BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): The Bamyan provincial council head says the government’s continued reliance on acting officials has affected development projects in the impoverished central province.
Tayeba Khawari, the only female provincial council chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News government affairs were disorganised and the cabinet still incomplete, as Bamyan had been without a governor
She said there was a vacuum on the governance front in the province, where development projects had been stymied by a constant reduction in fundingby donors.
In this situation, she added, monitoring work of the provincial council also could not go on smoothly. “When there is no governor, where should we start our monitoring from?”
The Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) has recently appointed Zahir Zaheer as governor for Bamyan, but he is yet to take charge. Last week, hundreds of people protested in Kabul in favour of the new governor, asking the government to fill the vacuum in Bamyan.
But four members of parliament -- Mohammad Akbari, SafooraAlkhani, Syed FakoorBeheshti and Abdul Rahman Shaedani-- and other people erected tents in front of the governor office in Bamyan City, expressing their opposition to the appointment.
They asked the government to reconsider its decision. Ms. Khawarisaid the provincialcouncil had evaluated the performance of some departments besides helping a number of complainants.
She added most of the council members attended meetings with residents and officials to ascertain public grievances and resolve them.
Ali Jahan Dost, a civil society activist, opined the provincial council had been unsuccessful in its work because it was not acting for the good of the general public. Instead the council was seeking to favour a handful of blue-eyed people, he alleged.
He insisted the elective body had made no tangible achievement so far. “The Bamyan provincial council is incapable if you compare it to similar panels in other provinces. It hasn’t done anything to prevent administrative graft.”
But Maulvi Mohammad Yousuf Mazhari, provincial council member, claimed they were doing a commendable job, planning to evaluate the performance of provincial departments and address public complaints on merit.
Khawarisaid women were ready to do away with their symbolic roles and win public trust by remedying people’s grievances. “We should show the world our capability to change people’s perceptions regarding women’s talent.”
She added, her hard work and effective management proved that women could serve the masses as well as men did.
Azra Ibrahimi, a civil society activist in Bamyan, complained the provincial council had slammed its doors on people for 45 days in the beginning.Even now, according to her, the panel had nothing to show in terms of efficiency.
After the announcement of election results, provincial councils across the country went on strike to regain their oversight and monitoring right from the president.
Ibrahimi added the sitting provincial council consisted of old members with different political affiliations and were unable to work due to differences.
But provincial council head promised: “You’ll witness a marked qualitative difference between the present members and their predecessors. We have better policies and effective future plans.”
hg/mud
