provincial Council, demanded things from his council members and specifically his police chief, to address the traffic concerns of Kandahar residents.
“I’m expecting the reopening of some roads in Kandahar City by the end of this week and to reopen one by the end of today,” said Karzai.
Some district elders asked for a checkpoint to be put at the end of their market in an effort to provide security for the local people. But there has been feuding between the tribes at the market preventing any police post to be built.
“Stop fighting or we can’t put a police post near your market,” said Karzai.
Several other issues were brought up and duly noted by the council members but the meeting was cut short for a prior engagement, the appointment Abdul Razeq as the new chief of police.
The previous chief of police, Khan Mohammad Khan, was assassinated by a Taliban suicide bomber Apr. 15.
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.30.2011 09:08 |
| Story ID: | 71309 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR, AF |
| Web Views: | 236 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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