ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan – With the Castle of Alexander the Great as a backdrop, Afghan government leaders in the Zabul Provincial Capital of Qalat gathered to open a new slaughterhouse facility for use in the city’s livestock trade.
Planning for the slaughterhouse has been in the works since November, 2011. The butchers and traders of Qalat, the mayor of Qalat, the Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, RampUp South, United States Agency for International Agency, Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team and Zabul Agri-Business Development Team, worked together in partnership with each other to determine the location, and design of the facility.
Maj. Cheryl Wachenheim a ZADT member who works closely with the DAIL, ZPRT and other partners indicated the diversity of contributors may be a reason the project has been successfully executed, “It was an effort that involved all stakeholders during the planning stage, which helps explain its success. This effort is the first public-private partnership in Zabul province.”
Wachenheim added, “This is a significant event for Qalat and all of southern Afghanistan in that it provides an example of how private industry can leverage the resources and strengths of municipalities to generate income and to improve the lives of its entrepreneurs and residents.”
Previous livestock trade took place mostly in the open, at the foot of the castle site, and with little regard for sanitation and public health issues.
The new facility, says Wachenheim, “provides a clean, safe place to slaughter livestock and greatly reduces the environmental impact of the slaughter process. It also helps ensure meat purchased in Qalat and exported is clean and safe. It also provides a model of provincial, local municipal and private sector Afghans working together towards common economic and social goals.”
The effect of the slaughterhouse project is greater than simply boosting Qalat and Zabul province’s livestock trade; it may spark the beginning of more governmental influence, involvement, and services provided to local trades and industries.
An Afghan official, who was integral in the planning, believes that the coordination necessary to bring the project to fruition inherently increases the capacity of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, saying "As part of this public private partnership, the municipality worked to develop associated ordinances. As such, the project helped empower the municipality to govern.”